State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

June 20114

  • 17th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference

    17th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference

    “We have in the world today two dangerously different views of the future,” the view of natural scientists and the view of economists, says Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and a keynote speaker at the 17th annual International Sustainable Development Conference.

  • Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    A new audio slideshow about the páramo ecosystem in the Andes, at risk of becoming drier because of changing climate conditions

  • Hands-on Earth Science Book Wins Education Award

    Hands-on Earth Science Book Wins Education Award

    A new book of puzzles on earthquakes, weather, climate and hydrothermal vents has been recognized for distinguished achievement by the Association of Educational Publishers. Using real-world scientific data, Earth Science Puzzles lets students practice key earth science skills and concepts such as locating an earthquake or figuring out what controls the amount of water flowing…

  • Climate and Health Workshop Photo Wrap Up

    Climate and Health Workshop Photo Wrap Up

    Check out some pictures from IRI’s recently concluded Summer Institute on Climate Information for Public Health.

  • Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Coral reefs, the “rainforests of the sea,” are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. But tragically, they are in crisis.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/30 and 6/6

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/30 and 6/6

    IEA Sees Record CO2 Emissions in 2010, Reuters, May 30 2010 saw that highest level ever seen of world-wide CO2 emissions, driven in large part by economic growth in coal-heavy countries, including China and India. Increased consumption of oil and natural gas were the next largest contributors to emissions levels. The Fukushima disaster and ensuing…

  • A Call for One Million Community Health Workers

    A Call for One Million Community Health Workers

    By Anne Liu and Sarah Sullivan Extending the reach of public health systems through a well-trained and supported community health workforce is the best step we can take in meeting the MDGs. This can be done by strengthening health systems and increasing equity in health care access by extending care to the world’s most vulnerable…

  • Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Two years before Google Earth was launched, Bill Ryan and Suzanne Carbotte, oceanographers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, began a project to transform the way we look at the ocean. They started collecting reams of data that had been gathered by scientists sailing on research vessels all over the world since the 1980s, one ship…

  • The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    By JD Capuano Benjamin Cook is a climate modeler at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Cook completed his Ph.D. in environmental science at the University of Virginia in 2007. He was among a select group of scientists awarded a Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship by the National Oceanic…

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

  • 17th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference

    17th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference

    “We have in the world today two dangerously different views of the future,” the view of natural scientists and the view of economists, says Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and a keynote speaker at the 17th annual International Sustainable Development Conference.

  • Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    A new audio slideshow about the páramo ecosystem in the Andes, at risk of becoming drier because of changing climate conditions

  • Hands-on Earth Science Book Wins Education Award

    Hands-on Earth Science Book Wins Education Award

    A new book of puzzles on earthquakes, weather, climate and hydrothermal vents has been recognized for distinguished achievement by the Association of Educational Publishers. Using real-world scientific data, Earth Science Puzzles lets students practice key earth science skills and concepts such as locating an earthquake or figuring out what controls the amount of water flowing…

  • Climate and Health Workshop Photo Wrap Up

    Climate and Health Workshop Photo Wrap Up

    Check out some pictures from IRI’s recently concluded Summer Institute on Climate Information for Public Health.

  • Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Coral reefs, the “rainforests of the sea,” are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. But tragically, they are in crisis.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/30 and 6/6

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/30 and 6/6

    IEA Sees Record CO2 Emissions in 2010, Reuters, May 30 2010 saw that highest level ever seen of world-wide CO2 emissions, driven in large part by economic growth in coal-heavy countries, including China and India. Increased consumption of oil and natural gas were the next largest contributors to emissions levels. The Fukushima disaster and ensuing…

  • A Call for One Million Community Health Workers

    A Call for One Million Community Health Workers

    By Anne Liu and Sarah Sullivan Extending the reach of public health systems through a well-trained and supported community health workforce is the best step we can take in meeting the MDGs. This can be done by strengthening health systems and increasing equity in health care access by extending care to the world’s most vulnerable…

  • Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Two years before Google Earth was launched, Bill Ryan and Suzanne Carbotte, oceanographers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, began a project to transform the way we look at the ocean. They started collecting reams of data that had been gathered by scientists sailing on research vessels all over the world since the 1980s, one ship…

  • The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    By JD Capuano Benjamin Cook is a climate modeler at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Cook completed his Ph.D. in environmental science at the University of Virginia in 2007. He was among a select group of scientists awarded a Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship by the National Oceanic…