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. Tue, 21 May 2013 15:39:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/roads-an-essential-element-of-development/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/roads-an-essential-element-of-development/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 18:43:45 +0000 Center for International Earth Science Information Network http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36427 Roads data is critical to planning and development of rural transportation in developing countries, where better transportation systems can help improve livelihoods.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/roads-an-essential-element-of-development/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/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/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:27:40 +0000 Alex Fischer http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36095 On April 22, 2013 the Earth Institute’s Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development welcomed Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to the Spring 2013 Haiti Dialogue Series and the Columbia University World Leader’s Forum. The prime minister and Haitian diplomats met with Earth Institute senior researchers to discuss the strategies for the Haitian government’s national-scale monitoring, planning and implementation development programs.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:55:22 +0000 Earth Institute http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35583 A new report produced by CIESIN and Yale University examines the role of indicators in environmental policy making, and quantifies measurable impacts.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/09/bright-lights-big-city/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/09/bright-lights-big-city/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:44:29 +0000 Center for International Earth Science Information Network http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35469 Researchers using nighttime lights data to ask questions about economic development in sub-Saharan Africa have findings counter to expectation.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/09/bright-lights-big-city/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/29/wheres-my-seasonal-tornado-forecast/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/29/wheres-my-seasonal-tornado-forecast/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:00:12 +0000 Francesco Fiondella http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35155 Tornadoes, derechos and other violent storms can kill hundreds each year and cause billions in damages. How well can we predict them? How will climate change influence their occurrence? Experts from around the country discussed these issues at a recent workshop.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/29/wheres-my-seasonal-tornado-forecast/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:24:02 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35273 “This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/17/making-sense-of-climates-impact-on-food-security/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/17/making-sense-of-climates-impact-on-food-security/#comments Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:26:55 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=34134 From warmer temperatures to natural disasters such as flooding and drought, changing patterns of climate are having billion-dollar impacts on our food-growing systems. But scientists are struggling to find ways to measure and predict what may happen in the future—and to translate that into policies to help feed a bulging world population.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/17/making-sense-of-climates-impact-on-food-security/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/extreme-weather-adds-up-to-troubling-future/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/extreme-weather-adds-up-to-troubling-future/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:32:41 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=34108 Extreme weather and climate-related events already have cost the United States billions of dollars. A recent symposium focused on what we know about the causes and how changing climate affects agriculture, water supplies, wildlife and our economy.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/extreme-weather-adds-up-to-troubling-future/feed/ 0