State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

water matters50

  • 5th World Water Forum

    Representatives from the agriculture and energy industries convened here at the 5th World Water Forum to debate how, why, where and whether humankind’s rising demands for water, oil, food and energy will lead to conflict or cooperation. The Forum tackled issues of food and energy, conflicts over water, and pragmatic synergies among vital resource sectors. …

  • Fishing for Pollution

    Scientists at the University of Essex have developed robotic fish that can detect pollution. Unlike previous robotic fish, these fish have autonomous navigation capabilities which enable them to swim independently. For recharging and data transmission, the fish are able to return to their charging hub where the data provide real time source and scale of…

  • Will the Fortune 100 Save Us?

    Environmentalists have long criticized our corporate behemoths for environmental violations and unsustainable business practices. Walmart, GE, Coca-Cola were once considered toxic to the environment and not the names that came to mind for a green future. However, environmentally-friendly announcements over the past few years have challenged this perception.

  • Fix a Leak Week, March 16-20, 2009

    New York’s Department of Environmental Protection is sponsoring Fix a Leak Week this week throughout the city. In addition to the free water-saving kits (mentioned below in Samantha’s post), the city seems to be actively tackling the issue of water preservation.

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…

  • IBM’s Water Membrane

    Scientists at IBM Research, together with collaborators from Central Glass, KACST and the University of Texas, Austin have created a new membrane that filters out salts as well as potentially harmful toxins in water such as arsenic while using less energy than other forms of water purification. According to the press release, this materials in…

  • Water for Profit?

    I’ve long been fascinated by the concept of privatization of water.  I can think of few topics related to natural resources that are so controversial.  I tend to reject the claim, espoused by many including former Water Center speaker Maude Barlow, that water is a basic human right and therefore should never be private.  While water…

  • Water Usage Per Person

    Seeing Samantha’s post on water conservation kits reminded me how much water we use in the US compared to others in the world. The above data is from UNDP Human Development Report 2006. For your reference, 1 liter = 0.264172052 US gallons. I hope there are a lot of related posts that come from this…

  • Free water saving kits from NYC DEP

    If you go to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection website, you’ll see that nearly half the items on the homepage are about water. There’s the large scale, like protecting and maintaining the sewer systems and watersheds, and also the smaller scale, such as their rain barrel and residential water conservation programs. As…

  • 5th World Water Forum

    Representatives from the agriculture and energy industries convened here at the 5th World Water Forum to debate how, why, where and whether humankind’s rising demands for water, oil, food and energy will lead to conflict or cooperation. The Forum tackled issues of food and energy, conflicts over water, and pragmatic synergies among vital resource sectors. …

  • Fishing for Pollution

    Scientists at the University of Essex have developed robotic fish that can detect pollution. Unlike previous robotic fish, these fish have autonomous navigation capabilities which enable them to swim independently. For recharging and data transmission, the fish are able to return to their charging hub where the data provide real time source and scale of…

  • Will the Fortune 100 Save Us?

    Environmentalists have long criticized our corporate behemoths for environmental violations and unsustainable business practices. Walmart, GE, Coca-Cola were once considered toxic to the environment and not the names that came to mind for a green future. However, environmentally-friendly announcements over the past few years have challenged this perception.

  • Fix a Leak Week, March 16-20, 2009

    New York’s Department of Environmental Protection is sponsoring Fix a Leak Week this week throughout the city. In addition to the free water-saving kits (mentioned below in Samantha’s post), the city seems to be actively tackling the issue of water preservation.

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…

  • IBM’s Water Membrane

    Scientists at IBM Research, together with collaborators from Central Glass, KACST and the University of Texas, Austin have created a new membrane that filters out salts as well as potentially harmful toxins in water such as arsenic while using less energy than other forms of water purification. According to the press release, this materials in…

  • Water for Profit?

    I’ve long been fascinated by the concept of privatization of water.  I can think of few topics related to natural resources that are so controversial.  I tend to reject the claim, espoused by many including former Water Center speaker Maude Barlow, that water is a basic human right and therefore should never be private.  While water…

  • Water Usage Per Person

    Seeing Samantha’s post on water conservation kits reminded me how much water we use in the US compared to others in the world. The above data is from UNDP Human Development Report 2006. For your reference, 1 liter = 0.264172052 US gallons. I hope there are a lot of related posts that come from this…

  • Free water saving kits from NYC DEP

    If you go to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection website, you’ll see that nearly half the items on the homepage are about water. There’s the large scale, like protecting and maintaining the sewer systems and watersheds, and also the smaller scale, such as their rain barrel and residential water conservation programs. As…