State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water Resources2

  • Overuse of Water by Indian Farmers Threatens Supply

    Overuse of Water by Indian Farmers Threatens Supply

    Convincing farmers that it’s worth it to reduce their water consumption will rest on our ability to help develop local groups to manage aquifers at the community-level.

  • Warming Climate May Spread Drying to a Third of Earth, Says Study

    Heat, Not Just Rainfall, Plays into New Projections

  • Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Many resettlers are economically better off, but the dislocations remain significant, especially for older resettlers, who have a harder time getting work in the newly developed industrial sector. Although the plight of some resettlers has been quite difficult (one older man competed fiercely to serve as a porter for us for the royal sum of…

  • Global Environmental Scorecard Gives U.S. Low Rank

    Jan. 23, Davos, Switzerland – A new international ranking of environmental performance puts Switzerland at the top—and the United States 39th, last among the Group of 8 industrialized countries. The ranking, the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, was produced by a team from Yale University and the Columbia University Earth Institute’s Center for International Earth Science…

  • New Study Shows Climate Change Likely to Lead to Periods of Extreme Drought in Southwest North America

    How anthropogenic climate change will impact the arid regions of Southwestern North America has implications for the allocation of water resources and the course of regional development. The findings of a new study, appearing in Science, show that there is a broad consensus amongst climate models that this region will dry significantly in the 21st…

  • The IRI Becomes The International Research Institute for Climate and Society

    In October 2005, the Trustees of Columbia University changed the name of the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction to better reflect the work of the Institute. The IRI develops and implements strategies to reduce society’s vulnerability to climate risk. It partners with local institutions to best understand needs, risks and possibilities. The IRI supports…

  • Overuse of Water by Indian Farmers Threatens Supply

    Overuse of Water by Indian Farmers Threatens Supply

    Convincing farmers that it’s worth it to reduce their water consumption will rest on our ability to help develop local groups to manage aquifers at the community-level.

  • Warming Climate May Spread Drying to a Third of Earth, Says Study

    Heat, Not Just Rainfall, Plays into New Projections

  • Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Many resettlers are economically better off, but the dislocations remain significant, especially for older resettlers, who have a harder time getting work in the newly developed industrial sector. Although the plight of some resettlers has been quite difficult (one older man competed fiercely to serve as a porter for us for the royal sum of…

  • Global Environmental Scorecard Gives U.S. Low Rank

    Jan. 23, Davos, Switzerland – A new international ranking of environmental performance puts Switzerland at the top—and the United States 39th, last among the Group of 8 industrialized countries. The ranking, the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, was produced by a team from Yale University and the Columbia University Earth Institute’s Center for International Earth Science…

  • New Study Shows Climate Change Likely to Lead to Periods of Extreme Drought in Southwest North America

    How anthropogenic climate change will impact the arid regions of Southwestern North America has implications for the allocation of water resources and the course of regional development. The findings of a new study, appearing in Science, show that there is a broad consensus amongst climate models that this region will dry significantly in the 21st…

  • The IRI Becomes The International Research Institute for Climate and Society

    In October 2005, the Trustees of Columbia University changed the name of the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction to better reflect the work of the Institute. The IRI develops and implements strategies to reduce society’s vulnerability to climate risk. It partners with local institutions to best understand needs, risks and possibilities. The IRI supports…