State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201040

  • What can we learn from ‘land terminating’ glaciers?

    Nature is keeping us in check at every turn. With weather and volcanic ash clouds limiting visibility we have to regularly rearrange plans, but most days we are able to capture a fairly complete set of data.The flight over Russell Glacier in Southwest Greenland (just inland from Kanger) was a redirect from a mission aborted…

  • Climate Bill Released

    Senators Kerry and Lieberman unveiled their comprehensive energy and climate change legislation, the American Power Act, at a press conference today. Kerry claims the bill will set achievable reduction targets while creating huge benefits for American consumers. Though a more comprehensive analysis is certainly warranted, for now we’ll just stick to highlights of the 987-page…

  • Sea-kites harvest the energy of the ocean

    A test site for a process called ‘Deep Green’ will be built off the coast of Northern Ireland in 2011, according to Minesto, a Saab spinoff. Sea kites will fly deep under water, using ocean currents to lift them, while an attached turbine harvests the the kinetic energy and turns it into electricity.

  • Greenland’s ‘Big Three’ Glaciers

    Today’s flight had to be carefully planned in order to avoid the volcanic ash plume still drifting  from  Iceland, so we flew to the east coast of Greenland to survey the Helheim glacier first. Glaciologists refer to Helheim glacier as one of ‘The big three’ in Greenland. The ‘big three’ (Helheim, Jakobshavn/Ilulissat and Kangerdlussuaq) are among…

  • Pastoralists Thrive in Rural Kenya: Turning Camel’s Milk into Gold

    Pastoralists are people who live mostly in dry, remote areas, whose livelihoods depend on their intimate knowledge of the surrounding ecosystem and on the wellbeing of their livestock (IFAD). Most pastoralists raise livestock and practice animal husbandry consisting usually of camels, goats, cattle, yaks, sheep, horses, llamas, alpacas, reindeer and vicunas. Pastoralists tend to be…

  • Achieving International Health Objectives with New Media and Technology

    As I walk with Community Health Workers in the Millennium Villages throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, I notice the long distances, endless demand for services and the individual hardship they endure to reach every member of the community.  In the past few years, the nature of their work has profoundly changed as cell-phones become a nearly ubiquitous…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 5/2

    Big Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Gets Approval, New York Times In a press conference on Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced — after nine years of regulatory review – that plans for the nation’s first offshore wind farm were approved for construction. The controversial decision faced resistance from both Democrats and Republicans, including the…

  • The Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

    255 prominent scientists from all over the United States published an open letter in today’s Science Magazine, in defense of science, scientists and the scientific process in the face of vocal and aggressive climate change skeptics. In case you don’t subscribe to Science Magazine, it’s worthwhile reproducing the letter here.

  • Disney’s Oceans, the timely movie

    On Earth Day, Disney Nature released the film ‘Oceans’. It’s a big-screen, high quality look into a part of the world that most of us can only imagine. Less nature documentary and more visual poem, the film is light on information and heavy on inspiration.

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

  • What can we learn from ‘land terminating’ glaciers?

    Nature is keeping us in check at every turn. With weather and volcanic ash clouds limiting visibility we have to regularly rearrange plans, but most days we are able to capture a fairly complete set of data.The flight over Russell Glacier in Southwest Greenland (just inland from Kanger) was a redirect from a mission aborted…

  • Climate Bill Released

    Senators Kerry and Lieberman unveiled their comprehensive energy and climate change legislation, the American Power Act, at a press conference today. Kerry claims the bill will set achievable reduction targets while creating huge benefits for American consumers. Though a more comprehensive analysis is certainly warranted, for now we’ll just stick to highlights of the 987-page…

  • Sea-kites harvest the energy of the ocean

    A test site for a process called ‘Deep Green’ will be built off the coast of Northern Ireland in 2011, according to Minesto, a Saab spinoff. Sea kites will fly deep under water, using ocean currents to lift them, while an attached turbine harvests the the kinetic energy and turns it into electricity.

  • Greenland’s ‘Big Three’ Glaciers

    Today’s flight had to be carefully planned in order to avoid the volcanic ash plume still drifting  from  Iceland, so we flew to the east coast of Greenland to survey the Helheim glacier first. Glaciologists refer to Helheim glacier as one of ‘The big three’ in Greenland. The ‘big three’ (Helheim, Jakobshavn/Ilulissat and Kangerdlussuaq) are among…

  • Pastoralists Thrive in Rural Kenya: Turning Camel’s Milk into Gold

    Pastoralists are people who live mostly in dry, remote areas, whose livelihoods depend on their intimate knowledge of the surrounding ecosystem and on the wellbeing of their livestock (IFAD). Most pastoralists raise livestock and practice animal husbandry consisting usually of camels, goats, cattle, yaks, sheep, horses, llamas, alpacas, reindeer and vicunas. Pastoralists tend to be…

  • Achieving International Health Objectives with New Media and Technology

    As I walk with Community Health Workers in the Millennium Villages throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, I notice the long distances, endless demand for services and the individual hardship they endure to reach every member of the community.  In the past few years, the nature of their work has profoundly changed as cell-phones become a nearly ubiquitous…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 5/2

    Big Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Gets Approval, New York Times In a press conference on Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced — after nine years of regulatory review – that plans for the nation’s first offshore wind farm were approved for construction. The controversial decision faced resistance from both Democrats and Republicans, including the…

  • The Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

    255 prominent scientists from all over the United States published an open letter in today’s Science Magazine, in defense of science, scientists and the scientific process in the face of vocal and aggressive climate change skeptics. In case you don’t subscribe to Science Magazine, it’s worthwhile reproducing the letter here.

  • Disney’s Oceans, the timely movie

    On Earth Day, Disney Nature released the film ‘Oceans’. It’s a big-screen, high quality look into a part of the world that most of us can only imagine. Less nature documentary and more visual poem, the film is light on information and heavy on inspiration.