http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu Sun, 19 May 2013 09:20:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/12/natures-toxic-crusaders/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/12/natures-toxic-crusaders/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:19:34 +0000 CERC Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=30105 Can mushrooms help clean up oil spills? Can oysters filter sewage pollution? Industrial waste is being injected into the planet's soil and water as a result of human activity. Pioneers in the field of conservation and sustainability are employing nature's own biological task force to help clean up.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/12/natures-toxic-crusaders/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/03/21/wastewater-in-urban-ecosystems-one-mans-waste-is-another-mans-treasure/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/03/21/wastewater-in-urban-ecosystems-one-mans-waste-is-another-mans-treasure/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:30:40 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=24398 How can we overcome the main challenges we face in our urban wastewater systems today? Are there opportunities to improve sustainability in water treatment systems in US cities to support local food security? ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/03/21/wastewater-in-urban-ecosystems-one-mans-waste-is-another-mans-treasure/feed/ 3 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/04/from-wastewater-to-drinking-water/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/04/from-wastewater-to-drinking-water/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:45:23 +0000 Renee Cho http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=13439 Across the globe, 2 out of 10 people do not have access to safe drinking water, and in the U.S., many states face water shortages and droughts. As the global population continues to grow and climate change results in more water crises, where will we find enough water to meet our needs?]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/04/from-wastewater-to-drinking-water/feed/ 28 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/27/sewage-treatment-isnt-rocket-science-except-when-it-is/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/27/sewage-treatment-isnt-rocket-science-except-when-it-is/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:40:34 +0000 Julia Apland Hitz http://blogs-admin.ei.columbia.edu/?p=4940 It's a case of finding a use for what was thought of as waste. Sewage treatment processes produce methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gasses, while leaving undesirably high levels of nitrogen in the discharged water. On their own, all three of these things are harmful to the environment. Stanford University reports that a team has found a way to take those unwanted waste gasses and use them to 1) reduce the amount of nitrogen in the water, 2) produce an alternative energy source and 3) dispose of the nitrous oxide cleanly - by using it as rocket fuel, in fact.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/27/sewage-treatment-isnt-rocket-science-except-when-it-is/feed/ 3 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/22/drbc-gives-tentative-go-ahead-to-fracking-in-pa-new-york-skips-the-meeting/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/22/drbc-gives-tentative-go-ahead-to-fracking-in-pa-new-york-skips-the-meeting/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:43:50 +0000 Lakis Polycarpou http://blogs-admin.ei.columbia.edu/?p=4931 According to the Delaware River Basin Commission, over 15 million people—about five percent of the nation’s population–rely on the Delaware River Basin for “drinking, agricultural, and industrial use.” New York City alone gets half its water from reservoirs located on tributaries of the Delaware. It’s no understatement, then, to suggest that the commission—a regional body [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/22/drbc-gives-tentative-go-ahead-to-fracking-in-pa-new-york-skips-the-meeting/feed/ 2 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/13/no-more-pavement-the-problem-of-impervious-surfaces/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/13/no-more-pavement-the-problem-of-impervious-surfaces/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:18:16 +0000 Lakis Polycarpou http://blogs-admin.ei.columbia.edu/?p=4896 Recent research, according to the New York Times, indicates that urban areas are about to get hotter – much hotter. Not exactly what blistering New Yorkers want to hear after one of the more brutal, record-breaking heat waves in memory. Of course climatologists (and most of the rest of us) have known for a long [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/13/no-more-pavement-the-problem-of-impervious-surfaces/feed/ 7 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/12/chicago-sanitary-canals-anything-but-sanitary/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/12/chicago-sanitary-canals-anything-but-sanitary/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:00:02 +0000 Julia Apland Hitz http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=3444 A story by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 6, 2010 pulls together threads of sewage, drinking water, commerce, ecosystem deterioration, politics, health, geography, and Asian carp to create a picture of how big a mess we humans are capable of making for ourselves.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/12/chicago-sanitary-canals-anything-but-sanitary/feed/ 4 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/06/jamaica-bay-a-refuge-for-wildlife-in-new-york-city-gets-protection/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/06/jamaica-bay-a-refuge-for-wildlife-in-new-york-city-gets-protection/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:26:03 +0000 Julia Apland Hitz http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=3405 The good news is that the migratory birds and resident marine life of Jamaica Bay may be getting a reprieve. In February, Mayor Bloomberg, the State Environmental Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced an agreement that would improve water quality and preserve the wetlands of Jamaica Bay. The Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan commits to restoring degraded marshlands and reducing nitrogen discharge into the bay by 50 percent over the next ten years at a cost of $115 million to the city alone. Federal funds and resources are expected to supplement the project.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/07/06/jamaica-bay-a-refuge-for-wildlife-in-new-york-city-gets-protection/feed/ 4 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/06/23/a-visit-to-gowanus/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/06/23/a-visit-to-gowanus/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:08:34 +0000 Lakis Polycarpou http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=3218 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/06/23/a-visit-to-gowanus/feed/ 2 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/04/28/the-true-cost-of-water-nyc-event-may-6/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/04/28/the-true-cost-of-water-nyc-event-may-6/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:22:46 +0000 Columbia Water Center http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/water/?p=2552 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/04/28/the-true-cost-of-water-nyc-event-may-6/feed/ 0