State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201010

  • Measuring the Ice From a Bird’s Eye View!

    Measuring the Ice From a Bird’s Eye View!

    Operation IceBridge Antarctica ramps up for a second year of ice surveys. Originating from Chile, a series of airborne missions will be flown almost daily from the airbase in Punta Arenas.

  • Open House for Environment and Sustainable Development Programs

    Open House for Environment and Sustainable Development Programs

    By Andrea Schecter From critical global issues like climate change and water scarcity to devastating local disasters like the Gulf oil spill and Haiti earthquake, experts in sustainable development are being called upon more and more to meet the challenges of our increasingly complex world. The demand for expertise and problem-solving in these areas is…

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Newsweek Takes on Water

    Newsweek Takes on Water

    Last week Newsweek Magazine took up the water issue – a sure sign that awareness of the global water crisis is growing.

  • Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Last Monday, October 11th, Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Consulate General of Denmark co-hosted “The Climate Challenge: Revitalizing the Debate”. The daylong symposium included three panel sessions, in which experts from academia, the private sector, government and non-governmental organizations discussed the effects and implications of global climate change as well as steps –both taken…

  • In New York City, 2010 is All About the Water

    In New York City, 2010 is All About the Water

    Has New York City hit a critical mass that will make it truly a green city? I’m beginning to suspect so, at least in terms of water issues. There have been an increasing number of initiatives both to remediate past damage and to prevent future water quality problems, that are worth looking at together.

  • Understanding the Crucial Connection Between Water and Energy

    Understanding the Crucial Connection Between Water and Energy

    While awareness of the water-energy nexus is growing, in many parts of the world policy affecting both energy and water remains shortsighted at best and dangerously counterproductive at worst.

  • DIY Superfund Cleanup?  Jerko the Water Vacuum Goes to Gowanus

    DIY Superfund Cleanup? Jerko the Water Vacuum Goes to Gowanus

    Last Saturday, October 2nd saw the maiden voyage of “Jerko, the Gowanus Water Vacuum” in a classic expression of the burgeoning, grandly ambitious Do-it-Yourself environmental cleanup movement. Jerko is intended to move up and down the canal, cleaning water through biological filtration and reminding us of what have done to the earth—and what, in theory,…

  • Understanding the ‘Rain’ in Rainforest

    Understanding the ‘Rain’ in Rainforest

    There is increasing evidence that forests – and subsequently, deforestation – may have impacts on global water cycles.

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

  • Measuring the Ice From a Bird’s Eye View!

    Measuring the Ice From a Bird’s Eye View!

    Operation IceBridge Antarctica ramps up for a second year of ice surveys. Originating from Chile, a series of airborne missions will be flown almost daily from the airbase in Punta Arenas.

  • Open House for Environment and Sustainable Development Programs

    Open House for Environment and Sustainable Development Programs

    By Andrea Schecter From critical global issues like climate change and water scarcity to devastating local disasters like the Gulf oil spill and Haiti earthquake, experts in sustainable development are being called upon more and more to meet the challenges of our increasingly complex world. The demand for expertise and problem-solving in these areas is…

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Newsweek Takes on Water

    Newsweek Takes on Water

    Last week Newsweek Magazine took up the water issue – a sure sign that awareness of the global water crisis is growing.

  • Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Last Monday, October 11th, Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Consulate General of Denmark co-hosted “The Climate Challenge: Revitalizing the Debate”. The daylong symposium included three panel sessions, in which experts from academia, the private sector, government and non-governmental organizations discussed the effects and implications of global climate change as well as steps –both taken…

  • In New York City, 2010 is All About the Water

    In New York City, 2010 is All About the Water

    Has New York City hit a critical mass that will make it truly a green city? I’m beginning to suspect so, at least in terms of water issues. There have been an increasing number of initiatives both to remediate past damage and to prevent future water quality problems, that are worth looking at together.

  • Understanding the Crucial Connection Between Water and Energy

    Understanding the Crucial Connection Between Water and Energy

    While awareness of the water-energy nexus is growing, in many parts of the world policy affecting both energy and water remains shortsighted at best and dangerously counterproductive at worst.

  • DIY Superfund Cleanup?  Jerko the Water Vacuum Goes to Gowanus

    DIY Superfund Cleanup? Jerko the Water Vacuum Goes to Gowanus

    Last Saturday, October 2nd saw the maiden voyage of “Jerko, the Gowanus Water Vacuum” in a classic expression of the burgeoning, grandly ambitious Do-it-Yourself environmental cleanup movement. Jerko is intended to move up and down the canal, cleaning water through biological filtration and reminding us of what have done to the earth—and what, in theory,…

  • Understanding the ‘Rain’ in Rainforest

    Understanding the ‘Rain’ in Rainforest

    There is increasing evidence that forests – and subsequently, deforestation – may have impacts on global water cycles.