State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: Europe

  • Land Subsidence in the Netherlands

    Land Subsidence in the Netherlands

    At a symposium on land subsidence, I learned about how the Dutch transformed their country so that about a quarter of it is below sea level and how they cope with it.

  • Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Unrelenting rains led to a miserable famine in Europe from 1315-1317. Just how wet was it? A new study reveals that the beginning of the famine included some of the wettest years in the last 700 years.

  • Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    If you were to drive south from Palermo, Sicily toward Monreale, you would be ringed in by green mountains, the sparkling white of ancient and modern buildings and the azure Mediterranean Sea receding behind you. Continuing south through the island’s mountainous interior, you would pass verdant agricultural fields on your way past Corleone, the namesake…

  • Water in Paris

    Water in Paris

    I have been spending the month of July in Paris, France for a study abroad program, and during my time here, I have been able to observe different water habits of people abroad. My observations are in no way absolute, but I have found several interesting trends in water in Paris that I wanted to…

  • The True Cost of Water: NYC Event May 6

    The Green Policy and Environmental Policy Discussion Group of the The New York Academy of Science and the Columbia Water Center are sponsoring a panel discussion on The True Cost of Water on May 6. The focus of this panel discussion is the importance of economic optimization of water usage in the present and in…

  • Nitrogen and Wastewater: Kartik Chandran interview Part 2

    Part 2 of CWC interview with research scientist Kartik Chandran: Nitrogen in wastewater removal and technology development. “As part of the nitrous oxide research program we are also coming up with process designs that remove nitrogen from both the liquid and gaseous space. Not one against the other. This is actually going into place all…

  • Osmotic power — prospect of sustainable energy, or water liability?

    Today, Statkraft, a company in Norway, opened the world’s first osmotic power plant—a model of a sustainable energy system which uses osmosis to harness the energy of fresh water’s natural movement toward salt water through a membrane. The idea for power generated through the movement of water, due to osmosis through a specially designed membrane,…

  • Border Issues Arise from Global Warming

    When people think of global warming and glacial melting, they often think of sea levels rising, coasts moving inland, and cities flooding and disappearing. Something that they rarely think about is the changing of borders between countries. However, this is exactly what is currently occuring in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. In an article…

  • Turkish Baths?

    If you are browsing for a bit of water related humor, turn to the Reuters news on Turkey.  This month, Istanbul, a cultural capital of Turkey, was part- host of the Fifth World Water Forum which connects experts from over 150 countries  around the world to address impending global water crises. According to UN reports,…

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
  • Land Subsidence in the Netherlands

    Land Subsidence in the Netherlands

    At a symposium on land subsidence, I learned about how the Dutch transformed their country so that about a quarter of it is below sea level and how they cope with it.

  • Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Unrelenting rains led to a miserable famine in Europe from 1315-1317. Just how wet was it? A new study reveals that the beginning of the famine included some of the wettest years in the last 700 years.

  • Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    If you were to drive south from Palermo, Sicily toward Monreale, you would be ringed in by green mountains, the sparkling white of ancient and modern buildings and the azure Mediterranean Sea receding behind you. Continuing south through the island’s mountainous interior, you would pass verdant agricultural fields on your way past Corleone, the namesake…

  • Water in Paris

    Water in Paris

    I have been spending the month of July in Paris, France for a study abroad program, and during my time here, I have been able to observe different water habits of people abroad. My observations are in no way absolute, but I have found several interesting trends in water in Paris that I wanted to…

  • The True Cost of Water: NYC Event May 6

    The Green Policy and Environmental Policy Discussion Group of the The New York Academy of Science and the Columbia Water Center are sponsoring a panel discussion on The True Cost of Water on May 6. The focus of this panel discussion is the importance of economic optimization of water usage in the present and in…

  • Nitrogen and Wastewater: Kartik Chandran interview Part 2

    Part 2 of CWC interview with research scientist Kartik Chandran: Nitrogen in wastewater removal and technology development. “As part of the nitrous oxide research program we are also coming up with process designs that remove nitrogen from both the liquid and gaseous space. Not one against the other. This is actually going into place all…

  • Osmotic power — prospect of sustainable energy, or water liability?

    Today, Statkraft, a company in Norway, opened the world’s first osmotic power plant—a model of a sustainable energy system which uses osmosis to harness the energy of fresh water’s natural movement toward salt water through a membrane. The idea for power generated through the movement of water, due to osmosis through a specially designed membrane,…

  • Border Issues Arise from Global Warming

    When people think of global warming and glacial melting, they often think of sea levels rising, coasts moving inland, and cities flooding and disappearing. Something that they rarely think about is the changing of borders between countries. However, this is exactly what is currently occuring in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. In an article…

  • Turkish Baths?

    If you are browsing for a bit of water related humor, turn to the Reuters news on Turkey.  This month, Istanbul, a cultural capital of Turkey, was part- host of the Fifth World Water Forum which connects experts from over 150 countries  around the world to address impending global water crises. According to UN reports,…