http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu Tapping experts in climate, geology, oceanography, ecology, sustainable development, global health, energy, food and water, State of the Planet captures stories of how the Earth works and how we can sustainably make our lives better. Sat, 18 May 2013 04:43:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/03/a-sustainable-strategy-to-deal-with-urban-poverty/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/03/a-sustainable-strategy-to-deal-with-urban-poverty/#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 21:10:28 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36157 When architect Fernando Arias first arrived in Kumasi, Ghana last year, he saw unpaved roads, trash burning, garbage everywhere, and shoeless children running all around. He knew he needed to act on their behalf.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/03/a-sustainable-strategy-to-deal-with-urban-poverty/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/18/green-films-for-earth-day-2013/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/18/green-films-for-earth-day-2013/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:24:28 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35747 Mothers, carbon, trash, vanishing ice and "secret lives": Watch a movie for Earth Day and learn. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/18/green-films-for-earth-day-2013/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/01/phosphorus-essential-to-life-are-we-running-out/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/01/phosphorus-essential-to-life-are-we-running-out/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:32:09 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35346 Phosphorus is essential to human health and vital for food production. But are we using up phosphorus faster than we can economically extract it? ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/01/phosphorus-essential-to-life-are-we-running-out/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/new-york-state-prepares-for-future-natural-disasters-a-qa-with-cynthia-rosenzweig/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/new-york-state-prepares-for-future-natural-disasters-a-qa-with-cynthia-rosenzweig/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:48:25 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35041 Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies talks about the work of the New York State Ready Commission, set up after Hurricane Sandy to study how the state can better prepare for natural disasters.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/new-york-state-prepares-for-future-natural-disasters-a-qa-with-cynthia-rosenzweig/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/08/improving-seeds-to-meet-future-challenges/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/08/improving-seeds-to-meet-future-challenges/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:18:10 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33979 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.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/08/improving-seeds-to-meet-future-challenges/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/17/what-obama-can-and-should-do-about-climate-change/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/17/what-obama-can-and-should-do-about-climate-change/#comments Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:02:43 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33564 As President Obama embarks on his second term, many Americans are hoping that the extreme weather of 2012 will mark a sea change and finally goad him into making meaningful efforts to deal with climate change. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/17/what-obama-can-and-should-do-about-climate-change/feed/ 3 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/06/how-the-warming-arctic-affects-us-all/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/06/how-the-warming-arctic-affects-us-all/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:47:02 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32796 The Arctic may seem remote, but the overall rate of global warming, our climate and weather, sea levels, and many ecosystems and species will be affected by the warming that is occurring there. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/06/how-the-warming-arctic-affects-us-all/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/16/the-future-of-transportation-more-safety-savings-and-sustainability/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/16/the-future-of-transportation-more-safety-savings-and-sustainability/#comments Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:39:22 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32350 Though driverless cars sound like something out of the “The Jetsons,” they are just one of many innovations already under way in the realm of personal transportation. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/16/the-future-of-transportation-more-safety-savings-and-sustainability/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/12/getting-better-prepared-for-the-next-big-storm/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/12/getting-better-prepared-for-the-next-big-storm/#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:56:45 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32208 Super Storm Sandy was an unusually powerful and destructive storm because of a rare constellation of factors, but scientists predict that we can expect more extreme weather events due to the effects of climate change. Has the super storm made us take warnings about extreme weather more seriously? ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/12/getting-better-prepared-for-the-next-big-storm/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/08/composting-turning-garbage-into-black-gold/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/08/composting-turning-garbage-into-black-gold/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:24:07 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=31043 Forty percent of our food is wasted, but through composting, food waste can be turned into black gold—so called because compost, the mixture of decayed organic matter, is valuable as a nutrient-rich soil additive. In the United States, however, less than 3 percent of food waste is composted.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/08/composting-turning-garbage-into-black-gold/feed/ 1