What do you think about water, climate, poverty and other sustainable development issues? Read up on these topics and post a comment at OUR NEW BLOG, “State of the Planet.”

New Soil-Mapping Tool Will Help Address Environmental Threats
Some of the answers to the world’s greatest challenges--such as climate change, food security and water scarcity--lie right beneath our feet. Scientists, industry leaders and government officials gathered at Columbia University to launch GlobalSoilMap.net, a pioneering new tool that will provide accurate soil information in real-time as well as state-of-the-art analysis of soil properties to help address issues such as food security.

Ecosystems Push South
Adélie penguins are flocking closer to the South Pole, following a food supply that is moving southward as the climate changes and water temperatures warm. Previous research shows that Adélie penguins have decreased 70 to 80 percent over their northern range. A new study shows that their southward shift is due to a similar shift in phytoplankton and krill, the shrimp-like critters that Adélies like to eat.

Tides Foundation Challenge Continues to Inspire Giving
Columbia University trustee and Earth Institute campaign committee member Ann Kaplan has committed to making a gift of $100,000 to support the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), the urban counterpart to the Millennium Villages project. And Gary Cohen, executive vice president of medical technology company Becton Dickinson, contributed $21,000. Both of these generous gifts will be matched by the Tides Foundation at a 1:1 ratio, for up to $1.9 million in new funding, as part of a challenge grant that will run until December 31, 2009. To date, the foundation has matched $406,025 in individual and corporate gifts, for a total of $812,050 in gifts recorded against the $1.9 million challenge.

Undergraduates Study Potential Impacts of Sea Level Change on Long Island
Students enrolled in the Sustainable Development Workshop, the first class of its kind to be offered to undergraduates as part of the Special Concentration in Sustainable Development, are learning new skills in the salt marshes of Long Island this semester. The mapping analysis they are doing for the Nature Conservancy will help create a better picture of what threats sea level change poses to this habitat type. “The students are enjoying the structure of the workshop,” says Kevin Griffin, interim director of the special concentration, “as it is more similar to a job than a traditional course, which is a nice change of pace.”

Geologists Map Rocks to Soak CO2 From Air
To slow global warming, scientists are exploring ways to pull carbon dioxide from the air and safely lock it away. Trees already do this naturally through photosynthesis; now scientists from Columbia and the U.S. Geological Survey have mapped large rock formations in the United States that can also absorb CO2, which they say might be artificially harnessed to do the task at a vastly increased pace.

From Agriculture Policy Support to Human Health, Student Research Showcased
This spring the Earth Institute brought together 30 student interns, researchers and faculty members in the first Millennium Villages student research showcase. Presenters shared their unique educational research experiences of working toward ending extreme poverty through sustainable development in the Millennium Villages project, and the videos of their presentations are available online.

Support the Earth Institute

If you would like to support the great work of the Earth Institute, we invite you to learn more.

Featured Multimedia

Meeting the Climate Challenge

Our Experts in the News Homegrown Aid, The New York Times, Apr. 8, 2009 In 2009, Earth Day Is for Everybody, Every Day, USA Today, Apr. 20, 2009 Is There a Market for a Synthetic Tree?, The New York Times, Apr.13, 2009 'Stop Doing Dumb Things!' Ted Turner and Jeff Sachs on Climate, Huffington Post, Mar. 31, 2009 Dust Bowl Had Human Fingerprint, Discovery News, Mar. 23, 2009 Arctic Ice Vanishing, CNN, Mar. 15, 2009 CO2-Eating Rocks, Living On Earth, Mar. 13, 2009

The Earth Institute, Columbia University is made up of 33 centers and programs where scientists, students and postdoctoral fellows work to mobilize the sciences, education and public policy to achieve a sustainable Earth.

Copyright © 2008 | The Earth Institute | Privacy Policy
Hogan Hall, 2910 Broadway, Mail Code 3277, New York, NY 10025

If you would like to hear more about supporting the Earth Institute, reply to this email with “Support EI” in the subject line.

If this email has been forwarded to you, we invite you to subscribe.

If you would like to unsubscribe, please reply to this message with "unsubscribe learn more" in the subject line.

To ensure delivery of this email, please include the Earth Institute (ei@ldeo.columbia.edu) in your address book.

The Earth Institute's mission is to mobilize the sciences, education and public policy to achieve a sustainable Earth. Through interdisciplinary research among more than 500 scientists in diverse fields, the Institute is adding to the knowledge necessary for addressing the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. With over two dozen associated degree curricula and a vibrant fellowship program, the Earth Institute is educating new leaders to become professionals and scholars in the growing field of sustainable development. We work alongside governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals to devise innovative strategies to protect the future of our planet.