CIESIN News

Webinar Features New Superfund Mapping Service

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The new online mapping service, the National Priority List (NPL) Superfund Footprint Mapper, was featured as part of a Webinar sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Partnerships for Public Environmental Health (PEPH) on May 7. Participants numbered 158 attendees, more than 30 from federal agencies. Senior research associate Meredith Golden showcased the Mapper with assistance from geographic information specialist Tricia Chai-Onn, who also helped develop the service. Golden highlighted data from several projects of the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center operated by CIESIN. These include the U.S. Census Grids and the Global Poverty Mapping Project. The NPL Superfund Footprint Mapper can display population and environmental characteristics for areas surrounding more than 1700 NPL Superfund sites. An archived recording of the Webinar will be available soon on the SRP Web site.

Columbia University Superfund Research Program Web site

Paris Workshop Looks at Emerging Climate and Security Issues

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Deputy director Marc Levy participated in a workshop, “Climate and Security: Evidence, Emerging Risks and a New Agenda,” held May 3–4 in Paris. The workshop was sponsored by Institut du Développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI), Sciences Po, University of Exeter, and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. For the segment focused on research, which took place on May 3, Levy gave a presentation on a panel entitled, “Peace-building and Mitigation & Adaptation Projects.” The following day he participated in a panel that synthesized recent research results for policy makers.

Agenda: "Climate and Security..."

Integrating Earth Observing Systems the Focus of Geneva Meetings

Sat, 05 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

More than 100 experts on Earth observations gathered in Geneva April 30–May 4 to coordinate plans for integrating remote sensing and other environmental and socioeconomic data under the auspices of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). CIESIN director Robert Chen participated in the GEO Work Plan Symposium 2012, reporting on the efforts of the GEO Data Sharing Working Group to reduce the legal and institutional barriers to sharing data across the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) being developed by GEO member countries and other participating organizations. Chen is one of the co-chairs of the Working Group, representing the International Council for Science, and serves as task coordinator for the GEO work plan task on data sharing. CIESIN geographic information specialist Sneha Rao subsequently participated in the kickoff meeting for the fifth phase of the GEO Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP-5), held May 3-4. She presented CIESIN’s planned contributions to the pilot, emphasizing ways to integrate data on population, land use, hazards, and sustainability with Earth observations to support GEO's priority societal benefit areas such as disaster management, agriculture, and climate adaptation.

GEO-5 Outcomes Discussed in Preparation for Rio+20 Talks

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy participated in a meeting April 27 to summarize the results of the United Nations Environment Programme Fifth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5), at United Nations headquarters. The meeting was convened by the Permanent Missions of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States to the UN, and UNEP. The meeting focused on the successes and failures of the world’s implementation of internationally agreed environmental goals. Other speakers included John Matuszak, U.S. Department of State; Jorge Laguna-Celis, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN; Daniel Ziegerer, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment; and Jose Almonte, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Dominican Republic. Levy’s comments emphasized the poor track record in meeting international environmental goals, and he made a case for international action focused more heavily on drivers of environmental change and oriented more toward transforming large-scale systems. Levy is a coordinating lead author, along with CIESIN post-doctoral scholar Alexandra Morel, of a GEO-5 chapter on drivers of environmental change.

GEO-5 Summary Meeting

Superfund Conference Explores Possible Collaborations

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN senior research associate Meredith Golden participated in a conference sponsored by the Northeast Superfund Research Program, “Complex Mixtures and Exposures: Analyzing, Modeling, and Predicting Fate and Effects at Multiple Levels of Environmental and Biological Systems,” held April 23–24 at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. More than 50 toxicologists, ecotoxicologists, epidemiologists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, engineers, and research translation experts convened to examine the challenges to understanding and predicting the environmental, biological, and mechanistic aspects of complex mixtures and complex exposures. As rapporteur for the research translation perspective, Golden, who is co-PI of the Research Translation Core for the Columbia University Superfund Research Program, emphasized the need for scientists to identify key audiences and to engage in productive dialogue in order to foster innovative science and research collaborations to improve public health at Superfund sites.

CIESIN Partners with New York Hall of Science on Interactive Learning about Sustainability

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), built initially as a pavilion for the 1964 World's Fair, features the largest collection of hands-on science exhibits in New York City. With support from the National Science Foundation, CIESIN is collaborating with the NYSCI to explore new ways of learning about the interconnected economic, social and environmental factors that influence sustainability. The new three-year project, Interaction Research in Complex Informal Learning Environments (IRCILE), will prototype and implement a data-rich, technology-mediated collaborative environment for learning about sustainability, appropriate for elementary and middle school students as well as parents, teachers, and other visitors to the NYSCI facility in Queens, New York. CIESIN scientists began participating in project planning meetings in January and hosted a working meeting April 18 with NYSCI project leads Stephen Uzzo and Geralyn Abinader. One outcome of the project is expected to be a new multi-player game environment housed in the NYSCI's Great Hall.

EI Fellows Present Research in Sustainable Development

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

EI Fellow Alexandra Morel was one of eight postdoctoral scientists who presented their research in sustainable development as part of the Earth Institute Fellows Spring Symposium held April 18 on Columbia University's Morningside campus. The Symposium presentations ranged from measuring the impact of Walmart's Chinese Direct Farm Program on small farmers in China to assessing the ability of New York City inhabitants to manage indoor temperature and humidity levels. The Symposium was introduced by EI director and professor Jeffrey Sachs and moderated by John Mutter, Director of the EI Fellows Program. Morel has been helping to lead CIESIN’s household survey efforts for the Frontera Verde Project, a large-scale reforestation initiative of the governments of Haiti and Dominican Republic and the UN Environment Program and UN Development Program. She presented a spatial analysis of environmental degradation and household insecurity in the area along the Haitian and Dominican Border. Morel has been hosted by CIESIN as an Earth Institute Fellow since October 2010.

"Spatial Analysis of Environmental Degradation and Household Insecurity along the Haitian and Dominican Border"

Enhanced Website on African Soils Launched

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A new and improved Web site and quarterly newsletter have been released by the Africa Soils Information Service (AfSIS). One important enhancement is a section on the homepage called "Data and Map Portal" that highlights the project's progress in sampling sentinel sites across the continent, creating the Africa Soil Profiles Database, carrying out diagnostic trials, and conducting critical analysis of the data. The subscription-based newsletter, which now offers a more reader-friendly layout, aims to keep interested recipients up to date on project activities and provide a behind-the-scenes look at some of the individuals involved in AfSIS field work. AfSIS is a collaboration between the Earth Institute and African scientists and institutions to develop detailed digital maps of soils in 42 countries of sub-Saharan Africa in support of sustainable agriculture. Development of the new outreach vehicles has been led by AfSIS team members Alison Rose, research manager at the Earth Institute's Tropical Agriculture and Rural Environment Program; Sonya Ahamed, senior research associate at CIESIN; and Annie Gerard, media designer at CIESIN. To subscribe to the newsletter, go to the new AfSIS Web site.

Disaster Resilience Dialogue Contributes to Rio+20 Summit

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The inclusion of disaster risk reduction as one of the seven critical issues in the 2012 Rio+20 Summit presents a timely opportunity for consideration of political and financial action within the context of sustainable development. A meeting April 11, “From Sendai to Rio: Cultivating a Disaster-Resilient Society for Sustainable Development,” convened a wide range of local and international government officials and experts to discuss building climate and disaster resilience in coastal cities, and to share their expertise in influencing the public and policy understanding on sustainable development, especially in the urban context. Held at Columbia University's Low Library in Manhattan, the meeting was organized by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, and the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), in collaboration with The Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), and the Center on Japanese Economy and Business.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, gave opening remarks, along with Jun Yamazaki, ambassador, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, and Margareta Wahlstrom, special representative of the secretary-general for Disaster Risk Reduction. Cynthia Rosenzweig, head of Climate Impacts Group, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), served as moderator. Key discussion points included exploring lessons learned from recent disasters; discussing the benefits of fortifying cities against disaster; and recommending issues for future research and applications. The results of the dialogue will be made available to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development-Rio+20 and to the member cities of UNISDR's "Making Cities Resilient" campaign.

CIESIN Welcomes Alliance Program Interns

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

With the arrival of three student interns April 9 from the École Polytechnique in Paris, CIESIN marks its fifth year as a host center for the Alliance program, a unique joint venture between Columbia University, École Polytechnique, Sciences Po, and the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. Cécile Martinier is a dual major in the economics of sustainable development and in civil engineering. At CIESIN, she is analyzing sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions data, to gain insights into the evolution of global SO₂ emissions over time according to two main parameters, geography and emissions sources. Mylène Dupas, an environmental economics major, is focusing on the spatial distribution of CO₂ emissions in North America (the U.S., Canada, and Mexico). Both Martinier and Dupas are working with CIESIN information scientist Xiaoshi Xing. Tancrède Besnard is an economics major working with the Haiti Regeneration Initiative team, including program manager Alex Fischer and staff associate Paola Kim Blanco. He is helping to analyze the survey data collected recently in Haiti. The three Alliance interns will work at CIESIN for three months, to meet a requirement for third-year students in the four-year program, which is equivalent to a U.S. masters degree.

Alliance Program