Pioneering Program Connects Educators with Research Scientists
Blog Action Day 2009’s theme this year is Climate Change. Thousands of people on blogs all over the world are writing today on this single issue, and the Columbia Water Center is joining them. On Climate In a recent study at Columbia University, correlations were drawn between sea surface temperature on the coast of Africa…
Typically, development professionals do not have the background in the natural and health sciences they need to properly understand the complex forces affecting issues such as hunger and extreme poverty. The innovative M.P.A. in Development Practice, which started this fall, is meant to help change that. This degree is the first of a network of…
In public debate about the future of America’s energy policy, the Northeast region is in contention regarding gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale field. With this project, we focused on the Marcellus Shale gas extraction along the Upper Delaware, in the Town of Hancock. The process of extraction includes potential environmental hazards and while contentious,…
In an earlier blog, I highlighted the story of declining groundwater in many parts of India. This story is one of agricultural intensification and widespread groundwater pumping, facilitated by highly subsidized or free electricity. As the Government of India sought food security for the nation, it promoted the procurement of rice and wheat from the…
Nick Frearson, Gravimeter Instrument Team, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: The flight engineer ticks off instruments over the intercom. “LVIS, ready.” “Gravity, ready.” “DACOM, ready.” We are about to take the DC-8 on its first test flight before Antarctica. The pilots, clipped and professional, have just described the day’s flight plans and the plane is bustling with…
Food Prices May Rise 121% by 2050 Due to Climate Change, Business Standard A report released on Wednesday by the International Food Policy Research Institute outlines the threats to agricultural security posed by climate change. Food prices, already expected to increase significantly by 2050, could rise further as the effects from climate change continue to…
Before airplanes and satellite phones, polar exploration was a more dangerous undertaking than it is now. Many who set out for the frozen ends of the earth did not come back. Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and British explorer Ernest Shackleton were some of the few who brought their entire crews home safely. Nansen began his…
Low-Level Aerial Surveys Aim to Understand Rapid Antarctic Melting