water matters45
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Gridlock in Everglades Land Deal
For many who have been following the saga of the Everglades of South Florida, it seemed that restoration and conservation plans formed during the last decade were only getting more complicated and mired in bureaucracy. That is, until Gov. Charlie Crist stepped up to the plate to make a game-changing proposition to buy back land…
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Punjab: Less Water, More Money (Part 2)
Last week, I began the story of declining groundwater tables in India. I talked about the current system of subsidized energy, the need to change it, and the willingness of farmers to adapt to such changes. Even before changing the irrigation in the crop’s lifecycle, however, an initial step that farmers can take starts with…
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On the Surface of Climate Change
Blog Action Day 2009’s theme this year is Climate Change. Thousands of people on blogs all over the world are writing today on this single issue, and the Columbia Water Center is joining them. On Climate In a recent study at Columbia University, correlations were drawn between sea surface temperature on the coast of Africa…
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Punjab: Less Water, More Money (Part 1)
In an earlier blog, I highlighted the story of declining groundwater in many parts of India. This story is one of agricultural intensification and widespread groundwater pumping, facilitated by highly subsidized or free electricity. As the Government of India sought food security for the nation, it promoted the procurement of rice and wheat from the…
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Water Reflections: Crisis of water supplies in New Delhi, India
Written in collaboration with Meghna Bhattacharjee. Failed monsoon rains put a cloud over the Columbia Water Center’s journey to India this summer. Soaring temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity made for a hazy sweltering experience which begged for some precipitous relief. As we traveled around New Delhi from air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned rooms,…
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Water/commodity series (4)Corn feed consumption: China, US, and India
Among various uses of corn, the three major uses—food, animal feed, and biofuel production—compete in demand. Here we analyzed the percentage of corn for animal feed compared to total domestic consumption of corn (including feed, food, seed, and industrial uses) in US, China, and India.
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Water/commodity series (3)Wheat import/export
We found top three importers and exporters of wheat in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2008.
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Water/commodity series (2)Per capita wheat production: China, US, and India
Using wheat production and population data for China, US, and India since 1960, we analyzed per capita wheat production. Because per capita wheat consumption is fairly stable over time (though it can change a little bit by changing lifestyle, diet, economic status, etc), from per capita wheat production, it can be shown whether a country…
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Water/commodity series (1)Wheat yield: China,US, and India
China shows the biggest improvement in yield over last 50 years; it improved almost by six times, while United States only doubled and India tripled. Although China and India showed very similar yield level in 1960s, China started to take off around early 1970. United States shows a relatively little change in yield and China…
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