State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

sustainable development42

  • New Private Funds to Support Millennium Development Goals

    Today, two of the world’s leading companies announce grants and technical support totaling more than $1,000,000 aimed at ending global poverty by 2015. Nestlé and the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development each pledged support for the Earth Institute’s work through the Millennium Villages project (MVP) as world leaders gather at the Millennium Development Goals summit…

  • More Ways to Study Sustainable Development Than Ever Before

    More Ways to Study Sustainable Development Than Ever Before

    There are several new courses and educational opportunities open to students this fall: Undergraduate Major in Sustainable Development (NEW MAJOR) Economic and Financial Methods for Sustainable Development (Satyajit Bose) The objective of this course is to introduce students to the skills and methods necessary to understand and evaluate the economic and financial aspects of sustainable…

  • Privatizing Responsibility on Water Use

    Privatizing Responsibility on Water Use

    I would like to say congratulations to the Environmental Protection Agency for it’s recent “We’re for Water” campaign to promote responsible water use (after all, who can argue with low-flow toilets and efficient showerheads?) but I am seriously concerned about the campaign’s underlying message. “We’re for Water” features families competing with each other to see…

  • Global Population Growth and Water Scarcity Q&A

    Global Population Growth and Water Scarcity Q&A

    Russell Sticklor with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program in Washington, DC. recently contacted me requesting my thoughts on a number of issues for an article he is writing on global population growth and water scarcity for the magazine, Outdoor America. I thought some of the comments might be interesting to our blog…

  • New Initiative to Fast-Track Development in Dry Areas of East Africa

    Ministers from six countries in the region endorse project targeting pastoralist communities

  • The PlayPump: What Went Wrong?

    Earlier this week, PBS’s Frontline ran a story about the PlayPump, a technology that was supposed to bring drinking water to thousands of African communities by harnessing the power of children at play. Now dozens of PlayPumps in Mozambique sit idle, and in many villages PlayPumps have been removed, and hand pumps reinstalled.

  • Water is coming to Inga and Pedra Fina, Brazil

    Water Safety and Sustainability: Resilient System Design under Climate Stress The Columbia Water Center program in Ceará, Brazil, working in partnership with the Universidade Federal do Ceará, and with local and regional governments, develops appropriate drinking water infrastructure in rural communities. (Learn more in this blog piece) The following photos are from a progress report…

  • 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.

  • UN Secretary-General Makes First Trip to Millennium Village

    Key Data Toward Achieving Millennium Development Goals Released

  • New Private Funds to Support Millennium Development Goals

    Today, two of the world’s leading companies announce grants and technical support totaling more than $1,000,000 aimed at ending global poverty by 2015. Nestlé and the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development each pledged support for the Earth Institute’s work through the Millennium Villages project (MVP) as world leaders gather at the Millennium Development Goals summit…

  • More Ways to Study Sustainable Development Than Ever Before

    More Ways to Study Sustainable Development Than Ever Before

    There are several new courses and educational opportunities open to students this fall: Undergraduate Major in Sustainable Development (NEW MAJOR) Economic and Financial Methods for Sustainable Development (Satyajit Bose) The objective of this course is to introduce students to the skills and methods necessary to understand and evaluate the economic and financial aspects of sustainable…

  • Privatizing Responsibility on Water Use

    Privatizing Responsibility on Water Use

    I would like to say congratulations to the Environmental Protection Agency for it’s recent “We’re for Water” campaign to promote responsible water use (after all, who can argue with low-flow toilets and efficient showerheads?) but I am seriously concerned about the campaign’s underlying message. “We’re for Water” features families competing with each other to see…

  • Global Population Growth and Water Scarcity Q&A

    Global Population Growth and Water Scarcity Q&A

    Russell Sticklor with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program in Washington, DC. recently contacted me requesting my thoughts on a number of issues for an article he is writing on global population growth and water scarcity for the magazine, Outdoor America. I thought some of the comments might be interesting to our blog…

  • New Initiative to Fast-Track Development in Dry Areas of East Africa

    Ministers from six countries in the region endorse project targeting pastoralist communities

  • The PlayPump: What Went Wrong?

    Earlier this week, PBS’s Frontline ran a story about the PlayPump, a technology that was supposed to bring drinking water to thousands of African communities by harnessing the power of children at play. Now dozens of PlayPumps in Mozambique sit idle, and in many villages PlayPumps have been removed, and hand pumps reinstalled.

  • Water is coming to Inga and Pedra Fina, Brazil

    Water Safety and Sustainability: Resilient System Design under Climate Stress The Columbia Water Center program in Ceará, Brazil, working in partnership with the Universidade Federal do Ceará, and with local and regional governments, develops appropriate drinking water infrastructure in rural communities. (Learn more in this blog piece) The following photos are from a progress report…

  • 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.

  • UN Secretary-General Makes First Trip to Millennium Village

    Key Data Toward Achieving Millennium Development Goals Released