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?
Category: Agriculture-Food
UN Secretary General Names EI Director Jeffrey Sachs to Lead Sustainability Project
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network will bring together public and private research centers to address some of the urgent social, environmental and economic problems raised during the recent Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Green Certified Restaurants
According to the 2012 Zagat dining survey, New Yorkers eat out an average of three times a week. Since people in the city eat out so often, they may be able to reduce their carbon footprint by supporting more green certified restaurants.
New Program in Tropical Biology and Sustainability
The Tropical Biology and Sustainability Program will allow students the opportunity to study ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation biology, environmental engineering, and sustainable development in the environmental hub of East Africa.
Investigating Impacts of Increased Fertilizer Use in Africa
The rains came late this year in Kenya. I was there for several months in the winter and spring to conduct research for a post-doctoral fellowship, examining the consequences of increases in fertilizer use on soil fertility, maize yields, nitrogen gas emissions and nitrogen leaching losses.
Water Center, PepsiCo Foundation Present Sustainable Water Successes at Rio+20
The rural communities of Ceará, Brazil, had long been accustomed to drought and the problems that result: food insecurity, death of livestock, and conflict over scarce water resources. While Ceara’s problems may have been typical of a water scarce region in the developing world, the work of the Columbia Water Center and PepsiCo Foundation has [...]
Water Shortages in Jordan
By Melissa von Mayrhauser Jordan is the third most water scarce country in the world, while its population is rising at approximately 3% annually. Columbia’s SEE-U Jordan program is investigating the reasons behind the country’s lack of water security while also considering possible solutions. We dove into our studies by swimming in the Red and [...]
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.
Goals for Rio: A Path to Sustainability
In an article published in The Lancet, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs outlines his own ideas for sustainable development goals, and how how these goals can build on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN’s set of targets that aim to reduce extreme poverty and boost social well-being in many other ways by 2015.
Photo Essay: In the Heart of Dryness
Explore the country of Niger in this visual essay while learning about the importance of seasonal forecasting to the Sahel, one of the poorest and most climate-vulnerable regions in the world.
