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Dear Friend, Speaking as a geologist who studies climates of the past, the science regarding current changes is clear: great shifts are underway, and we have only a few decades to change course. Basic research at the Earth Institute has helped to show how and why such shifts occur; and now we are exploring grand-scale technical and socioeconomic solutions that will be needed to reduce future atmospheric carbon levels, a necessary requirement for mitigating climate change. For instance, a new initiative, the Global Network for Climate Solutions, is using expertise in existing centers including our International Research Institute for Climate and Society to form and facilitate country-by-country strategies in the developing world. It aims not only at practical and economic ways for these nations to cut emissions and adapt, but at making international negotiations, like those taking place this month in Cancún, Mexico, more fruitful in the future. Research by myself and my colleagues at the Earth Institute highlights just how large and how swift climate changes have been in the recent past. This knowledge imbues a humbling respect for the scale of the problem, as well as hope that intelligent, viable solutions can be found. Peter B. deMenocal Vice Chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University |
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Blog Feature Climate Solutions, Nation by Nation
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  Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research, Nov. 22 Volcanoes Have Shifted Asian Rainfall, Nov. 3 Earth Institute Scientists Lead Urban Northeast Climate Study, Sept. 24 Irrigation's Cooling Effects May Mask Warming—For Now, and Future, Sept. 7 Survey Shows Many Are Clueless on How to Save Energy, Aug. 16 |
 
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