State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201025

  • Who Cares About Care?: 2 reports from Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

    In his time at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center our intrepid intern, Raphy Rosen, has learned of the intricacies of staff-patient relationships. In his next two posts, Raphy discusses the complications of closeness and asks the deceptively simple question, who cares about care? 5- Not too Attached One of the dilemmas that a…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of  7/5

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/5

    Solar-Powered Plane Completes 26-hour Journey, CBC News An experimental Swiss aircraft christened the Solar Impulse completed the world’s first 26-hour solar flight on July 8. The 3,500-pound plane has 206-foot wings covered in 12,000 solar cells, and batteries used to store energy for nighttime flight. The project has been hailed as a great success –…

  • No More Pavement! The Problem of Impervious Surfaces

    No More Pavement! The Problem of Impervious Surfaces

    Recent research, according to the New York Times, indicates that urban areas are about to get hotter — much hotter. Not exactly what blistering New Yorkers want to hear after one of the more brutal, record-breaking heat waves in memory. Of course climatologists (and most of the rest of us) have known for a long…

  • The Wounded Earth

    The Wounded Earth

    One of the oldest time-tested truths is that actions have consequences, both good and bad. The Old Testament tells us the story of Adam, who sacrificed a rib to create Eve, which provided him with a much needed companion, and gave the world described by the Old Testament its first mother. Soon thereafter Eve took…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • Chicago Sanitary Canals, anything but sanitary

    Chicago Sanitary Canals, anything but sanitary

    A story by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 6, 2010 pulls together threads of sewage, drinking water, commerce, ecosystem deterioration, politics, health, geography, and Asian carp to create a picture of how big a mess we humans are capable of making for ourselves.

  • The Man Behind the White Coat: 3 reports from Raphy Rosen

    In his next installation of posts from Terence Cardinal Cooke Hospital and Medical Center, CSSR’s intern Raphy Rosen discusses the transformative power of a jacket, the difference between the physical and the spiritual questions we ask at the end of a life, and the opposing forces of family and medical culture. 2- Physician Demeanor I…

  • Agriculture and Environment in Mbola MVP

    Agriculture and Environment in Mbola MVP

    For my third week of rotations for MDP fieldwork in the Mbola Millennium Village, I I shadowed Agriculture and Environment Facilitator, Francis Missana, as he conducted trainings in post harvest practices and encouraged famers to pay back the input subsidy loans given out by the project in the 2008/2009 season. I was impressed that the…

  • Ice on Ice

    Ice on Ice

    I have reached Jakarta, and so have the ice cores, which are being kept frozen while awaiting air shipment to the United States. The rest of the team has already returned to their homes. Next for me: back to sea level, on two research cruises that will add oceanographic information to the data we gathered on Puncak Jaya.…

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

  • Who Cares About Care?: 2 reports from Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

    In his time at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center our intrepid intern, Raphy Rosen, has learned of the intricacies of staff-patient relationships. In his next two posts, Raphy discusses the complications of closeness and asks the deceptively simple question, who cares about care? 5- Not too Attached One of the dilemmas that a…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of  7/5

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/5

    Solar-Powered Plane Completes 26-hour Journey, CBC News An experimental Swiss aircraft christened the Solar Impulse completed the world’s first 26-hour solar flight on July 8. The 3,500-pound plane has 206-foot wings covered in 12,000 solar cells, and batteries used to store energy for nighttime flight. The project has been hailed as a great success –…

  • No More Pavement! The Problem of Impervious Surfaces

    No More Pavement! The Problem of Impervious Surfaces

    Recent research, according to the New York Times, indicates that urban areas are about to get hotter — much hotter. Not exactly what blistering New Yorkers want to hear after one of the more brutal, record-breaking heat waves in memory. Of course climatologists (and most of the rest of us) have known for a long…

  • The Wounded Earth

    The Wounded Earth

    One of the oldest time-tested truths is that actions have consequences, both good and bad. The Old Testament tells us the story of Adam, who sacrificed a rib to create Eve, which provided him with a much needed companion, and gave the world described by the Old Testament its first mother. Soon thereafter Eve took…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • Chicago Sanitary Canals, anything but sanitary

    Chicago Sanitary Canals, anything but sanitary

    A story by Dan Egan in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 6, 2010 pulls together threads of sewage, drinking water, commerce, ecosystem deterioration, politics, health, geography, and Asian carp to create a picture of how big a mess we humans are capable of making for ourselves.

  • The Man Behind the White Coat: 3 reports from Raphy Rosen

    In his next installation of posts from Terence Cardinal Cooke Hospital and Medical Center, CSSR’s intern Raphy Rosen discusses the transformative power of a jacket, the difference between the physical and the spiritual questions we ask at the end of a life, and the opposing forces of family and medical culture. 2- Physician Demeanor I…

  • Agriculture and Environment in Mbola MVP

    Agriculture and Environment in Mbola MVP

    For my third week of rotations for MDP fieldwork in the Mbola Millennium Village, I I shadowed Agriculture and Environment Facilitator, Francis Missana, as he conducted trainings in post harvest practices and encouraged famers to pay back the input subsidy loans given out by the project in the 2008/2009 season. I was impressed that the…

  • Ice on Ice

    Ice on Ice

    I have reached Jakarta, and so have the ice cores, which are being kept frozen while awaiting air shipment to the United States. The rest of the team has already returned to their homes. Next for me: back to sea level, on two research cruises that will add oceanographic information to the data we gathered on Puncak Jaya.…