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/2013/05/17/national-grid-joins-the-corporate-circle/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/national-grid-joins-the-corporate-circle/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 15:15:43 +0000 Catherine Fullerton http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36756 The Earth Institute is pleased to welcome National Grid into the Corporate Circle, a collective partnership of leading corporations from across the globe committed to pursuing sustainable development objectives. Through a generous gift, National Grid will support sustainable energy research at the Earth Institute. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/national-grid-joins-the-corporate-circle/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 10:24:53 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36767 Fieldwork is exciting and inspiring, leading scientists to new ideas, places and observations about how the world works. Spring on Alaska’s North Slope provides an especially productive environment for fieldwork. When the sun never sets, it’s easy to linger in the field and the lab long into the well-lit night. Our team spent about six [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:36 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36672 While I arrived in Barrow, Alaska on Tuesday, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack, and graduate student Kyle Kinzler from Arizona State University, got here one week ago. They took a few days to unpack and set up their lab (everything they need to work here must be shipped to Barrow in [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/15/measuring-the-effect-of-chinas-arctic-interests/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/15/measuring-the-effect-of-chinas-arctic-interests/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 18:52:02 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36643 Of non-Arctic states, China has shown the most interest in the Arctic as climate change opens up the region to new economic development. The ways in which China attempts to balance its economic interests and environmental responsibilities within its energy policy may provide a predictor of its future behavior in the Arctic.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/15/measuring-the-effect-of-chinas-arctic-interests/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 19:08:57 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36566 Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack, microbiologists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, are spending a month in Barrow, Alaska studying algae in and below sea ice, and how our warming climate may impact these important organisms. They’re investigating the factors that control the growth of algae inside of sea ice, how these algal communities are [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/photo-essay-mongolia-ancient-and-modern/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/photo-essay-mongolia-ancient-and-modern/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:30:04 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33679 Some 800 years ago, ancestors of modern Mongolians conquered the world on horseback. Researchers are investigating whether a spell of unusually mild weather helped propel them by making them rich in livestock.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/photo-essay-mongolia-ancient-and-modern/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:29:08 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33146 Eight hundred years ago, relatively small armies of mounted warriors suddenly exploded outward from the cold, arid high-elevation grasslands of Mongolia and reshaped world geography, culture and history in ways that still resound today. How did they do it? ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/09/the-sahel-is-getting-wetter-but-will-it-last/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/09/the-sahel-is-getting-wetter-but-will-it-last/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 11:58:04 +0000 Francesco Fiondella http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36212 New research gives a unifying explanation of the Sahel's past, present and future climate patterns. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/09/the-sahel-is-getting-wetter-but-will-it-last/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/26/chasing-ice-watching-history-unfold-and-disappear/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/26/chasing-ice-watching-history-unfold-and-disappear/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:15:31 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35956 Near the end of “Chasing Ice,” a hunk of glacier the size of lower Manhattan explodes, rolls and crashes into the sea. If that sounds like a spoiler, well, go see the movie and you’ll know you would have known it was coming anyway. And the beauty of the movie is that it will still astound you.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/26/chasing-ice-watching-history-unfold-and-disappear/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/25/a-healthy-collaboration/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/25/a-healthy-collaboration/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:11:19 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35872 IRI just renewed an agreement with the World Health Organization to be a collaborative center. Research scientist and center director Madeleine Thomson talks about past successes and future research directions.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/25/a-healthy-collaboration/feed/ 0