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 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 Francesco Fiondella | Aug 7, 2009 | 0 Comments
Forecasts by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and other institutions show that a weak El Niño has developed in the equatorial Pacific, and is likely to continue evolving with warmer-than-normal conditions persisting there until early 2010. What exactly is this important climate phenomenon and why should society care about it? Who will [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Jun 26, 2009 | 0 Comments
“I know that vibration wasn’t normal”
Jack Lemmon famously uttered these words in the 70s blockbuster The China Syndrome in reference to unusual activity taking place at his nuclear reactor. Lemmon, a shift supervisor at the plant, uncovers alarming evidence that the plant is fundamentally unsound and demands that it be shut down. His concerns are [...]
Posted by Adrian Soghoian | Jun 19, 2009 | 1 Comments
Deutsche Bank launched the first real-time carbon counter Thursday morning, taking advantage of the unusually rainy weather to underscore the importance of communicating climate change awareness. Located across 33rd street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, the Carbon Counter displays the running total of long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Deutsche Bank Asset Management (DeAM) [...]
Posted by Kalpana V. | Jun 18, 2009 | 0 Comments
The Summer Institute, mentioned here, drew to a close last week and while attending a session on final presentations by the participants, I was struck by how participants, depending on their backgrounds, benefited differently from the course and took away unique learnings.
For instance, one participant, Daddi Jima Wayessa, Head of Malaria and other Vector-borne Diseases [...]
Posted by Betsy Ness-Edelstein | Jun 12, 2009 | 0 Comments
Something that many people wonder about climate change, especially in light of the current economic crisis, is whether we can afford to focus on the climate when there are so many other pressing global issues like the economy, terrorism, and major public health crises.
Part of our mission here at the Columbia Climate Center is to [...]
Posted by Betsy Ness-Edelstein | Apr 14, 2009 | 1 Comments
Be sure to check out the launch of Climate Change: Picturing the Science, to be hosted by the Columbia Climate Center tomorrow. The book, which the Earth Institute’s Kevin Krajick blogged about recently, features essays addressing the different aspects of climate change alongside stunning climate-related photographs. Here are the event details:
Columbia Climate Center: Book Launch [...]
Posted by Betsy Ness-Edelstein | Mar 12, 2009 | 0 Comments
This blog’s proud parent, the Columbia Climate Center, is having its public launch on Tuesday, March 31—and you’re invited! We are hosting this event to spread the word about our new center and its mission, so it is a great opportunity for readers of Climate Matters to come and learn more about the climate challenge [...]
Posted by Mary-Elena Carr | Mar 11, 2009 | 1 Comments
On March 2 snowstorms hit the eastern seaboard, coinciding with a widely publicized protest against the coal industry in Washington DC . This garnered some attention, with Time noting the irony of people chanting about global warming while shivering in the cold and snow. One might wonder if a March snowstorm is inconsistent with a [...]
