State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

jordan

  • In Biblical Land, Searching for Droughts Past and Future

    In Biblical Land, Searching for Droughts Past and Future

    Human-influenced climate warming has already reduced rainfall and increased evaporation in the Mideast, worsening water shortages. Up to now, climate scientists had projected that rainfall could decline another 20 percent by 2100. But the Dead Sea cores suggest that things could become much worse, much faster.

  • Photo Essay: The Dead Sea, Living Waters and Megadrought

    Photo Essay: The Dead Sea, Living Waters and Megadrought

    Thousands of years before Biblical times, during a period when temperatures were unusually high, the lands around the Dead Sea now occupied by Israel, Jordan and surrounding nations suffered megadroughts far worse than any recorded by humans. Warming climate now threatens to return such conditions to this already hard-pressed region.

  • Nature Has No Boundaries

    Nature Has No Boundaries

    Rivers, deserts, and species don’t stop at borders or fences. They are not participating in the conflict in the Middle East, but they are affected by it.

  • Environmental Peace-Building in the Middle East

    Environmental Peace-Building in the Middle East

    The next part of our tour provided an excellent example of the challenges people working toward environmental peace-building in Israel, Jordan and Palestine face: a site that we were unable to visit.

  • Dead Pool: the Depletion of a Shared Natural Resource

    Dead Pool: the Depletion of a Shared Natural Resource

    The Dead Sea could soon enough become a dead “pool” of sea. But perhaps there’s another alternative.

  • Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.

  • In an Environmental and Political Conflict Zone, Hope for Peace

    In an Environmental and Political Conflict Zone, Hope for Peace

    The Middle East is the only place on earth where the neighbors are so close and so far at the same time.

  • How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    The Dead Sea has been receding at an average rate of 1 meter per year. How can this important historic, cultural and environmental landmark be rehabilitated in one of the world’s driest regions while improving water access for Israel, Palestine and Jordan?

  • Students Travel to the Middle East

    Students Travel to the Middle East

    Students from Columbia University and Tel Aviv University are traveling through Jordan and Israel to learn about environmental challenges facing the two countries. They’ll be posting here about their experiences. You can also follow them on social media at #CUJordanIsrael2016.

  • In Biblical Land, Searching for Droughts Past and Future

    In Biblical Land, Searching for Droughts Past and Future

    Human-influenced climate warming has already reduced rainfall and increased evaporation in the Mideast, worsening water shortages. Up to now, climate scientists had projected that rainfall could decline another 20 percent by 2100. But the Dead Sea cores suggest that things could become much worse, much faster.

  • Photo Essay: The Dead Sea, Living Waters and Megadrought

    Photo Essay: The Dead Sea, Living Waters and Megadrought

    Thousands of years before Biblical times, during a period when temperatures were unusually high, the lands around the Dead Sea now occupied by Israel, Jordan and surrounding nations suffered megadroughts far worse than any recorded by humans. Warming climate now threatens to return such conditions to this already hard-pressed region.

  • Nature Has No Boundaries

    Nature Has No Boundaries

    Rivers, deserts, and species don’t stop at borders or fences. They are not participating in the conflict in the Middle East, but they are affected by it.

  • Environmental Peace-Building in the Middle East

    Environmental Peace-Building in the Middle East

    The next part of our tour provided an excellent example of the challenges people working toward environmental peace-building in Israel, Jordan and Palestine face: a site that we were unable to visit.

  • Dead Pool: the Depletion of a Shared Natural Resource

    Dead Pool: the Depletion of a Shared Natural Resource

    The Dead Sea could soon enough become a dead “pool” of sea. But perhaps there’s another alternative.

  • Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.

  • In an Environmental and Political Conflict Zone, Hope for Peace

    In an Environmental and Political Conflict Zone, Hope for Peace

    The Middle East is the only place on earth where the neighbors are so close and so far at the same time.

  • How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    The Dead Sea has been receding at an average rate of 1 meter per year. How can this important historic, cultural and environmental landmark be rehabilitated in one of the world’s driest regions while improving water access for Israel, Palestine and Jordan?

  • Students Travel to the Middle East

    Students Travel to the Middle East

    Students from Columbia University and Tel Aviv University are traveling through Jordan and Israel to learn about environmental challenges facing the two countries. They’ll be posting here about their experiences. You can also follow them on social media at #CUJordanIsrael2016.