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/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/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/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/2013/05/02/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/2013/04/25/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 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/climate-and-society-students-develop-research-for-nasa-iri/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/climate-and-society-students-develop-research-for-nasa-iri/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:07:14 +0000 Brian Kahn http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35543 Two Climate and Society students are working on a NASA DEVELOP project at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society. Learn about the research and visit their virtual posters.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/climate-and-society-students-develop-research-for-nasa-iri/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/emerging-tb-treatments-require-new-paradigm-for-drug-classification/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/emerging-tb-treatments-require-new-paradigm-for-drug-classification/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:03:27 +0000 Jesper Frant http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35012 Due to a recent resurgence in tuberculosis research focused on drug development, several new antituberculosis drugs are in the pipeline, and the standard of care for tuberculosis might soon change. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/13/emerging-tb-treatments-require-new-paradigm-for-drug-classification/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/18/extraordinary-support-for-sustainable-development/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/18/extraordinary-support-for-sustainable-development/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:03:21 +0000 Gina Ackerman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=34160 Visit the interactive digital Earth Institute 2012 Annual Donor Report to see some of the remarkable projects, initiatives and achievements that have been made possible through the support and advocacy of donors, students, faculty and staff in fiscal year 2012.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/18/extraordinary-support-for-sustainable-development/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/decision-making-under-uncertainty-at-aaas/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/decision-making-under-uncertainty-at-aaas/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:26:35 +0000 Courtney St. John http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=34093 Researchers from the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions will participate in a poster session featuring the work of each center funded under the National Science Foundation’s “Decision Making Under Uncertainty” grant. Nada Petrovic and Lisa Zaval will present the poster “What’s in a frame when it comes to fossil fuels: Does health matter more than climate change?” and Matt Sisco will present the poster “Why do people care about sea lions? A fishing game to study the value of endangered species.”]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/15/decision-making-under-uncertainty-at-aaas/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/11/mapping-hot-spots-of-lead-to-protect-children/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/11/mapping-hot-spots-of-lead-to-protect-children/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:34:30 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32879 A new study in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization shows how hot spots of lead contamination in soil can be pinpointed in order to safeguard children against drastic health effects. Researchers led by geochemist Alexander van Geen of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, studied soil around two Peruvian mining towns, and found high lead concentrations [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/12/11/mapping-hot-spots-of-lead-to-protect-children/feed/ 0