Phosphorus is essential to human health and vital for food production. But are we using up phosphorus faster than we can economically extract it?
Phosphorus is essential to human health and vital for food production. But are we using up phosphorus faster than we can economically extract it?
Earth Institute research expeditions investigating the dynamics of the planet on all levels take place on every continent and every ocean. Most projects originate with our main research center, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and are often run in collaboration with other institutions.
So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with the standard practices employed in the control plots.
Scientists and agronomists are racing to develop seeds that are higher yielding, more nutritious, and both drought and climate resilient to meet the challenge of feeding the world in the future.
Naresh Devineni will be teaching a course on the Management and Development of Water Systems as part of the new Certificate in Sustainable Water Management. In this interview, conducted by Nick Turchak, Naresh elaborates on his research topics in Hydro-climatic Data Analysis and Modeling, Water Resources Management and Risk Assessment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that droughts will likely increase in central North America this century. How can we prepare for a future of perpetual drought?
US rice production dominates our consumption at over 90% (USDA, 2012), and the question is whether or not that choice is the best one for our water and our environment.
March 22 is World Water Day, and its theme this year—water and food security—couldn’t be more pressing. But what do we really know about water—where it goes, what it’s used for, and how to preserve it?
The global population, now 7 billion, is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 and will require 70 percent more food than we are producing today, and much more water for agriculture, drinking and industry. Will we have enough water to meet the demand?
Rice is the world’s third-largest crop after wheat and corn; by some estimates it accounts for fully one-fifth of the total calories consumed by the human race. Given these facts, it’s not surprising that countries that have historically struggled with devastating famine would do whatever it takes to ensure strong production of the grain, even if it meant promoting growing practices that would ultimately prove unsustainable.