climate change124
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From Sendai to Rio: A Call for Action
The people living on the northeast coast of Japan had learned to expect large earthquakes. But despite being one of the best-prepared nations, they were caught off-guard by the force of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that devastated their coastline and led to the meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
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Save those Acorns for the Apocalypse
As biodiversity takes a hit from climate change, forward thinking groups store seed samples in gene banks. The idea: if an entire species is wiped out, scientists can repopulate from the samples. Hello, plant versions of Adam and Eve.
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Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/01
EPA to impose first greenhouse gas limits on power plants, Washington Post, Mar 27 The US EPA issued its first regulations addressing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The regulation is a New Source Performance Standard, meaning that it applies only to new power plants that are not yet permitted or under construction. The standard…
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Top Planetary Scientist to Lead Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Provost John H. Coatsworth have named Sean C. Solomon, a leading geophysicist whose research has combined studies of the deep earth with missions to the moon and the solar system’s inner planets, to be director of Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Solomon, a research scientist and director emeritus at…
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Rare Earth Metals: Another Challenge for the Green Economy?
Rare earth metals play an important role in our envisaged carbon-free future, but their availability in the future is under question for different political and availability issues, which is worrying for planned reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series
The Earth Institute’s Columbia Climate Center presents “Managing Carbon on Land in the Context of Climate Change,” with Richard Houghton, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center as part of a new Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series.
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Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/11
Slicing Silicon Thinner to Cut the Price of Solar Cells, NY Times, Mar 13: The cost of silicon has been an important barrier to expanding the penetration of solar photovoltaic power. New manufacturing techniques using less silicon could help dramatically reduce the price of producing solar cells, potentially helping expand the industry and bringing down…
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New Study Lowers Estimate of Ancient Sea-Level Rise
But Projections for Increase Today Still Loom Large
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Facing the Food and Water Challenges of the Future
The global population, now 7 billion, is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 and will require 70 percent more food than we are producing today, and much more water for agriculture, drinking and industry. Will we have enough water to meet the demand?

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!
