State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

water matters17

  • Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    In the still hours just before midnight on March 12, 1928, thousands of people slumbered in the handful of agricultural communities nestled along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California. Tony Harnischfeger and his family slept quietly in a small house at the foot of the St. Francis Dam, a 195-foot high concrete gravity…

  • Western Water Woes – Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go?

    Western Water Woes – Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go?

    Guest Blog by Michael Clark Pat Mulroy, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, spoke on July 20 at a US Chamber of Commerce conference, as part of its Invest in Water Initiative, and proposed a bold idea: build a pipeline to divert Mississippi River flood waters to the West. This, she said,…

  • Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    As climate changes and supplying water becomes more challenging, one company says it has a better management strategy.

  • Removing Dams and Restoring Rivers

    Removing Dams and Restoring Rivers

    On Sept. 17, 2011, the removal of two large hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State, which have blocked migrating salmon from reaching their spawning grounds for almost 100 years, will begin. While this is the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, it is just one of several major dam removals planned…

  • Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop removal mining, an environmentally devastating form of coal mining that involves blowing off the tops of mountains, has already leveled over 500 mountains and buried 1,200 miles of streams in the Appalachians.

  • Canadian Boreal: Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow

    Canadian Boreal: Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow

    Canada’s Boreal forest is far from the public eye, but it contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands.

  • The Less Thirsty Cars of the Future

    The Less Thirsty Cars of the Future

    Good news for clean air and water: President Obama unveiled an agreement last week to raise the bar on fuel economy by 2025.

  • JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang Tours Millennium Villages in East Africa

    JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang Tours Millennium Villages in East Africa

    JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang visited Millennium Villages in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to see the impact of clean and reliable water systems made possible through his company’s donations.

  • Good to the Last Drop: Mobile Tech to Advance Water Infrastructure in Africa

    Good to the Last Drop: Mobile Tech to Advance Water Infrastructure in Africa

    The Earth Institute, in conjuction with several corporate partners, hopes to use mobile technology to revolutionize the way utilities are monitored, metered, and maintained to ensure clean water supplies and reliable energy.

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    Safety Be Dammed: High-Risk Dams on the Rise

    In the still hours just before midnight on March 12, 1928, thousands of people slumbered in the handful of agricultural communities nestled along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California. Tony Harnischfeger and his family slept quietly in a small house at the foot of the St. Francis Dam, a 195-foot high concrete gravity…

  • Western Water Woes – Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go?

    Western Water Woes – Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go?

    Guest Blog by Michael Clark Pat Mulroy, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, spoke on July 20 at a US Chamber of Commerce conference, as part of its Invest in Water Initiative, and proposed a bold idea: build a pipeline to divert Mississippi River flood waters to the West. This, she said,…

  • Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    As climate changes and supplying water becomes more challenging, one company says it has a better management strategy.

  • Removing Dams and Restoring Rivers

    Removing Dams and Restoring Rivers

    On Sept. 17, 2011, the removal of two large hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State, which have blocked migrating salmon from reaching their spawning grounds for almost 100 years, will begin. While this is the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, it is just one of several major dam removals planned…

  • Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop removal mining, an environmentally devastating form of coal mining that involves blowing off the tops of mountains, has already leveled over 500 mountains and buried 1,200 miles of streams in the Appalachians.

  • Canadian Boreal: Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow

    Canadian Boreal: Protecting Today’s Water for Tomorrow

    Canada’s Boreal forest is far from the public eye, but it contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands.

  • The Less Thirsty Cars of the Future

    The Less Thirsty Cars of the Future

    Good news for clean air and water: President Obama unveiled an agreement last week to raise the bar on fuel economy by 2025.

  • JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang Tours Millennium Villages in East Africa

    JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang Tours Millennium Villages in East Africa

    JM Eagle CEO Walter Wang visited Millennium Villages in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to see the impact of clean and reliable water systems made possible through his company’s donations.

  • Good to the Last Drop: Mobile Tech to Advance Water Infrastructure in Africa

    Good to the Last Drop: Mobile Tech to Advance Water Infrastructure in Africa

    The Earth Institute, in conjuction with several corporate partners, hopes to use mobile technology to revolutionize the way utilities are monitored, metered, and maintained to ensure clean water supplies and reliable energy.