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. Sun, 19 May 2013 09:20:41 +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/2013/05/16/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/2013/05/16/auction-proceeds-to-benefit-the-millennium-villages/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/auction-proceeds-to-benefit-the-millennium-villages/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 18:26:24 +0000 Gina Ackerman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36618 Renowned collector and Wall Street money manager William H. Gross sold pieces from his unparalleled U.S. stamp collection for the first time at an auction at the Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries here in New York on April 9. Since 2008, Bill and his wife Sue have donated over $19 million to the Millennium Villages project, and they continued their generosity by donating the proceeds from the auction to the Earth Institute and to Doctors Without Borders. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/auction-proceeds-to-benefit-the-millennium-villages/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/capacity_building_haiti_cantave_jeanlouis/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/capacity_building_haiti_cantave_jeanlouis/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 18:05:56 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36449 The Earth Institute’s Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development welcomed two distinguished speakers as part of the Spring 2013 Haiti Dialogue Series to discuss government capacity building and national monitoring systems for government funded programs. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/capacity_building_haiti_cantave_jeanlouis/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/m-s-student-learns-the-importance-of-form-and-function-through-sustainable-design-courses/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/m-s-student-learns-the-importance-of-form-and-function-through-sustainable-design-courses/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 14:05:24 +0000 Alyssa Dubov http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36780 Being able to model solutions visually is a critical component for managers’ intent for solving environmental problems. For that reason, perhaps, advancing the way we design the built environment has always been my keenest interest. Sustainable design requires more than just the ability to create spatially: it requires expansive considerations—materials, energy, water-use, financial feasibility, new technologies. It must successfully execute the maxim “form meets function”. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/m-s-student-learns-the-importance-of-form-and-function-through-sustainable-design-courses/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/2013/05/15/of-cow-dung-cook-stoves-and-sustainability-in-practice/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/15/of-cow-dung-cook-stoves-and-sustainability-in-practice/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 15:35:02 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36585 When the Environmental Defense Fund asked me to measure how biogas cook stoves were changing the lives of farmers in rural India, there wasn’t a word in that question with which I was comfortable. Having just graduated from the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development, I had never done fieldwork; and the concept of a biogas digester, which turns cow dung into natural gas through anaerobic digestion, was itself a mystery. I had no idea that this was the beginning of a steep learning curve into low-carbon development at a large scale. But even more, that it would provide a window into the lives of families whose existences have permanently improved thanks to the clean cooking stoves.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/15/of-cow-dung-cook-stoves-and-sustainability-in-practice/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/esp-student-craves-career-in-sustainable-food-systems/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/esp-student-craves-career-in-sustainable-food-systems/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 19:41:09 +0000 Alyssa Dubov http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36624 In a career that has already spanned the roles of farmer and corporate sustainability professional with ARAMARK; current MPA in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) student Kendall Singleton knows that her niche in the sustainability sector lies in designing and implementing sustainable food systems. As her time in the MPA-ESP program comes to a close, Kendall will apply her project management experience and her quantitative and analytical skills to whatever role lies in store.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/esp-student-craves-career-in-sustainable-food-systems/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/building-the-team/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/building-the-team/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 15:59:30 +0000 Margie Turrin http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36524 The Lamont Icepod team is a blended mix of engineers and scientists learning from each other through the design and testing of this new instrument. With a range of talents and backgrounds, the project mixes seasoned field workers with those new to field work; experienced instrument developers with those newly learning this end of engineering; and scientists with countless hours spent pouring over Greenland ice sheet data with those exploring the ice sheet for the first time. It is the opportunity for mentoring and development that comes from this mix that has made the Icepod Instrument Development Project a good fit for its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/building-the-team/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:14:44 +0000 CERC Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36486 This week in PLoS One, a group of researchers coordinated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), published a new framework for assessing threats to ecosystems. This study offers the theoretical foundation for the Red List criteria for ecosystems, which like its predecessor, the Species Red List, will aim to inform government and society about the current status of biodiversity and provide the data necessary to develop strategies and priorities for conservation.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/feed/ 0