State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

May 20112

  • Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    If you were to drive south from Palermo, Sicily toward Monreale, you would be ringed in by green mountains, the sparkling white of ancient and modern buildings and the azure Mediterranean Sea receding behind you. Continuing south through the island’s mountainous interior, you would pass verdant agricultural fields on your way past Corleone, the namesake…

  • Switchyard Project: A Very Successful Year

    Switchyard Project: A Very Successful Year

    The 2011 field season has been a very very successful year, in fact the most successful one we have ever had. The weather has been great, the equipment proved to be mostly reliable, the people have been great and the samples are plenty.

  • Science Education with Trees and Canoes

    Science Education with Trees and Canoes

    Students from New York City, Singapore and the Netherlands test their skills this weekend in the woods and on the water near Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in the International Student and Teacher Exchange Program.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate Scientist Fears His “Wedges” Made It Seem Too Easy, National Geographic, May 17 In their 2004 paper, “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies,” Princeton physics and engineering professor, Robert Socolow, and his colleague, ecologist Stephen Pacala proposed a theory to check any increase in greenhouse gas…

  • Water-Saving Project in Punjab, India Reaches Out to Farmers Through Cooperatives

    Water-Saving Project in Punjab, India Reaches Out to Farmers Through Cooperatives

    After working with over 500 farmers last year to conduct a field experiment on the use of tensiometers to reduce irrigation in rice fields, this year they will be working with about 5,000. As part of this expansion, our program partners at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are working with Cooperative Societies, a network of…

  • A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    Blog by Hakim Abdi, LDEO Satellite measures showing thinning ice on the Northwest Greenland glaciers prompted Operation IceBridge to include annual flights over this region. The area runs along the Baffin Bay coast, which is often covered in fog and low lying clouds forcing delays and reschedules. With the end of our season in sight…

  • The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    China already has half the world’s large hydroelectric dams (25,800), but along the Yangtze River and its tributaries, 100 large dams are either being planned or built and 43 additional dams are in the works.

  • The Confounding Economics of Natural Disaster Shocks

    Something seems to be amiss with the way standard economics views the outcomes of natural disasters.  This post i placed in OECD Insights and in Earth Magazine discusses some of the puzzles posed by the interaction between extreme events and different societies.

  • Apply for *NEW* Executive Courses in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

    Apply for *NEW* Executive Courses in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University provides professionals with the knowledge and tools to be effective environmental leaders and decision makers in the 21st century. It is an evening program in which environmental issues are discussed, debated and examined, where participants develop an in-depth understanding of conservation science and practice through…

Colorful icons representing nature, sustainable living, and renewable energy with text "Earth Day 2026"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily

    If you were to drive south from Palermo, Sicily toward Monreale, you would be ringed in by green mountains, the sparkling white of ancient and modern buildings and the azure Mediterranean Sea receding behind you. Continuing south through the island’s mountainous interior, you would pass verdant agricultural fields on your way past Corleone, the namesake…

  • Switchyard Project: A Very Successful Year

    Switchyard Project: A Very Successful Year

    The 2011 field season has been a very very successful year, in fact the most successful one we have ever had. The weather has been great, the equipment proved to be mostly reliable, the people have been great and the samples are plenty.

  • Science Education with Trees and Canoes

    Science Education with Trees and Canoes

    Students from New York City, Singapore and the Netherlands test their skills this weekend in the woods and on the water near Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in the International Student and Teacher Exchange Program.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate Scientist Fears His “Wedges” Made It Seem Too Easy, National Geographic, May 17 In their 2004 paper, “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies,” Princeton physics and engineering professor, Robert Socolow, and his colleague, ecologist Stephen Pacala proposed a theory to check any increase in greenhouse gas…

  • Water-Saving Project in Punjab, India Reaches Out to Farmers Through Cooperatives

    Water-Saving Project in Punjab, India Reaches Out to Farmers Through Cooperatives

    After working with over 500 farmers last year to conduct a field experiment on the use of tensiometers to reduce irrigation in rice fields, this year they will be working with about 5,000. As part of this expansion, our program partners at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are working with Cooperative Societies, a network of…

  • A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    Blog by Hakim Abdi, LDEO Satellite measures showing thinning ice on the Northwest Greenland glaciers prompted Operation IceBridge to include annual flights over this region. The area runs along the Baffin Bay coast, which is often covered in fog and low lying clouds forcing delays and reschedules. With the end of our season in sight…

  • The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    The Push to Dam China’s Rivers

    China already has half the world’s large hydroelectric dams (25,800), but along the Yangtze River and its tributaries, 100 large dams are either being planned or built and 43 additional dams are in the works.

  • The Confounding Economics of Natural Disaster Shocks

    Something seems to be amiss with the way standard economics views the outcomes of natural disasters.  This post i placed in OECD Insights and in Earth Magazine discusses some of the puzzles posed by the interaction between extreme events and different societies.

  • Apply for *NEW* Executive Courses in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

    Apply for *NEW* Executive Courses in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University provides professionals with the knowledge and tools to be effective environmental leaders and decision makers in the 21st century. It is an evening program in which environmental issues are discussed, debated and examined, where participants develop an in-depth understanding of conservation science and practice through…