With the generous support of the Planet Heritage Foundation and the Skoll Global Threats Fund, the Earth Institute is initiating the Global Network for Climate Solutions and evaluating its ability to influence future international climate negotiations by grounding them in shared research that is focused on concrete solutions and action. The effort aims to facilitate [...]
Students from the undergraduate special concentration in sustainable development celebrated their graduation from Columbia College and the School of General Studies on May 18 at a special breakfast held for them in Columbia’s Faculty House.
Family, friends and faculty gathered with students who reflected on the achievements of the last four years and recalled sustainable development projects they worked on that impacted their college experience.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation continued to support the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), with grants totaling over a half million dollars, to further progress on optimizing nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production while minimizing nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and [...]
On Friday, April 2, 2010, the Earth Institute hosted the Climate Change Adaptation Student Research Showcase on Columbia University’s Morningside campus. Here, 14 students presented their groundbreaking work to identify, understand and reduce the effects of climate change in New York City. The event was the culmination of the Climate Change Adaptation Initiative where student [...]
We are thrilled to announce that Matt Berg, ICT Director for the Millennium Villages project and Earth Institute researcher was named to the 2010 TIME 100 Most Influential People list. Through groundbreaking initiatives like the new mobile phone platform ChildCount+, Matt is pioneering the use of mobile technology to revolutionize public health systems and greatly [...]
Do you share our belief that the world has the know-how and resources to solve our environmental challenges in a sustainable manner? Do you support efforts by the scientific community to help understand the effects of climate change, reduce environmental degradation, and advance renewable energy technologies? Then please vote for the Earth Institute in the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment!
Often referred to as the granary of India, Punjab is now slowly drying out. And though many farmers are deeply worried over the prospects of producing enough food, some of the more entrepreneurial ones are adopting new ways to conserve water while bracing for what will be a drier future. Back in the 1970s India [...]
A $125,000 gift from longtime donor and Benefactor Dr. Betsee Parker will benefit the crucial work of the Earth Institute’s Haiti Program. Tatiana Wah, a professor at the New School in New York (on leave), where she is a renowned scholar and practitioner of Haitian economic and social development, leads the Haiti program with Earth Institute Director Jeff Sachs. Tatiana and Jeff advise the Government of Haiti on a range of strategic issues and have prepared several key documents for the government during the past year, both before and after the earthquake. Professor Sachs is also advising the United Nations Secretary-General and United Nations agencies on Haiti-related issues, including in the post-earthquake crisis.
We all watched the earth move at State of the Planet (SOP) 2010 literally and figuratively. The backdrop on the main stage in New York was a giant rotating earth, spinning from continent to continent as we connected leaders from around the globe who urged action on issues of climate change, poverty, economic recovery and [...]
Thanks to a recent gift of $250,000 from a generous Columbia University alumnus, the Earth Institute will be establishing an innovative master’s level program in carbon management. The program will provide interested students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to address the complex and competing challenges of achieving a low-carbon economy.
State of the Planet is a forum for discussion on varying viewpoints. The opinions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Earth Institute or Columbia University.
