Grant D’Avino explains everything you will ever need to know about green energy. Thanks, Grant!

Financiers, environmentalists, and concerned citizens packed into Faculty House on Thursday night for “Innovative Methods of Green Energy Finance”, a panel discussion sponsored by the Earth Institute. Steven Cohen, Executive Director of the Earth Institute, opened discussion with a simple observation, “Most people are aware of the need to switch from a fossil fuel based economy to one based on renewable energy.” Given this consensus, the moderator mused, why is there need for a discussion of “Innovative Methods of Green Energy Finance”? Shouldn’t the merits of green energy, financially and environmentally, speak for themselves? He argued that they succeed in doing so. But sadly, from his perspective, initial costs inherent in switching to green technologies have clouded the long term vision of investors and stymied those with little cash or credit available. With this paradox in mind, Cohen opened discussion to the night’s panel.

Read more…

Mark Hay, Bwog’s Master of the Millennium Village, makes a man want to speak Spanish.

No Columbia celebrity packs a room quite like Jeffrey Sachs. Invited by the young student group Delta GDP to speak on his already notorious views on development programs in impoverished nations, this brief and cursory event filled a rather uncomfortable Fayerweather classroom well beyond capacity. Streams of equal exchange, fairly traded, organically grown dark chocolate flowed in abundance through the audience, accompanied by advertising placards for reverse trick-or-treating with large and inspiring pictures of smiling African children. So cute. And in this utopian lull, the crowd bustled with excited commentary on the veritable demigod soon to grace us with his presence

Interestingly, this event was originally conceptualized as a potential debate between Sachs and arch-nemesis William Easterly of NYU. Sachs, however, shot down this idea, claiming that he does not do debates, at least not in person – he’s just not that confrontational. So William Easterly will appear alone Friday, same time, same place, exact opposite message (Bwog can only image in this backwards world what the audience and amenities will be like). With Easterly out of the picture, though, Sachs found the time and the freedom to paint his rosy picture of development – such earnest hope and trust in the goodwill of man and his pocketbook, it’s like watching an elevated Sally Struthers commercial.

Read more…

An incoming 2013er whose father is incarcerated writes about her path to Columbia.

James Franco drops out of speaking at UCLA’s commencement.

Jeff Sachs wants the US to send water, not money.

Will cities of the future need “vertical farming?” Two Columbia professors say “yes.”

David Helfand has said that a meteor could bring down a plane. Did it bring down Air France 447?

Hamid Dabashi: “The first 100 days over, Obama is looking more and more like Bush”

As seniors pack their bags, one Nobel-ballin’ senior citizen is unpacking his. Yes, that’s right, Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the U.N., is coming to Columbia. This spring!

Bwog thought spring was already over, but then again, Bwog has never been an expert on the equinoxes.

In an email sent to the Columbia community this afternoon, President Bollinger outlined the Global Fellows program Annan will be joining, and hinted at all the hijinks he’ll soon be up to with fellow, um, “global practitioners.” A penny for whomever knows what those are.

PrezBo’s full email is after the jump.

Read more…

Jeffrey Sachs is everywhere lately, including in his own dreams. An anonymous Facebook-loving tipster has sent in this screenshot, in which Sachs says publicly what we’ve all been thinking:

He’s a fan! Good for him for being honest! It’s nice to see that not all professors have been scared away from the internet.

- Photo via The Earth Institute

It’s not uncommon to see Columbia’s celebrity economist in the news, but three times in one day? First, “the noted economist” tell the Press Trust of India (India’s AP) that India needs to spend more money stimulating the economy to ensure a quick recovery. Sounds kinda like what a Columbia alum just signed.

Not content to merely be interviewed, Sachs also has his own essay on Fortune’s website, detailing his plan on how to fix the Big 3 auto companies. “The Big 3 are not just another industry segment,” he writes, “they are world-leading organizations that can reassume that role in technology and markets with an appropriate public-private partnership over the coming decade.”

And because writing isn’t enough, he’s also headlining the launch of a new Earth Institute project, GlobalSoilMap.net, today at Casa Italiana. According to the event description, “this initiative, which will map most of the ice-free land surface of the globe over the next five years, will help scientists and policy makers tackle pressing issues like food security, climate change and water scarcity.”

Next up: leaping tall buildings in a single bound. Hey, it’s easier than saving the Dow.

Tipster Tadi Ciszak director our attention to sustainable development guru Jeffrey Sachs, professor to the stars, who made at cameo at today’s House Financial Services Panel regarding a possible bailout for automakers.

That’s Chrysler CEO Robert L. Nardelli in the front, who, along with other executives from G.M. and Ford testified on the Hill today.

Why is Jeffrey Sachs there? He’s a well-respected economist for sure, and was most likely brought in to offer his opinion. In fact, in another MSNBC video (after the jump), Sachs warns against letting the auto makers fail. We’ve been watching him for minutes, and at about 28 seconds in, he tussles his hair with boyish nonchalance, which seems to be some sort of window in his psyche. What else is he trying to tell us?

Read more…

Chabad is the new place in Harlem for singles to meet and “schmooze“.  Seriously, it beats 1020.

Coming soon in theaters, Checkmate at 112^th Street. You never knew a bishop could be so dangerous.

Why don’t you just go to Africa and save some lives like our “celebrated economist” tells us to?  Phelps and Stiglitz are in the next room, kind of ticked off.

You can’t get into Barnard because of failed mercantilism?  Bwog is just itching to protest the Columbia-Barnard Free Trade Agreement.

All the world’s a stage!  Know thyself!  At least before you go trick-or-treating…

Bwog Lecture Hop Editor Pierce Stanley attended this evening’s Jeffrey Sachs-sponsored Progress and Challenges in the Millennium Villages lecture.

Miller Theater served as a welcome refuge from the torrential downpour levied today on Morningside Heights. This afternoon, a slew of students packed into the theater to hear a report from Earth Institute Director/Professor to the Stars Jeffrey Sachs on the progress of the Millennium Villages project.  Sachs spoke about the brutal realities that many individuals in the villages face on a daily basis, the challenges in continuing and expanding aid for the villages in a time plagued by a troubled worldwide economy, as well as suggesting that the road ahead — specifically with respect to the monetary and human investments required for success — would be quite difficult to traverse. 

Read more…

Morningside slows down in the Halloween runup, unless you’re at MoWi or DR (fun!).  Here’s some things you can do before the long weekend.

Monday

Lunchtime Concerts – Haydn “Sun” Quartets: The Daedalus Quartet, in residence at Columbia, performs this week.  Reviewed by the New York Times last week.  12:30 PM @ Philosophy Lounge.  Also Tuesday, Wednesday.

Tuesday

Sachs Student Lecture: Jeffrey Sachs on “Progress and Challenges in the Millennium Villages.”  5:00 PM @ Miller Theatre.

Read more…