State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    The potential of climate services depends on the strength of partnerships between those who provide climate information and those who need it, says Zhang Zuqiang, Deputy Director of China’s National Climate Center.

  • Data’s Power to Spur Environmental Progress

    Data’s Power to Spur Environmental Progress

    In January, 132 countries received their environmental report cards. The Environmental Performance Index has goaded leaders into action by letting them see their countries’ strengths and weaknesses compared to other countries.

  • China’s Decade Plan for Water

    China’s Decade Plan for Water

    For the first time, China’s No. 1 central document outlining the government’s priorities for the coming year focuses on the construction of water resources acknowledging its importance as a “strategic resource” and its necessity to the economy.

  • Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    In the still hours just before midnight on March 12, 1928, thousands of people slumbered in the handful of agricultural communities nestled along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California. Tony Harnischfeger and his family slept quietly in a small house at the foot of the St. Francis Dam, a 195-foot high concrete gravity…

  • The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    China already has half the world’s large hydroelectric dams (25,800), but along the Yangtze River and its tributaries, 100 large dams are either being planned or built and 43 additional dams are in the works.

  • How China Is Dealing With Its Water Crisis

    How China Is Dealing With Its Water Crisis

    Recently I traveled to Southeast Yunnan in China to see the spectacular Yuan Yang rice terraces, flooded and ready for spring planting. Rice is a very water-hungry crop and China is the world’s largest producer of rice and grain. Yet China is facing a perilous water crisis.

  • Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Columbia Water Center, The Asia Society and The Economist are cosponsoring the event Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis, Wednesday July 14, 2010, 6:30pm at the Asia Society.

  • Himalayan Glacier Melt: The Real Problem

    Every day I hear scientists and media people talking about climate change in a way that is often sensational or misses the real challenges. This will be a series of blogs in which I will discuss a few of these cases. Lets start with: The Himalayan Glacier Melt

  • China and India officially agree to associate with Copenhagen Accord

    This week, China and India agreed to add their names to the list of countries officially “supporting” the Copenhagen Accord. Athough both countries had previously submitted emission reduction commitments to be included in the Accord, agreeing to be listed is a gesture of official endorsement. In their letters to the Secretariat both India and China…

  • Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    The potential of climate services depends on the strength of partnerships between those who provide climate information and those who need it, says Zhang Zuqiang, Deputy Director of China’s National Climate Center.

  • Data’s Power to Spur Environmental Progress

    Data’s Power to Spur Environmental Progress

    In January, 132 countries received their environmental report cards. The Environmental Performance Index has goaded leaders into action by letting them see their countries’ strengths and weaknesses compared to other countries.

  • China’s Decade Plan for Water

    China’s Decade Plan for Water

    For the first time, China’s No. 1 central document outlining the government’s priorities for the coming year focuses on the construction of water resources acknowledging its importance as a “strategic resource” and its necessity to the economy.

  • Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    In the still hours just before midnight on March 12, 1928, thousands of people slumbered in the handful of agricultural communities nestled along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California. Tony Harnischfeger and his family slept quietly in a small house at the foot of the St. Francis Dam, a 195-foot high concrete gravity…

  • The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    China already has half the world’s large hydroelectric dams (25,800), but along the Yangtze River and its tributaries, 100 large dams are either being planned or built and 43 additional dams are in the works.

  • How China Is Dealing With Its Water Crisis

    How China Is Dealing With Its Water Crisis

    Recently I traveled to Southeast Yunnan in China to see the spectacular Yuan Yang rice terraces, flooded and ready for spring planting. Rice is a very water-hungry crop and China is the world’s largest producer of rice and grain. Yet China is facing a perilous water crisis.

  • Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Columbia Water Center, The Asia Society and The Economist are cosponsoring the event Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis, Wednesday July 14, 2010, 6:30pm at the Asia Society.

  • Himalayan Glacier Melt: The Real Problem

    Every day I hear scientists and media people talking about climate change in a way that is often sensational or misses the real challenges. This will be a series of blogs in which I will discuss a few of these cases. Lets start with: The Himalayan Glacier Melt

  • China and India officially agree to associate with Copenhagen Accord

    This week, China and India agreed to add their names to the list of countries officially “supporting” the Copenhagen Accord. Athough both countries had previously submitted emission reduction commitments to be included in the Accord, agreeing to be listed is a gesture of official endorsement. In their letters to the Secretariat both India and China…