Posted by Tristan Jones | Nov 20, 2009 | 0 Comments
In 1943, Norman Borlaug began his research into new varieties of wheat that could feed the burgeoning population of Mexico. Invited by the Mexican government and funded largely by international philanthropic organizations, Borlaug’s research began what we now refer to as the Green Revolution.
Over the next 13 years, Mexico became agriculturally self-sufficient, and in 1964 [...]
Posted by Betsy Ness-Edelstein | Nov 18, 2009 | 0 Comments
The Columbia Climate Center, in collaboration with the Columbia Water Center and the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, invites you to attend “The National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges: An Overview and Focus on Water,” on Tuesday, November 24 at 3 pm. The event will feature Charles Vest, President, National Academy of Engineering and President [...]
Posted by Andrea Basche | Nov 13, 2009 | 0 Comments
Last week the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) published a concise guide for “scientists, journalists, educators, political aides, and the interested public” on the challenges of communicating climate change. Below are some common excuses that lead to a lack of action on climate change and tips from the CRED guide that explain what [...]
Posted by Francesco Fiondella | Nov 13, 2009 | 0 Comments
With her recent appointment to the National Academies of Science’s prestigious Climate Research Committee, IRI scientist Lisa Goddard hopes to continue fostering connections between climate science and its use by decision makers.
Posted by Eric Holthaus | Nov 9, 2009 | 0 Comments
Experts from Swiss Re, Oxfam America, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society recently participated in a panel discussion at Columbia recently on weather index insurance for climate change adaptation. The event, organized as part of efforts to support Climate Week in New York, was sponsored by the New York Committee for Oxfam [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Nov 2, 2009 | 0 Comments
Obama Putting $3.4 Bn Toward a ‘Smart’ Power Grid, Associated Press
President Obama pledges $3.4 bn in government support for 100 different research projects in “smart” grid engineering, ranging in size from $400,00 to $200 million. Speaking Tuesday at the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in west Florida, Obama likened the search for power grid [...]
Posted by Tristan Jones | Oct 30, 2009 | 2 Comments
Last week the Pew Center released a new poll regarding the “Changing Opinions About Global Warming.” The polls are certainly telling, if not alarming: in April 2008 71% of Americans believed there was solid evidence that the earth was warming. That’s down to 57% this month.
Perhaps more importantly, the percentage of those people who believe [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Oct 27, 2009 | 0 Comments
WWF: We Have Until 2014 to Stop Global Warming, Popular Science
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) publishes a new report concluding that by 2014 the world must fully embrace low-carbon technologies. By “embrace” they mean a minimum growth of 22% in green industries, which they estimate could translate into a 63% reduction in emissions by [...]
Posted by Cathy Vaughan | Oct 23, 2009 | 0 Comments
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) has recently released a series of documents designed to walk policymakers through the potential impacts of the current El Niño. In addition to the health-related report featured earlier, two new papers highlight weather and socioeconomic concerns associated with current climatic conditions.
As readers of this blog well [...]
Posted by Tristan Jones | Oct 21, 2009 | 0 Comments
On October 1, I attended a symposium entitled “Going Beyond Rhetoric: Metrics for Assessing Global Agriculture,” hosted by the Earth Institute and convened at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Fifteen stories in the air, we were surrounded by miles of urban landscape — Queens to the east, Manhattan to the west, and no [...]
