State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201426

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?

  • Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    In the face of climate change, companies cannot continue to do “business as usual.” The risks and challenges of the changing climate threaten the bottom line, but also offer unprecedented opportunities.

  • Capstone Projects Address Real Sustainability Challenges

    Capstone Projects Address Real Sustainability Challenges

    Students from the Earth Institute’s Sustainability Management and Environmental Science and Policy master’s programs once again demonstrated the broad range of applications for interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development in their Spring 2014 team capstone projects. The projects provided analysis and recommendations to a range of clients on diverse, real-world sustainability challenges.

  • Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    In the summer of 1969, legendary folk musician and activist Pete Seeger headed a grassroots campaign to clean up the polluted Hudson River. At the heart of that campaign was a replica of a 200-year-old sailing ship– the sloop Clearwater. Nearly 50 years later, Clearwater remains an emblem of environmental reform. But with Seeger’s death…

  • A Renewing Interest in Energy

    A Renewing Interest in Energy

    Should Ozgur Sahin, associate professor of biological sciences and physics of Columbia University, continue expanding upon his work in researching how the tiny movements of microbes can be harnessed to create electrical and mechanical energy, it may pave the way for a world fueled by bacterial spores.

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • The New World

    The New World

    On a man in the mountains, dusk falls; Shadows seep upward and spread. Scaling the black, chiseled walls, He silently seeks the dead.

  • 3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    Three scientific reports echo the message that climate change and its impacts are here and now, with more to come. So how to change the conversation to reach beyond the already informed and connect to a much larger population?

  • Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate scientist Radley Horton, one of the lead authors of the National Climate Assessment report released this week, will answer your questions in an “ask me anything” session on Redditt on Friday starting at 11 a.m.

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

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?

  • Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    In the face of climate change, companies cannot continue to do “business as usual.” The risks and challenges of the changing climate threaten the bottom line, but also offer unprecedented opportunities.

  • Capstone Projects Address Real Sustainability Challenges

    Capstone Projects Address Real Sustainability Challenges

    Students from the Earth Institute’s Sustainability Management and Environmental Science and Policy master’s programs once again demonstrated the broad range of applications for interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development in their Spring 2014 team capstone projects. The projects provided analysis and recommendations to a range of clients on diverse, real-world sustainability challenges.

  • Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    In the summer of 1969, legendary folk musician and activist Pete Seeger headed a grassroots campaign to clean up the polluted Hudson River. At the heart of that campaign was a replica of a 200-year-old sailing ship– the sloop Clearwater. Nearly 50 years later, Clearwater remains an emblem of environmental reform. But with Seeger’s death…

  • A Renewing Interest in Energy

    A Renewing Interest in Energy

    Should Ozgur Sahin, associate professor of biological sciences and physics of Columbia University, continue expanding upon his work in researching how the tiny movements of microbes can be harnessed to create electrical and mechanical energy, it may pave the way for a world fueled by bacterial spores.

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • The New World

    The New World

    On a man in the mountains, dusk falls; Shadows seep upward and spread. Scaling the black, chiseled walls, He silently seeks the dead.

  • 3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    Three scientific reports echo the message that climate change and its impacts are here and now, with more to come. So how to change the conversation to reach beyond the already informed and connect to a much larger population?

  • Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate scientist Radley Horton, one of the lead authors of the National Climate Assessment report released this week, will answer your questions in an “ask me anything” session on Redditt on Friday starting at 11 a.m.