Author: Benjamin Preston2

Benjamin Preston was a communications intern for the Columbia Water Center. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he also serves as an editorial intern at OnEarth Magazine. Before coming to New York, he covered water resource issues as a staff reporter, first for the Santa Barbara Independent and then Noozhawk.com — both are Santa Barbara, Calif.-based local news publications. He has also had work published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miller-McCune Magazine, the Brooklyn Eagle, and the now-defunct Terrain Magazine, among others.

Ripple Effect Author Talks Efficiency; Cleanup

The outlook for global water is bleak, but Alex Prud’Homme still believes in the power of human ingenuity.
Clean Water for Fiji

Corporate giant Fiji Water makes millions of dollars every year selling bottled water, but only 47 percent of Fiji Islanders have access to clean drinking water. That may change.
Cape May, New Jersey’s Battle Against Nature

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers battles an encroaching ocean, but how long will their funding hold out?
Toxic Waters in the Gilded State

To those who have never been, the Golden State is known for luxurious palm tree-lined avenues, sun-drenched beaches, and picturesque mountains. But not all parts of California were created equal. The state’s San Joaquin Valley hosts a scene entirely different from the images of Malibu beaches depicted in travel brochures. It is the non-glittering core…
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…
Attack of the Warzone Water Bottles

Using bottled water in war zones uses oil and pollutes the environment. But Defense officials are looking to move toward sustainability.
Post bin Laden, Working Toward Afghanistan’s Water Security

Osama bin Laden is history, but decades of war and civil strife pose challenges to Afghanistan’s water infrastructure.
Clean Water vs. Cheap Energy: Can We Have Both?

The social fabric of a water quality debate: Anti-fracking protesters converge on Albany… again. A battle of wills between advocates of clean water and cheap energy ensues.
Reusing Dirty Water

Columbia Water Center guest lecturer Raymond Farinato talks about increasing water supply by reusing wastewater in industrial applications.

Ripple Effect Author Talks Efficiency; Cleanup

The outlook for global water is bleak, but Alex Prud’Homme still believes in the power of human ingenuity.
Clean Water for Fiji

Corporate giant Fiji Water makes millions of dollars every year selling bottled water, but only 47 percent of Fiji Islanders have access to clean drinking water. That may change.
Cape May, New Jersey’s Battle Against Nature

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers battles an encroaching ocean, but how long will their funding hold out?
Toxic Waters in the Gilded State

To those who have never been, the Golden State is known for luxurious palm tree-lined avenues, sun-drenched beaches, and picturesque mountains. But not all parts of California were created equal. The state’s San Joaquin Valley hosts a scene entirely different from the images of Malibu beaches depicted in travel brochures. It is the non-glittering core…
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…
Attack of the Warzone Water Bottles

Using bottled water in war zones uses oil and pollutes the environment. But Defense officials are looking to move toward sustainability.
Post bin Laden, Working Toward Afghanistan’s Water Security

Osama bin Laden is history, but decades of war and civil strife pose challenges to Afghanistan’s water infrastructure.
Clean Water vs. Cheap Energy: Can We Have Both?

The social fabric of a water quality debate: Anti-fracking protesters converge on Albany… again. A battle of wills between advocates of clean water and cheap energy ensues.
Reusing Dirty Water

Columbia Water Center guest lecturer Raymond Farinato talks about increasing water supply by reusing wastewater in industrial applications.