State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

200913

  • Peering Under the Ice of a Collapsing Polar Coast

    Low-Level Aerial Surveys Aim to Understand Rapid Antarctic Melting

  • Food Security Under Climate Change

    In 2008 the world faced one of its most severe food crises in recent history.  Around the world riots broke out in otherwise food-secure nations — places like Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil.  The world’s governments responded — a major U.N. conference was held in Geneva.  What they discussed there was the fundamental issue of…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/27

    Gordon Brown’s $100 bn Climate Aid Proposal is ‘Only First Offering‘, guardian.co.uk Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposes $100 billion in future aid to countries struggling to adapt to climate change. The compensation, which could rise to a higher number as international negotiations continue, would be supplied by “rich” nations in a timeframe extending to 2020.…

  • ‘Killer’ Southeast Drought Low on Scale, Says Study

    Others Were Far Worse; Population, Planning Are the Real Problems

  • Thinking on Your Feet on the Ice

    Nick Frearson, Gravimeter Instrument Team, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: I’m a senior engineer at Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, and my role in Operation Ice Bridge is to work with the gravimeter. This instrument can see beneath ice sheets into the water and bedrock below to reveal the ice sheet’s hidden contours – critical information…

  • Undergrads in Sustainable Development Travel to Japan

    Columbia College Junior Hannah Perls was interning for Congressman Edward Markey, co-author of the historic Waxman-Markey climate bill, when she first considered a future working on Capitol Hill in environmental policy and energy issues. This summer, as part of her studies in the undergraduate special concentration in sustainable development, she completed a seminar on sustainability…

  • A New Way to Experience Antarctica

    Michael Studinger, Instrument Co-Principal Investigator, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: The scale and style of Operation Ice Bridge will be a new experience for me. I’ve been involved in airborne research for more than a decade using ice-penetrating radar systems, airborne laser scanning, gravity and magnetics to learn more about the polar ice caps and how they…

  • WFP and Millennium Villages Unite to Cut Hunger, Malnutrition

    UNITED NATIONS – Highlighting the growing challenge of hunger and malnutrition and the urgent need for solutions and partnerships, the World Food Programme and the Millennium Villages project today announced plans to expand joint action to cut hunger and malnutrition across Africa. At a time when one in six people worldwide do not have enough…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/19

    Denver to Barcelona: Global Cities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, ScienceDaily ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology is publishing a new study in October identifying which cities are producing the greatest levels of greenhouse gases. Denver was number one on the list, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, Cape Town, and Bangkok. Researchers identified high electricity and heating…

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Peering Under the Ice of a Collapsing Polar Coast

    Low-Level Aerial Surveys Aim to Understand Rapid Antarctic Melting

  • Food Security Under Climate Change

    In 2008 the world faced one of its most severe food crises in recent history.  Around the world riots broke out in otherwise food-secure nations — places like Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil.  The world’s governments responded — a major U.N. conference was held in Geneva.  What they discussed there was the fundamental issue of…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/27

    Gordon Brown’s $100 bn Climate Aid Proposal is ‘Only First Offering‘, guardian.co.uk Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposes $100 billion in future aid to countries struggling to adapt to climate change. The compensation, which could rise to a higher number as international negotiations continue, would be supplied by “rich” nations in a timeframe extending to 2020.…

  • ‘Killer’ Southeast Drought Low on Scale, Says Study

    Others Were Far Worse; Population, Planning Are the Real Problems

  • Thinking on Your Feet on the Ice

    Nick Frearson, Gravimeter Instrument Team, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: I’m a senior engineer at Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, and my role in Operation Ice Bridge is to work with the gravimeter. This instrument can see beneath ice sheets into the water and bedrock below to reveal the ice sheet’s hidden contours – critical information…

  • Undergrads in Sustainable Development Travel to Japan

    Columbia College Junior Hannah Perls was interning for Congressman Edward Markey, co-author of the historic Waxman-Markey climate bill, when she first considered a future working on Capitol Hill in environmental policy and energy issues. This summer, as part of her studies in the undergraduate special concentration in sustainable development, she completed a seminar on sustainability…

  • A New Way to Experience Antarctica

    Michael Studinger, Instrument Co-Principal Investigator, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: The scale and style of Operation Ice Bridge will be a new experience for me. I’ve been involved in airborne research for more than a decade using ice-penetrating radar systems, airborne laser scanning, gravity and magnetics to learn more about the polar ice caps and how they…

  • WFP and Millennium Villages Unite to Cut Hunger, Malnutrition

    UNITED NATIONS – Highlighting the growing challenge of hunger and malnutrition and the urgent need for solutions and partnerships, the World Food Programme and the Millennium Villages project today announced plans to expand joint action to cut hunger and malnutrition across Africa. At a time when one in six people worldwide do not have enough…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/19

    Denver to Barcelona: Global Cities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, ScienceDaily ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology is publishing a new study in October identifying which cities are producing the greatest levels of greenhouse gases. Denver was number one on the list, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, Cape Town, and Bangkok. Researchers identified high electricity and heating…