State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

developing countries24

  • Losing your glaciers? Build your own.

    Scientific American has an interesting photo piece by Gaia Vince about a place in the Himalayas that is adapting to climate change by creating its own glaciers.

  • Your friendly neighborhood Sinkhole: a sign of things to come?

    Your old infrastructure is going to eat you alive. Well, maybe not you, exactly, but it is eating some people alive. I’m talking about the astounding sinkhole that formed in Guatemala City over the weekend.

  • The Garden on the Tibibas Plain, Mali: Women’s ag. project takes off

    What follows are excerpts from a report by Severin Oman on a Women’s Community Garden project in Mali, West Africa, sponsored by the Earth Institute Millennium Village Project (MVP) and the Columbia Water Center. The project is located within the Tiby, Mali, Millennium Village cluster.

  • The chaal and local groundwater management in India: When progress isn’t progress

    I recently came across an article in the Tehelka blog, which made me want to learn more. It was about a traditional water management system in the Uttarakhand region in northern India that has worked for years, but is being destroyed by funding meant to ‘modernize’ it.

  • The Economist: Special Report on Water, a primer for the water crisis

    The Economist has released a Special Report on Water, dated May 22nd, 2010, written by John Grimond. The 18 page report contains 9 short but substantial articles giving an overview of global water issues.

  • Irrigation project success in Mali

    Columbia Water Center is working in Mali, Africa, as part of its PepsiCo Foundation funded project to improve rural water use and livelihoods. The Mali component of the project aims to develop an effective irrigation system to improve agricultural productivity and food security.

  • The Water Conflict in Ecuador

    Over the last year, the government has been working on passing a new water bill, the Hydraulic Resources Law, which would, as I understand it, allow the concessions to stand, codify privatization of water rights and centralize decision-making at the state level, possibly further excluding traditional local water-management structures from the process. In the last…

  • Vote for the Earth Institute in the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment

    Do you share our belief that the world has the know-how and resources to solve our environmental challenges in a sustainable manner? Do you support efforts by the scientific community to help understand the effects of climate change, reduce environmental degradation, and advance renewable energy technologies? Then please vote for the Columbia Water Center’s parent…

  • Environmental Regeneration in Haiti: the Water Problem

    Columbia Water Center research scientist Lior Asaf is working in Haiti to understand the existing environmental conditions, and look for ways to improve people’s lives for the long term. One part of the project focuses on the Port Piment watershed basin on the southwestern end of the island.

Earth Month Graphic Collage: "Our Power, Our Planet - April 2025"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. This Earth Month, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Losing your glaciers? Build your own.

    Scientific American has an interesting photo piece by Gaia Vince about a place in the Himalayas that is adapting to climate change by creating its own glaciers.

  • Your friendly neighborhood Sinkhole: a sign of things to come?

    Your old infrastructure is going to eat you alive. Well, maybe not you, exactly, but it is eating some people alive. I’m talking about the astounding sinkhole that formed in Guatemala City over the weekend.

  • The Garden on the Tibibas Plain, Mali: Women’s ag. project takes off

    What follows are excerpts from a report by Severin Oman on a Women’s Community Garden project in Mali, West Africa, sponsored by the Earth Institute Millennium Village Project (MVP) and the Columbia Water Center. The project is located within the Tiby, Mali, Millennium Village cluster.

  • The chaal and local groundwater management in India: When progress isn’t progress

    I recently came across an article in the Tehelka blog, which made me want to learn more. It was about a traditional water management system in the Uttarakhand region in northern India that has worked for years, but is being destroyed by funding meant to ‘modernize’ it.

  • The Economist: Special Report on Water, a primer for the water crisis

    The Economist has released a Special Report on Water, dated May 22nd, 2010, written by John Grimond. The 18 page report contains 9 short but substantial articles giving an overview of global water issues.

  • Irrigation project success in Mali

    Columbia Water Center is working in Mali, Africa, as part of its PepsiCo Foundation funded project to improve rural water use and livelihoods. The Mali component of the project aims to develop an effective irrigation system to improve agricultural productivity and food security.

  • The Water Conflict in Ecuador

    Over the last year, the government has been working on passing a new water bill, the Hydraulic Resources Law, which would, as I understand it, allow the concessions to stand, codify privatization of water rights and centralize decision-making at the state level, possibly further excluding traditional local water-management structures from the process. In the last…

  • Vote for the Earth Institute in the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment

    Do you share our belief that the world has the know-how and resources to solve our environmental challenges in a sustainable manner? Do you support efforts by the scientific community to help understand the effects of climate change, reduce environmental degradation, and advance renewable energy technologies? Then please vote for the Columbia Water Center’s parent…

  • Environmental Regeneration in Haiti: the Water Problem

    Columbia Water Center research scientist Lior Asaf is working in Haiti to understand the existing environmental conditions, and look for ways to improve people’s lives for the long term. One part of the project focuses on the Port Piment watershed basin on the southwestern end of the island.