State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

North America5

  • Reusing Dirty Water

    Reusing Dirty Water

    Columbia Water Center guest lecturer Raymond Farinato talks about increasing water supply by reusing wastewater in industrial applications.

  • Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

    Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

    In Portland, Oregon Federal Water Treatment Rule LT2 faces opposition due to high water costs and what its City Commissioner describes as its “unique water source”.

  • Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

    Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

    New York City’s trio of water and sewer czars, explain the reasons behind rising rates.

  • Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

    Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

    Pennsylvania well spills tens of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid into a nearby creek; Gasland director Josh Fox talks to Columbia University about renewable energy.

  • Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

    Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

    Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.

  • Update: Youth-led Project H2O Continues to Inspire

    Update: Youth-led Project H2O Continues to Inspire

    We first reported about the project by a group of Puerto Rican high school students, Project H2O (Help to Others), and the documentary film about the project being made by the parents of one of the students, in August 2010. The students are continuing to develop Project H2O in their school, in an educational phase…

  • Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

    Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

    In an effort to present various views on hydraulic fracturing, a panel of experts spoke to the public at Barnard College in New York City last Tuesday night. Known colloquially as fracking or hydrofracking, hydraulic fracturing has been regarded by many as a potential threat to New York City’s drinking water supply. The mere possibility…

  • Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

    Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

    As Japan’s nuclear meltdown catastrophe continues in the wake of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese power company executives and officials face an increasingly challenging situation. Tuesday morning, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — dumped more than 11,000 gallons of radioactive seawater into…

  • Wild Oysters Deemed ‘Functionally Extinct’

    Wild Oysters Deemed ‘Functionally Extinct’

    A recent Valentine’s Day-inspired article in the Grist pointed out that oysters are the only delicacy that enhances The Mood and water quality. Don’t get too excited, though: a new study published this week in BioScience revealed that oysters are “functionally extinct” in many parts of the world where they were once abundant, and nothing…

  • Reusing Dirty Water

    Reusing Dirty Water

    Columbia Water Center guest lecturer Raymond Farinato talks about increasing water supply by reusing wastewater in industrial applications.

  • Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

    Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

    In Portland, Oregon Federal Water Treatment Rule LT2 faces opposition due to high water costs and what its City Commissioner describes as its “unique water source”.

  • Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

    Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

    New York City’s trio of water and sewer czars, explain the reasons behind rising rates.

  • Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

    Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

    Pennsylvania well spills tens of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid into a nearby creek; Gasland director Josh Fox talks to Columbia University about renewable energy.

  • Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

    Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

    Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.

  • Update: Youth-led Project H2O Continues to Inspire

    Update: Youth-led Project H2O Continues to Inspire

    We first reported about the project by a group of Puerto Rican high school students, Project H2O (Help to Others), and the documentary film about the project being made by the parents of one of the students, in August 2010. The students are continuing to develop Project H2O in their school, in an educational phase…

  • Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

    Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

    In an effort to present various views on hydraulic fracturing, a panel of experts spoke to the public at Barnard College in New York City last Tuesday night. Known colloquially as fracking or hydrofracking, hydraulic fracturing has been regarded by many as a potential threat to New York City’s drinking water supply. The mere possibility…

  • Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

    Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

    As Japan’s nuclear meltdown catastrophe continues in the wake of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese power company executives and officials face an increasingly challenging situation. Tuesday morning, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — dumped more than 11,000 gallons of radioactive seawater into…

  • Wild Oysters Deemed ‘Functionally Extinct’

    Wild Oysters Deemed ‘Functionally Extinct’

    A recent Valentine’s Day-inspired article in the Grist pointed out that oysters are the only delicacy that enhances The Mood and water quality. Don’t get too excited, though: a new study published this week in BioScience revealed that oysters are “functionally extinct” in many parts of the world where they were once abundant, and nothing…