State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: Water Scarcity19

  • CWC’s new Great Lakes Column

      The Columbia Water Center is leading intellectual inquiry into the assessment, prediction and solution of the growing scarcity of fresh water. Although the CWC is looking at water issues across the globe, up until now, little attention at the Center has been focused on the Great Lakes. Some past student projects have explored in-depth…

  • Seawater desalination: the solution?

    Water is an increasingly scarce commodity in many parts of the world, and it seems seawater desalination is one of very attractive solutions available to these regions. Of all the Earth’s water, 94 percent is saltwater from the oceans and only 6% is fresh. If plenty and easily accessible seawater could turn into fresh drinking…

  • Water Sensors – Saving Water in Irrigation

    One of the largest uses of fresh water withdrawals in the United States is for irrigation. The USGS estimates that 60% of the worlds fresh water withdrawals is for irrigation purposes, which calculates to 137,000 million gallons per day used for irrigation purposes.  Some of this water is for irrigation of crops, while other of…

  • Is Water Too Cheap in China?

    The Chinese capital of Beijing will raise water prices this year as an attempt to conserve its scarce water supply. Cheng Jing, the head of Beijing’s water-resources bureau, announced on May 10th the city would raise water prices within the next two months. This price hike will be the fifth one since 2001 in a bid to promote conservation.

  • “The Truth About Water Wars”

    We’ve all heard about the horrors of the genocide in Darfur, followed Nicholas Kristof’s evangelical Op-Eds, and seen the benefit concerts to raise money towards the cause. Perhaps some know too of the ethnic differences tinting much of the clash, know the history of relations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.  But few…

  • Water Security in Asia

    Decreased access to a safe, stable water supply in Asia “will have a profound impact on security throughout the region,” warns an Asia Society Leadership Group report released on April 17. In response to the cascading set of consequences reduced access to fresh water will trigger—including impaired food production, the loss of livelihood security, large-scale…

  • Central Asian Water Summit

    This week five leaders of Central Asian nations are holding a summit to try and achieve a solution to their bitter dispute over water use in one of the driest regions of the world.  According to Reuters, the trouble over sharing water across borders has been bubbling to new heights with its growing scarcity.  Presidents…

  • Shriveling Rivers

    The ramifications of climate change are often discussed in terms of rising sea levels, atmospheric changes, desertification, and worsening, more frequent natural disasters. Another impact of climate change could have immediate and disastrous effects on water availability both here in the US and abroad. Recent research increasingly suggests that the world’s major rivers are essentially…

  • India’s “Revolution”

    Last week, NPR ran a two part story on water status in Punjab state in northern India.  This is an area where the Columbia Water Center is doing a lot of work, and the article hit on several themes important to us, particularly the fact that current policies, while promoting food security, have had devastating…

Columbia campus skyline with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2024 - Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School MA in Climate & Society Class of 2024! Learn about our May 10 Class Day celebration. #ColumbiaClimate2024

  • CWC’s new Great Lakes Column

      The Columbia Water Center is leading intellectual inquiry into the assessment, prediction and solution of the growing scarcity of fresh water. Although the CWC is looking at water issues across the globe, up until now, little attention at the Center has been focused on the Great Lakes. Some past student projects have explored in-depth…

  • Seawater desalination: the solution?

    Water is an increasingly scarce commodity in many parts of the world, and it seems seawater desalination is one of very attractive solutions available to these regions. Of all the Earth’s water, 94 percent is saltwater from the oceans and only 6% is fresh. If plenty and easily accessible seawater could turn into fresh drinking…

  • Water Sensors – Saving Water in Irrigation

    One of the largest uses of fresh water withdrawals in the United States is for irrigation. The USGS estimates that 60% of the worlds fresh water withdrawals is for irrigation purposes, which calculates to 137,000 million gallons per day used for irrigation purposes.  Some of this water is for irrigation of crops, while other of…

  • Is Water Too Cheap in China?

    The Chinese capital of Beijing will raise water prices this year as an attempt to conserve its scarce water supply. Cheng Jing, the head of Beijing’s water-resources bureau, announced on May 10th the city would raise water prices within the next two months. This price hike will be the fifth one since 2001 in a bid to promote conservation.

  • “The Truth About Water Wars”

    We’ve all heard about the horrors of the genocide in Darfur, followed Nicholas Kristof’s evangelical Op-Eds, and seen the benefit concerts to raise money towards the cause. Perhaps some know too of the ethnic differences tinting much of the clash, know the history of relations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.  But few…

  • Water Security in Asia

    Decreased access to a safe, stable water supply in Asia “will have a profound impact on security throughout the region,” warns an Asia Society Leadership Group report released on April 17. In response to the cascading set of consequences reduced access to fresh water will trigger—including impaired food production, the loss of livelihood security, large-scale…

  • Central Asian Water Summit

    This week five leaders of Central Asian nations are holding a summit to try and achieve a solution to their bitter dispute over water use in one of the driest regions of the world.  According to Reuters, the trouble over sharing water across borders has been bubbling to new heights with its growing scarcity.  Presidents…

  • Shriveling Rivers

    The ramifications of climate change are often discussed in terms of rising sea levels, atmospheric changes, desertification, and worsening, more frequent natural disasters. Another impact of climate change could have immediate and disastrous effects on water availability both here in the US and abroad. Recent research increasingly suggests that the world’s major rivers are essentially…

  • India’s “Revolution”

    Last week, NPR ran a two part story on water status in Punjab state in northern India.  This is an area where the Columbia Water Center is doing a lot of work, and the article hit on several themes important to us, particularly the fact that current policies, while promoting food security, have had devastating…