State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

20103

  • The Columbia Water Center’s New Projects Section

    The Columbia Water Center is pleased to announce the release of a greatly expanded and updated research projects section of its website. The new section includes an interactive map along with updated content on the Water Center’s projects around the world. Find out about our how we’re helping farmers save water with tensiometers in India,…

  • A Study on The Effectiveness of Certificate Programs

    A Study on The Effectiveness of Certificate Programs

    The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article written by Jennifer Gonzalez called, “Certificate Programs Could Play a Key Role in Meeting the Nation’s Educational Goals,” indirectly highlighting the role of CERC’s Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability.

  • Honoring a Pioneer in Planetary Evolution

    Honoring a Pioneer in Planetary Evolution

    David Walker, a professor of geochemistry at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, will be honored tonight by colleagues at the American Geophysical Union for decades of groundbreaking work to understand the early formation of the moon and Earth. Walker will receive the AGU’s Harry H. Hess Medal, awarded for “outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and…

  • Connecting Development Practitioners and Students Online

    Connecting Development Practitioners and Students Online

    Imagine an online community that provides development practitioners in the field opportunities to communicate with one another and share best practices in real-time. Now imagine that same community enabling aspiring practitioners the chance to learn from these exchanges right in the classroom. An exciting partnership between DAI (Development Alternatives, Inc.) and our Master of Public…

  • India’s Water Is Running Out

    India’s Water Is Running Out

    India is running “the largest water-mining project in the world”–and it cannot be sustained much longer, Columbia Water Center researcher Shama Perveen told an audience on Monday. That is mainly because farmers, who depend heavily on irrigation water drawn from underground aquifers, are using far more water than rainfall can replenish. Perveen’s talk, “Quantifying the…

  • The Right Tools to Talk Climate

    At AGU, you need the right tools to understand what’s going on, and to get where you need to go. Columbia researchers have been looking for the right tools to navigate another complicated place: The gap between what climate science tells us, and how a lot of the public hears that information.

  • Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Like dirt swept under the carpet, it appears that much of the human-made heat produced over the last century has been getting soaked up by the world’s oceans, and sinking into deep waters.

  • Climate News Roundup – Cancun Summit

    Climate News Roundup – Cancun Summit

    Baird to Flaunt Climate Cash at Cancun Talks Toronto Star, Dec 6. Canada has committed a $400 million package to assist developing nations reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. Canada’s environment minister John Baird highlighted the fact that while Canada is responsible for 2% of global emissions, it is paying for 4% of the…

  • 18,000 Scientists–In One Place

    This week marks the world’s largest annual gathering of earth and space scientists: the five-day December meeting of the American Geophysical Union. There will be about 18,000 of them, spread across two giant San Francisco convention halls giving talks and discussing the latest in their fields. Scores of researchers from the Earth Institute will be…

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

  • The Columbia Water Center’s New Projects Section

    The Columbia Water Center is pleased to announce the release of a greatly expanded and updated research projects section of its website. The new section includes an interactive map along with updated content on the Water Center’s projects around the world. Find out about our how we’re helping farmers save water with tensiometers in India,…

  • A Study on The Effectiveness of Certificate Programs

    A Study on The Effectiveness of Certificate Programs

    The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article written by Jennifer Gonzalez called, “Certificate Programs Could Play a Key Role in Meeting the Nation’s Educational Goals,” indirectly highlighting the role of CERC’s Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability.

  • Honoring a Pioneer in Planetary Evolution

    Honoring a Pioneer in Planetary Evolution

    David Walker, a professor of geochemistry at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, will be honored tonight by colleagues at the American Geophysical Union for decades of groundbreaking work to understand the early formation of the moon and Earth. Walker will receive the AGU’s Harry H. Hess Medal, awarded for “outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and…

  • Connecting Development Practitioners and Students Online

    Connecting Development Practitioners and Students Online

    Imagine an online community that provides development practitioners in the field opportunities to communicate with one another and share best practices in real-time. Now imagine that same community enabling aspiring practitioners the chance to learn from these exchanges right in the classroom. An exciting partnership between DAI (Development Alternatives, Inc.) and our Master of Public…

  • India’s Water Is Running Out

    India’s Water Is Running Out

    India is running “the largest water-mining project in the world”–and it cannot be sustained much longer, Columbia Water Center researcher Shama Perveen told an audience on Monday. That is mainly because farmers, who depend heavily on irrigation water drawn from underground aquifers, are using far more water than rainfall can replenish. Perveen’s talk, “Quantifying the…

  • The Right Tools to Talk Climate

    At AGU, you need the right tools to understand what’s going on, and to get where you need to go. Columbia researchers have been looking for the right tools to navigate another complicated place: The gap between what climate science tells us, and how a lot of the public hears that information.

  • Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Like dirt swept under the carpet, it appears that much of the human-made heat produced over the last century has been getting soaked up by the world’s oceans, and sinking into deep waters.

  • Climate News Roundup – Cancun Summit

    Climate News Roundup – Cancun Summit

    Baird to Flaunt Climate Cash at Cancun Talks Toronto Star, Dec 6. Canada has committed a $400 million package to assist developing nations reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. Canada’s environment minister John Baird highlighted the fact that while Canada is responsible for 2% of global emissions, it is paying for 4% of the…

  • 18,000 Scientists–In One Place

    This week marks the world’s largest annual gathering of earth and space scientists: the five-day December meeting of the American Geophysical Union. There will be about 18,000 of them, spread across two giant San Francisco convention halls giving talks and discussing the latest in their fields. Scores of researchers from the Earth Institute will be…