State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

20106

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/8 and 11/15

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/8 and 11/15

    World Should Eradicate Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Reuters, Nov. 9 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its annual World Energy Outlook, which highlights the need for countries to completely abolish fossil fuel subsidies. While fossil fuel subsidies are projected to reach $500 billion by 2015, renewable energy subsidies are projected to be no more than…

  • Migration – A Movement of Marvel

    Migration – A Movement of Marvel

    From Monarch Butterflies that journey from Eastern North America to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico to Atlantic Salmon that travel between the freshwater and the salty ocean, moving long distances in search of a new habitat is truly a remarkable behavior.

  • Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    For adults concerned about environmental issues, particularly the growing water crisis, it can be hard to know where to start to educate and involve the children in their lives, those who will ultimately be facing the consequences of what we do or don’t do now. How do you frame serious, complicated issues in a way…

  • Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    One of the greatest challenges to sustaining 1.8 million people in an extremely arid locale is water, which in the coastal city of Dubai is abundant but not potable.

  • Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research

    Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research

    Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a new era of collaboration on agricultural research in the face of climate change.

  • Making Sense of Earth Data: A Guide

    Making Sense of Earth Data: A Guide

    Charts, graphs and maps representing natural phenomena can be a challenge to anyone trying to extract something meaningful from them. A new book, Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning From Data, aims to help students of earth and environmental sciences decode images by presenting practice puzzles consisting of real-world scientific data. The authors are Kim A. Kastens and Margie Turrin of…

  • The Multiple Faces of Antarctic Ice

    The Multiple Faces of Antarctic Ice

    Kirsty Tinto joins Operation IceBridge on two flights over the Amundsen Sea and past Thwaites Glacier to survey the Getz and the Dotson ice shelves.

  • Jeffrey Sachs and Senator John Kerry on Energy

    Professor Sachs mentioned feed-in tariffs as an innovative way to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels and increase investments in renewables. They are a fairly simple and cost-effective way to jump-start production of renewable energy. Feed-in tariffs have been used to transition many European countries, particularly Germany, away from fossil fuels.

  • Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.

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

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/8 and 11/15

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/8 and 11/15

    World Should Eradicate Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Reuters, Nov. 9 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its annual World Energy Outlook, which highlights the need for countries to completely abolish fossil fuel subsidies. While fossil fuel subsidies are projected to reach $500 billion by 2015, renewable energy subsidies are projected to be no more than…

  • Migration – A Movement of Marvel

    Migration – A Movement of Marvel

    From Monarch Butterflies that journey from Eastern North America to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico to Atlantic Salmon that travel between the freshwater and the salty ocean, moving long distances in search of a new habitat is truly a remarkable behavior.

  • Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    For adults concerned about environmental issues, particularly the growing water crisis, it can be hard to know where to start to educate and involve the children in their lives, those who will ultimately be facing the consequences of what we do or don’t do now. How do you frame serious, complicated issues in a way…

  • Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    One of the greatest challenges to sustaining 1.8 million people in an extremely arid locale is water, which in the coastal city of Dubai is abundant but not potable.

  • Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research

    Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research

    Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a new era of collaboration on agricultural research in the face of climate change.

  • Making Sense of Earth Data: A Guide

    Making Sense of Earth Data: A Guide

    Charts, graphs and maps representing natural phenomena can be a challenge to anyone trying to extract something meaningful from them. A new book, Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning From Data, aims to help students of earth and environmental sciences decode images by presenting practice puzzles consisting of real-world scientific data. The authors are Kim A. Kastens and Margie Turrin of…

  • The Multiple Faces of Antarctic Ice

    The Multiple Faces of Antarctic Ice

    Kirsty Tinto joins Operation IceBridge on two flights over the Amundsen Sea and past Thwaites Glacier to survey the Getz and the Dotson ice shelves.

  • Jeffrey Sachs and Senator John Kerry on Energy

    Professor Sachs mentioned feed-in tariffs as an innovative way to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels and increase investments in renewables. They are a fairly simple and cost-effective way to jump-start production of renewable energy. Feed-in tariffs have been used to transition many European countries, particularly Germany, away from fossil fuels.

  • Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.