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. Thu, 23 May 2013 08:20:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 05:40:49 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36929 One of the goals of Andy Juhl’s and Craig Aumack’s Arctic research is to determine the role of ice algae as a source of nutrition for food webs existing in the water column and at the bottom of the Arctic ocean. During their fieldwork these Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are deploying a plankton net, a [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/22/the-boom-of-hydraulic-fracturing/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/22/the-boom-of-hydraulic-fracturing/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 14:51:19 +0000 Cassie Xu http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36913 Experts discuss the rise and boom of unconventional hydrocarbon extraction in the final Sustainable Development Seminar Series of the 2012-2013 academic year.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/22/the-boom-of-hydraulic-fracturing/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/21/farmers-in-senegal-use-forecasts-to-combat-climate-risks/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/21/farmers-in-senegal-use-forecasts-to-combat-climate-risks/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 14:22:20 +0000 Francesco Fiondella http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36885 Recent trainings in Senegal have improved trust between farmers and researchers, leading to increased use of climate forecasts and other information.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/21/farmers-in-senegal-use-forecasts-to-combat-climate-risks/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/water-risk-in-unexpected-places/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/water-risk-in-unexpected-places/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 22:54:13 +0000 Lakis Polycarpou http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36852 A new report by the Columbia Water Center, produced in conjunction with Veolia Water and Growing Blue, could help expose the real nature of water risk in urban and rural areas throughout the country--even in places that most people think of as having plenty of water.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/water-risk-in-unexpected-places/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 17:53:40 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36868 Our team spent most of Friday on the Arctic sea ice, drilling and sampling ice cores at our main field site. For each core collected, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack take a number of different physical, chemical and biological measurements that characterize the ice and the organisms living inside it. Some [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/#comments Sun, 19 May 2013 07:38:08 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36831 On Thursday we lowered a camera into an ice borehole to get a look at the underside of the ice. In the following video, you can clearly see the algae living in the bottom of the ice due to their pigments, which they use to harvest light. These organisms are not frozen into the ice; [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/feed/ 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/2013/05/17/ice-capades/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 10:24:53 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36767 Fieldwork is exciting and inspiring, leading scientists to new ideas, places and observations about how the world works. Spring on Alaska’s North Slope provides an especially productive environment for fieldwork. When the sun never sets, it’s easy to linger in the field and the lab long into the well-lit night. Our team spent about six [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/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