State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

water matters26

  • Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Everyone has skeletons in their closets, desalination is no exception. Burying them does a disservice to the millions of public dollars that have been invested. Letʼs celebrate their weaknesses so that we may never repeat their mistakes. There may be many dozens of such projects, but here are a few that have experienced their share…

  • The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    For more than three decades, the farmers in Northern Gujarat State, in India, have produced abundant food crops, and have had a thriving dairy industry. In order to make that happen, they have been using once plentiful underground water resources. Because local aquifers are being replenished more slowly than the water is being withdrawn, groundwater…

  • Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    There is powerful information waiting to be unleashed in water data. If it were set free it would force us to re-think how we use, develop, sell, transfer, and dispose of water.

  • Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Typically, discussions about hydropower center around hydroelectric dams and ocean wind turbines. That could change, however, if Verdant Power – an energy company based out of New York – succeeds in its latest venture.

  • Protecting Our Waterways: The Waterkeeper Alliance

    Protecting Our Waterways: The Waterkeeper Alliance

    At any given time, there are dedicated environmentalists around the U.S. working to protect our waterways.These “keepers” are all members of the Waterkeeper Alliance (WKA), an organization of over 200 keepers globally, defending their communities’ rights to clean water.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

  • Helping Water Work for Women in Mali

    Helping Water Work for Women in Mali

    Last month I went to visit our Mali project site with two other Water Center staffers. We visited the village and garden where we worked last year (Koila Markala and Tibibas, respectively) and many other gardens where we hope to work in the future.

  • E.P.A. Sued for Trying to Protect the Environment

    E.P.A. Sued for Trying to Protect the Environment

    Early last month, Florida sued the US Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to block new clean water regulations that the agency announced last month and which it plans to begin enforcing in 2012.

  • Chromium-6 Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities

    Chromium-6 Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities

    The carcinogenic chemical chromium-6 (or hexavalent chromium) has been found in the drinking water of 31 of 35 U.S. cities analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which released results of its tests on December 20.

Overhead view of Columbia campus with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2026: Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026

  • Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Everyone has skeletons in their closets, desalination is no exception. Burying them does a disservice to the millions of public dollars that have been invested. Letʼs celebrate their weaknesses so that we may never repeat their mistakes. There may be many dozens of such projects, but here are a few that have experienced their share…

  • The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    For more than three decades, the farmers in Northern Gujarat State, in India, have produced abundant food crops, and have had a thriving dairy industry. In order to make that happen, they have been using once plentiful underground water resources. Because local aquifers are being replenished more slowly than the water is being withdrawn, groundwater…

  • Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    There is powerful information waiting to be unleashed in water data. If it were set free it would force us to re-think how we use, develop, sell, transfer, and dispose of water.

  • Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Typically, discussions about hydropower center around hydroelectric dams and ocean wind turbines. That could change, however, if Verdant Power – an energy company based out of New York – succeeds in its latest venture.

  • Protecting Our Waterways: The Waterkeeper Alliance

    Protecting Our Waterways: The Waterkeeper Alliance

    At any given time, there are dedicated environmentalists around the U.S. working to protect our waterways.These “keepers” are all members of the Waterkeeper Alliance (WKA), an organization of over 200 keepers globally, defending their communities’ rights to clean water.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

  • Helping Water Work for Women in Mali

    Helping Water Work for Women in Mali

    Last month I went to visit our Mali project site with two other Water Center staffers. We visited the village and garden where we worked last year (Koila Markala and Tibibas, respectively) and many other gardens where we hope to work in the future.

  • E.P.A. Sued for Trying to Protect the Environment

    E.P.A. Sued for Trying to Protect the Environment

    Early last month, Florida sued the US Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to block new clean water regulations that the agency announced last month and which it plans to begin enforcing in 2012.

  • Chromium-6 Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities

    Chromium-6 Found in Tap Water of 31 U.S. Cities

    The carcinogenic chemical chromium-6 (or hexavalent chromium) has been found in the drinking water of 31 of 35 U.S. cities analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which released results of its tests on December 20.