http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu Wed, 22 May 2013 16:33:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 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/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:55:22 +0000 Earth Institute http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35583 A new report produced by CIESIN and Yale University examines the role of indicators in environmental policy making, and quantifies measurable impacts.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/04/12/new-report-examines-impacts-of-environmental-indicators-and-indices/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:24:02 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=35273 “This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/03/28/water-security-finding-solutions-for-a-world-at-risk/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/27/upcoming-scientific-fieldwork-a-guide/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/27/upcoming-scientific-fieldwork-a-guide/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:37:46 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=34499 Earth Institute research expeditions investigating the dynamics of the planet on all levels take place on every continent and every ocean. Most projects originate with our main research center, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and are often run in collaboration with other institutions. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/02/27/upcoming-scientific-fieldwork-a-guide/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/23/rosarios-farm-rising-tides-shrimp-from-the-forest/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/23/rosarios-farm-rising-tides-shrimp-from-the-forest/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:46:27 +0000 David Funkhouser http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33591 Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/23/rosarios-farm-rising-tides-shrimp-from-the-forest/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/02/aquanauts-take-on-new-york-water-issues/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/02/aquanauts-take-on-new-york-water-issues/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:55:24 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33357 Working with engineering PhD candidate Rob Elliott, we imagined a green roof and blue roof system that would serve as a space for environmental education and student wellness, the culmination of a semester spent examining and taking action on stormwater management issues in New York City.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/01/02/aquanauts-take-on-new-york-water-issues/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/15/reflections-on-an-ecological-study-abroad-experience/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/15/reflections-on-an-ecological-study-abroad-experience/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:32:33 +0000 Brian Kateman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32041 “Everything is so alive in the forest. After a nice summer rain it teems with insects, birds and the famous coquis, Puerto Rico’s native frogs. The song of the coquis take a little getting used to, but they soon lull you to sleep in the humid nights,” says Jennifer Mendez, a student in the first class of the Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates in Puerto Rico.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/15/reflections-on-an-ecological-study-abroad-experience/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/09/new-courses-in-conservation-sustainability/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/09/new-courses-in-conservation-sustainability/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:17:07 +0000 Brian Kateman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=32086 The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation provides executive training in environmental sustainability through science, policy, and economics; we invite you to learn from our leading experts and practitioners to become an effective environmental leader and decision-maker.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/11/09/new-courses-in-conservation-sustainability/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/17/a-forest-reserve-is-not-an-island/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/17/a-forest-reserve-is-not-an-island/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:39:07 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=31303 Biologist Marina Cords has been studying monkey social behavior in western Kenya's protected Kakamega Forest since 1979. Her work has led to insights about how primates manage conflicts, mate and carry out other social functions closely related to human behavior.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/10/17/a-forest-reserve-is-not-an-island/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/21/scientists-discover-new-species-of-monkey/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/21/scientists-discover-new-species-of-monkey/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:58:30 +0000 Brian Kateman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=30665 In a gigantic and remote rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a team of scientists have discovered a new species of Old World monkey known as the "Lesula."]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/21/scientists-discover-new-species-of-monkey/feed/ 1