State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

World Water Forum

  • Water: A Basic Human Right?

    The 5th World Water Forum ended on Sunday (World Water Day), and in spite of the many pieces of good news, the dominant news story is that the group recognized water as a basic human need, not a basic human right.  While this may seem like an issue of semantics, I think there is a…

  • Mexico City to Treat Water Runoff

    During last week’s World Water Forum, Conagua, Mexico’s National Water Commission, announced plans to build a purification plant to treat rain and water runoff. The US$1.3 billion project is expected to be completed in 2012 and is a build/operate contract. Mexico’s per capita water availability declined to 4,312 cubic meters in 2007 from 18,035 cubic…

  • 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. …

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Water: A Basic Human Right?

    The 5th World Water Forum ended on Sunday (World Water Day), and in spite of the many pieces of good news, the dominant news story is that the group recognized water as a basic human need, not a basic human right.  While this may seem like an issue of semantics, I think there is a…

  • Mexico City to Treat Water Runoff

    During last week’s World Water Forum, Conagua, Mexico’s National Water Commission, announced plans to build a purification plant to treat rain and water runoff. The US$1.3 billion project is expected to be completed in 2012 and is a build/operate contract. Mexico’s per capita water availability declined to 4,312 cubic meters in 2007 from 18,035 cubic…

  • 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. …