Featured Events

Wednesday, November 4

Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century
Speakers: Larry Burns, Former Vice President of Research & Development, General Motors; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Schapiro CEPSR Building, Davis Auditorium
Contact: Carey Russell, crussell@ei.columbia.edu or call 2128510241
RSVP: Register

Thursday, November 5

Earth Institute Seminars on Sustainable Development - Focus on Climate: Managing Carbon
Speakers: Ruth DeFries, Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development; Columbia University; Klaus Lackner, Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Faculty House, Garden Room 1, First Floor
Contact: Betsy Ness-Edelstein, en2109@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2552

This Week’s Events

Wednesday, November 4

Columbia Water Center Seminar: Mercury Methylation in Biofilms and Rapid Detection of Microbial Pollution in Water - Two Issues Relevant to Public Health Worldwide
Speaker: Jennifer A. Jay, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Los Angeles
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 924 Seeley W. Mudd Building
Contact: Samantha Tress, st2424@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://water.columbia.edu

CERC Information Session: Evening Certificate in Conservation Biology
Speaker: Desmond Beirne, Program Associate, Evening Certificate Program in Conservation Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC)
Time: 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Schermerhorn Extension, Room 1015
Contact: Desmond Beirne, djb2104@columbia.edu or call (212) 854-0149
Web Site: http://www.cerc.columbia.edu

LDEO MG&G and SG&T Seminar Series: The Effects of Data Quality in Travel-Time Tomography - Application to the Alpine Region
Speaker: Tobias Diehl, Post-Doctoral Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 12:10 to 1:10 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Marine Biology/Seismology Building, Seminar Room, 2nd Floor
Contact: Eunseo Choi, echoi@ldeo.columbia.edu or call (845) 365-8813

Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century
Speakers: Larry Burns, Former Vice President of Research & Development, General Motors; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Schapiro CEPSR Building, Davis Auditorium
Contact: Carey Russell, crussell@ei.columbia.edu or call 2128510241
RSVP: Register

From Thursday, November 5 through Friday, November 6

Fourth Columbia International Investment Conference: Foreign Direct Investment - The Global Crisis and Sustainable Recovery
Speakers: Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University; Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); Karin Lissakers, Director, Revenue Watch Institute; Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General, Strategic Planning Unit, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, United Nations; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University; Manfred Schekulin, Chairperson, OECD Investment Committee; Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University; Kari Tapiola, Executive Director, International Labour Organization
Time: All Day Event
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Columbia Law School, Jerome L. Greene Hall, 435 West 116th Street at Amsterdam Avenue, Registration - Lobby Level, Conference - Mezzanine Level, Drapkin Lounge
Contact: Lisa Sachs, lsachs1@law.columbia.edu
Web Site: http://vcc.columbia.edu/events/

Thursday, November 5

Earth Institute Seminars on Sustainable Development - Focus on Climate: Managing Carbon
Speakers: Ruth DeFries, Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development; Columbia University; Klaus Lackner, Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Faculty House, Garden Room 1, First Floor
Contact: Betsy Ness-Edelstein, en2109@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2552

Friday, November 6

Columbia Water Center Seminar Series: Complexity and Emergence in Ecohydrologic Process Networks
Speaker: Praveen Kumar, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Time: 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 833 Seeley W. Mudd Building
Contact: Samantha Tress, st2424@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://water.columbia.edu

LDEO Earth Science Colloquium: Why Scientists Are The Greatest People In This Or Any Other Universe and Why They Should Tell People About it?
Speaker: Claudia Dreifus, The New York Times
Time: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Monell Building Auditorium
Contact: Scott Nooner, snooner@ldeo.columbia.edu
Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/earth-science-colloquium/2009-2010

I am writing to alert you to efforts underway this morning to zero out a large portion of the science funding from the Senate American Reinvestment and Recovery Act as a part of a $77.9B reduction effort led by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

As you know better than most, science and technology are responsible for half of the economic development of the United States since WWII and yet, if current trends hold, some, such as the Business Round table, have predicted that 90% of all scientists and engineers will live in Asia within 5 years.

The United States simply MUST renew our investment in the single greatest economic engine this country has ever known. Small federal investments in scientific research have helped produce things like the internet and the transistor that have consistently delivered multi-trillion dollar economies.

The United States is at a critical juncture, and if this concerns you we suggest now would be a time to contact your Senators and urge them to support science funding. Here is what is being proposed to be cut from the bill, according to TPM:

NASA exploration $750,000,000 = 50%

NSF $1,402,000,000 = 100%

NOAA $427,000,000 = 34.94%

NIST $218,000,000 = 37.91%

DOE energy efficiency & renewable energy $1,000,000,000 = 38% DOE office of science $100,000,000 = 100%

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/Collins-Nelson-Cuts/?resultpage=1&

The Gaming Krib

http://www.gamingkrib.org

Today tens of thousands of Americans are answering President-elect Obama’s call to service. Nearly 13,000 service events have taken place since the President-elect’s service initiative, Renew America Together, was announced.

http://www.usaservice.org/page/event/detail/4vk5j

We’ve been hearing from you all day about how you’re serving your community. You’re volunteering in food pantries, painting schools, donating blood and so much more.

About USAService.org

Every time our nation faces crisis, our national experience has shown Americans rise to the challenge. While government has an important role to play in helping rekindle our economy and addressing the problems of a distressed nation, President-elect Obama believes each of us, as Americans, have a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens.  We are one nation.

The United States is once again at a crossroads and that is why the President-elect hopes to use the occasion of his Inauguration to rally our nation to commit to service in our communities. We are asking for your participation in meeting this challenge.

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods.  He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

This website is designed to help promote these events and for Americans to make their commitments, build communities, find opportunities to serve and share their results. These can be events that engage people in direct service, or bring people together to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and how they can commit to becoming more engaged citizens. Please create an event or sign up to volunteer today.

http://www.usaservice.org/

What is the Gaming Krib?

That depends on who you ask. We are an addictive learning, social community with a “positive empowerment” design for parents, kids and educators! To parents, it’s an excited response to the question “Did you do your homework today?” (knowing yes is always the answer). To the principal, it’s an applied and interactive learning center with an Ivy League flare and measurable results. For the teacher, it’s a curriculum developed by acclaimed educators and parenting experts, where paperwork and pop quizzes are replaced with interactive learning and collaborative projects while earning prizes and awards. For students, it’s just fun! In short, we put our platform in “FRONT” of everything we find that will motivate a child to learn and earn (popular games, internet sites, TV).

Presidential Service Award

Barack Obama’s personal message and support of “The Gaming Krib” …”Thank you for all you do!”
“But there’s one last ingredient that I just want to mention, and that’s parents. We can’t do it just in the schools. Parents are going to have to show more responsibility. They’ve got to turn off the TV set, put away the video games, and, finally, start instilling that thirst for knowledge that our students need.” Obama/McCain Debate #3 08′.