NEW YORK, June 22 — With the financial support and collaboration of The Merck Company Foundation, the Earth Institute at Columbia University is launching an ambitious initiative to strengthen community health services for over 400,000 people in ten African countries under the Millennium Villages project. The initiative will advance the development of a professional cadre…
CHICAGO, June 30, 2009 – Supporting rigorous professional training for future leaders in the field of sustainable development, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today grants totaling $7.6 million to nine universities in seven countries to establish new Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) programs. The Foundation has committed $15 million to seed…
“I know that vibration wasn’t normal” Jack Lemmon famously uttered these words in the 70s blockbuster The China Syndrome in reference to unusual activity taking place at his nuclear reactor. Lemmon, a shift supervisor at the plant, uncovers alarming evidence that the plant is fundamentally unsound and demands that it be shut down. His concerns…
A power plant in Iceland is set to become the first in the world to try turning carbon dioxide emissions into solid minerals underground, starting this September.
According to Tony Barnston at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, El Niño conditions are now evolving in the tropical Pacific. El Niño is the name given to sustained sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies greater than 0.5°C across the central tropical Pacific Ocean; it is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern…
New Report Details Policies Based on Weather
We know climate has always presented a challenge to farmers, herders, fishermen and others whose livelihoods are closely linked to their environment–particularly in developing countries. A type of insurance called index insurance shows some promise as a climate-risk management tool, according to the latest Climate and Society publication from Columbia’s International Research Institute for Climate…
People often cringe at the thought of water that was once wastewater being treated and used as drinking water. However, in Tampa, Florida, voters will be deciding next year on whether to use reclaimed water as part of the city’s drinking water. Reclaimed water, also known as recycled water, is highly treated wastewater that is…
Last Tuesday (6/16), White House issued a report about how climate change will affect the United States in the next century. The 13 U.S. agencies–including NASA, the Department of State and the Department of Energy–collaborated for this report. Using the most up-to-date scientific data, The Global Climate Change Impacts in The United States report says that unprecedented changes…