State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201255

  • The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    While the New Jersey bill failed, it is going to be discussed in New Jersey’s Senate Environment Committee on Monday, January 30, 2012. The discussion is not yet over regarding New Jersey’s public forests. The discussion about ecosystem productivity over time also continues in the forum of the Native Tree Society. Specifically, this post was picked…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 1/22

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 1/22

    Signs of New Life as U.N. Searches for a Climate Accord, New York Times, Jan 24 The recently concluded meeting in Durban, South Africa, which established a new mandate for concluding a binding agreement of some sort by 2015, has given the process new life and hushed many of its critics. Christina Figueres, the Costa…

  • Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    The 2012 Environmental Performance Index is a powerful tool for diagnosing trends not just across countries but over time, too. Consider what we can learn about overfishing, for example.

  • Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    A new study reveals that new microbes supplant the active hydrothermal vent’s microbes after the site ceases to produce thermal energy. Though more research is necessary to fully understand the regeneration process in the dormant hydrothermal vents, the study provides an additional platform for ecologists to explore how ecosystems recover from natural unbalances and how…

  • Eco-Markets: Business, Regulation, and Sustainability

    Eco-Markets: Business, Regulation, and Sustainability

    Interested in learning more about environmental markets and the nexus between business, regulation, and sustainability? How does an organization trade carbon credits?

  • Disease Ecology and Conservation Medicine

    Disease Ecology and Conservation Medicine

    Disease Ecology provides an overview of the principles of conservation medicine and disease ecology, with an emphasis on the effect of disease on human, wildlife and domestic animal and ecosystem health. It examines the impact of disease on biodiversity and rates of extinction, as well as the rise of emergent diseases as a result of…

  • A Struggle to Coexist with Nature – Dr. Shahid Naeem

    A Struggle to Coexist with Nature – Dr. Shahid Naeem

    Dr. Shahid Naeem, CERC’s Director of Science, examines humanity’s struggle to coexist with the natural environment.

  • MS Student Seeks to Make Sustainability an Indispensable Business Practice

    MS Student Seeks to Make Sustainability an Indispensable Business Practice

    Current President of the Sustainability Management Student Association, former officer in the United States Air Force and consultant, Jonathan Cain discusses his experience in the MS in Sustainability Management program. Now equipped with a variety of skills and tools, Cain is posed to develop clear, coordinated strategies to address challenging sustainability issues.

  • One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    If not for the amazing feats of planning and engineering that provide access to clean water, New York City would never have become the essential node in the many meshworks of the world that it is today.

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 good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    While the New Jersey bill failed, it is going to be discussed in New Jersey’s Senate Environment Committee on Monday, January 30, 2012. The discussion is not yet over regarding New Jersey’s public forests. The discussion about ecosystem productivity over time also continues in the forum of the Native Tree Society. Specifically, this post was picked…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 1/22

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 1/22

    Signs of New Life as U.N. Searches for a Climate Accord, New York Times, Jan 24 The recently concluded meeting in Durban, South Africa, which established a new mandate for concluding a binding agreement of some sort by 2015, has given the process new life and hushed many of its critics. Christina Figueres, the Costa…

  • Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    The 2012 Environmental Performance Index is a powerful tool for diagnosing trends not just across countries but over time, too. Consider what we can learn about overfishing, for example.

  • Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    A new study reveals that new microbes supplant the active hydrothermal vent’s microbes after the site ceases to produce thermal energy. Though more research is necessary to fully understand the regeneration process in the dormant hydrothermal vents, the study provides an additional platform for ecologists to explore how ecosystems recover from natural unbalances and how…

  • Eco-Markets: Business, Regulation, and Sustainability

    Eco-Markets: Business, Regulation, and Sustainability

    Interested in learning more about environmental markets and the nexus between business, regulation, and sustainability? How does an organization trade carbon credits?

  • Disease Ecology and Conservation Medicine

    Disease Ecology and Conservation Medicine

    Disease Ecology provides an overview of the principles of conservation medicine and disease ecology, with an emphasis on the effect of disease on human, wildlife and domestic animal and ecosystem health. It examines the impact of disease on biodiversity and rates of extinction, as well as the rise of emergent diseases as a result of…

  • A Struggle to Coexist with Nature – Dr. Shahid Naeem

    A Struggle to Coexist with Nature – Dr. Shahid Naeem

    Dr. Shahid Naeem, CERC’s Director of Science, examines humanity’s struggle to coexist with the natural environment.

  • MS Student Seeks to Make Sustainability an Indispensable Business Practice

    MS Student Seeks to Make Sustainability an Indispensable Business Practice

    Current President of the Sustainability Management Student Association, former officer in the United States Air Force and consultant, Jonathan Cain discusses his experience in the MS in Sustainability Management program. Now equipped with a variety of skills and tools, Cain is posed to develop clear, coordinated strategies to address challenging sustainability issues.

  • One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    One Billion Gallons a Day, Naturally

    If not for the amazing feats of planning and engineering that provide access to clean water, New York City would never have become the essential node in the many meshworks of the world that it is today.