water matters37
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Water and Energy – an Integrated Approach
In the news, electricity and resource use seems to get the most exposure – people are looking at emissions, global warming, and oil and coal dependence. One thing that is for certain is that electricity use needs to decrease if we are to decreased our dependence on oil, our CO2 emissions, and become a greener…
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LIMPET: Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer
I recently posted a piece on the ‘Deep Green’ project to generate electricity from deep ocean currents. Here is another of the ocean-based generation schemes: Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer, or LIMPET.
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The Water Conflict in Ecuador
Over the last year, the government has been working on passing a new water bill, the Hydraulic Resources Law, which would, as I understand it, allow the concessions to stand, codify privatization of water rights and centralize decision-making at the state level, possibly further excluding traditional local water-management structures from the process. In the last…
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Sea-kites harvest the energy of the ocean
A test site for a process called ‘Deep Green’ will be built off the coast of Northern Ireland in 2011, according to Minesto, a Saab spinoff. Sea kites will fly deep under water, using ocean currents to lift them, while an attached turbine harvests the the kinetic energy and turns it into electricity.
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The Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science
255 prominent scientists from all over the United States published an open letter in today’s Science Magazine, in defense of science, scientists and the scientific process in the face of vocal and aggressive climate change skeptics. In case you don’t subscribe to Science Magazine, it’s worthwhile reproducing the letter here.
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Disney’s Oceans, the timely movie
On Earth Day, Disney Nature released the film ‘Oceans’. It’s a big-screen, high quality look into a part of the world that most of us can only imagine. Less nature documentary and more visual poem, the film is light on information and heavy on inspiration.
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Seeing the Big Picture of Climate Change
L. Douglas James, a former Hydrologist for the National Science Foundation (retired), is a Big Picture guy. Concerned that scientific research and public policy are both too focused on isolated bits of the climate change issue, he had a go at inspiring attendees of a Columbia Water Center Seminar to branch out, make connections, and…
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Hydraulic Fracturing – Potential for Contamination of Drinking Water Sources
Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used by the oil and gas industry to facilitate natural gas recovery in underground low permeability coalbed methane wells. This operation improves the extraction efficiency of methane by creating fissions or fractures in underground rock formations, generally 5,000 – 20,000 feet below the ground surface. Highly pressurized hydraulic fracturing fluids,…
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Vote for the Earth Institute in the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment
Do you share our belief that the world has the know-how and resources to solve our environmental challenges in a sustainable manner? Do you support efforts by the scientific community to help understand the effects of climate change, reduce environmental degradation, and advance renewable energy technologies? Then please vote for the Columbia Water Center’s parent…
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