State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water8

  • Daniel Hillel, Originator of High-Efficiency Irrigation, to Receive World Food Prize

    Daniel Hillel, Originator of High-Efficiency Irrigation, to Receive World Food Prize

    Daniel Hillel, an adjunct senior scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has been awarded the World Food Prize for his work in conceiving and promoting water-saving methods that have increased crop production on arid lands in 30 countries.

  • Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course

    Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course

    Leading up to Rio+20, on April 25th the United Nations hosted “Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course,” a panel discussion which brought together a range of experts to discuss the fate of the world’s oceans and what can be done to protect them.

  • Photo Essay: India, Water, Culture

    Photo Essay: India, Water, Culture

    Take a photographic journey from the crowded streets of Delhi, through the parched state of Rajasthan, and into the farmlands of north Gujarat to get a closer look at some of the many ways water affects the lives of millions of Indians every day.

  • Study Ecosystems Abroad in Brazil This Summer

    Study Ecosystems Abroad in Brazil This Summer

    CERC is now accepting applications for the Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) field site program at Brazil. This five-week-long, 6-credit program runs from May 26 to June 30, 2012. No pre-requisite coursework is necessary and students of all majors can apply.

  • A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    The organic-rich source rock of the Marcellus Shale is an on-going target for massive gas extraction. Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, have made this extensive area of Marcellus black shale one of the largest unconventional and widely controversial gas operations in the United States today.

  • Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    The potential of climate services depends on the strength of partnerships between those who provide climate information and those who need it, says Zhang Zuqiang, Deputy Director of China’s National Climate Center.

  • Putting Wind in Trade’s Sails

    Putting Wind in Trade’s Sails

    International maritime trade represents a unique example of global cooperation. With the help of a growing number of renewable energy technologies, the global community can work towards progress in this limited area and use it as a model for addressing emissions in other areas of the global economy.

  • One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    If not for the amazing feats of planning and engineering that provide access to clean water, New York City would never have become the essential node in the many meshworks of the world that it is today.

  • Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving sustainable water sustainability in Brazil’s semi-arid northeast will involve more than just building pipes, pumps and water towers: it will require significant changes in the ways water is monitored, distributed and used throughout the region.

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Daniel Hillel, Originator of High-Efficiency Irrigation, to Receive World Food Prize

    Daniel Hillel, Originator of High-Efficiency Irrigation, to Receive World Food Prize

    Daniel Hillel, an adjunct senior scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has been awarded the World Food Prize for his work in conceiving and promoting water-saving methods that have increased crop production on arid lands in 30 countries.

  • Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course

    Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course

    Leading up to Rio+20, on April 25th the United Nations hosted “Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course,” a panel discussion which brought together a range of experts to discuss the fate of the world’s oceans and what can be done to protect them.

  • Photo Essay: India, Water, Culture

    Photo Essay: India, Water, Culture

    Take a photographic journey from the crowded streets of Delhi, through the parched state of Rajasthan, and into the farmlands of north Gujarat to get a closer look at some of the many ways water affects the lives of millions of Indians every day.

  • Study Ecosystems Abroad in Brazil This Summer

    Study Ecosystems Abroad in Brazil This Summer

    CERC is now accepting applications for the Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) field site program at Brazil. This five-week-long, 6-credit program runs from May 26 to June 30, 2012. No pre-requisite coursework is necessary and students of all majors can apply.

  • A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    The organic-rich source rock of the Marcellus Shale is an on-going target for massive gas extraction. Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, have made this extensive area of Marcellus black shale one of the largest unconventional and widely controversial gas operations in the United States today.

  • Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    Climate Services: Providers, Users Must Partner

    The potential of climate services depends on the strength of partnerships between those who provide climate information and those who need it, says Zhang Zuqiang, Deputy Director of China’s National Climate Center.

  • Putting Wind in Trade’s Sails

    Putting Wind in Trade’s Sails

    International maritime trade represents a unique example of global cooperation. With the help of a growing number of renewable energy technologies, the global community can work towards progress in this limited area and use it as a model for addressing emissions in other areas of the global economy.

  • One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    If not for the amazing feats of planning and engineering that provide access to clean water, New York City would never have become the essential node in the many meshworks of the world that it is today.

  • Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving sustainable water sustainability in Brazil’s semi-arid northeast will involve more than just building pipes, pumps and water towers: it will require significant changes in the ways water is monitored, distributed and used throughout the region.