adaptation9
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Tips for Communicating Climate Change
Last week the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) published a concise guide for “scientists, journalists, educators, political aides, and the interested public” on the challenges of communicating climate change. Below are some common excuses that lead to a lack of action on climate change and tips from the CRED guide that explain what…
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Economics of Climate Change: Example from Ethiopia
Experts from Swiss Re, Oxfam America, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society recently participated in a panel discussion at Columbia recently on weather index insurance for climate change adaptation. The event, organized as part of efforts to support Climate Week in New York, was sponsored by the New York Committee for Oxfam…
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Assessing Global Metrics for Agriculture
On October 1, I attended a symposium entitled “Going Beyond Rhetoric: Metrics for Assessing Global Agriculture,” hosted by the Earth Institute and convened at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fifteen stories in the air, we were surrounded by miles of urban landscape — Queens to the east, Manhattan to the west, and no…
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Plasma Gasification: A Solution to the Waste Disposal Dilemma?
Waste not, Want not? The source of this proverb is unknown, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say it wasn’t your average (modern) American. I say this because your average American runs through 56 tons of trash a year – including 500 plastic cups and 650 pounds of paper. If we were to…
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A new report says climate change could spur unprecedented migration
Could climate change cause the greatest human migration in history? A new report says that millions of people around the globe have already been forced to relocate due to climate-related impacts, and it explains why hundreds of millions more may be displaced in the next few decades. The report, written by researchers at the Center…
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Climate & Terrorism – Linked?
Dennis Blair is a serious man. A retired, four-star admiral with a legendary knack for water skiing behind his warships, the multi-talented Blair currently serves as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under President Obama. This position oversees the 16 national intelligence agencies, coordinating their efforts while informing the policy makers – including the President,…
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Climate change finance as a tool for women’s empowerment
When gender is mentioned in the context of climate change, it’s generally to point out women’s greater vulnerability to climate change’s impacts. Indeed, women do tend to be more vulnerable than men, especially in less-developed countries, and they have different capacities to cope. The reasons for the gender differences include rights to home and land…
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Health people, meet climate people!
Since Monday, 12 public-health professionals and climate scientists from ten countries have been at Columbia University’s Lamont campus to learn how to use climate information to make better decisions in health-care planning and disease prevention. They’re taking part in the second Summer Institute on Climate Information for Public Health, organized by the International Research Institute…
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Adaptive Strategies in Managing Climate Change Risk
With the threat of rising sea level due to thermal expansion (water increases volume as it gets warmer) and melting of land-based ice (such as glaciers and polar ice sheets), coastal cities are planning ways to minimize the impacts of flooding on city infrastructure. The Thames Barrier (pictured) is one such engineering solution. It is…
Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026