State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201628

  • Trump vs. Clinton: What the Election Could Mean for Climate Policy

    Trump vs. Clinton: What the Election Could Mean for Climate Policy

    The outcome of this year’s presidential election could have far-reaching implications for the fate of our planet because the two presumptive candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, have very different ideas about climate change. What will they do about the Paris accord and climate change?

  • Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program worked this past semester to analyze city-level strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Global Philanthropy and Inequality

    Global Philanthropy and Inequality

    Recent trends now point towards global philanthropy becoming the new norm. Global philanthropy aims to reduce inequality in developing countries through many forms. But inequities persist, and different manifestations of global philanthropy will be challenged to increase impact and achieve a demonstrable shift in areas such as poverty, health, access to opportunity, and beyond.

  • Walking in the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    Walking in the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    On a ledge just inside the lip of Chile’s Quizapu volcanic crater, Philipp Ruprecht was furiously digging a trench. Here at an elevation of 10,000 feet, a 1,000-foot plunge loomed just yards away, and wind was whipping dust off his shovel. But the volcanologist was excited. Ruprecht had just found this spot, topped with undisturbed…

  • Photo Essay: In the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    Photo Essay: In the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    High in the southern Andes, Chile’s Quizapu crater is one of South America’s most fearsome geologic features. In 1846, it was the source of one the continent’s largest historically recorded lava flows. In 1932, it produced one of the largest recorded volcanic blasts. The volcano is currently inactive, but could revive at any time. What…

  • Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Over the past half-million years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean has seen five spikes in the amount of iron-laden dust blown in from the continents. In theory, those bursts should have turbo-charged the growth of carbon-capturing algae, but a new study shows that the excess iron had little to no effect.

  • A New Park Rises From an Old Garbage Dump: Parks as Critical Elements of Urban Infrastructure

    New York’s Freshkills Park may be a tough sell for those of us who remember the huge landfill that used to be there. But anyone born in the 21st century will not associate that space with garbage, and over the next half century it will become of increasing importance to the development of Staten Island…

  • Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    The Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice “offered a program that allowed me to explore potential paths in a career of development by having the flexibility to connect the dots with my previous experience.”

  • A Major Source of Air Pollution: Farms

    Global Study Shows How Agriculture Interacts With Industry

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

  • Trump vs. Clinton: What the Election Could Mean for Climate Policy

    Trump vs. Clinton: What the Election Could Mean for Climate Policy

    The outcome of this year’s presidential election could have far-reaching implications for the fate of our planet because the two presumptive candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, have very different ideas about climate change. What will they do about the Paris accord and climate change?

  • Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students Assess City Greenhouse Gas Reduction Tools

    Students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program worked this past semester to analyze city-level strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Global Philanthropy and Inequality

    Global Philanthropy and Inequality

    Recent trends now point towards global philanthropy becoming the new norm. Global philanthropy aims to reduce inequality in developing countries through many forms. But inequities persist, and different manifestations of global philanthropy will be challenged to increase impact and achieve a demonstrable shift in areas such as poverty, health, access to opportunity, and beyond.

  • Walking in the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    Walking in the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    On a ledge just inside the lip of Chile’s Quizapu volcanic crater, Philipp Ruprecht was furiously digging a trench. Here at an elevation of 10,000 feet, a 1,000-foot plunge loomed just yards away, and wind was whipping dust off his shovel. But the volcanologist was excited. Ruprecht had just found this spot, topped with undisturbed…

  • Photo Essay: In the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    Photo Essay: In the Shadow of a Great Volcano

    High in the southern Andes, Chile’s Quizapu crater is one of South America’s most fearsome geologic features. In 1846, it was the source of one the continent’s largest historically recorded lava flows. In 1932, it produced one of the largest recorded volcanic blasts. The volcano is currently inactive, but could revive at any time. What…

  • Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Over the past half-million years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean has seen five spikes in the amount of iron-laden dust blown in from the continents. In theory, those bursts should have turbo-charged the growth of carbon-capturing algae, but a new study shows that the excess iron had little to no effect.

  • A New Park Rises From an Old Garbage Dump: Parks as Critical Elements of Urban Infrastructure

    New York’s Freshkills Park may be a tough sell for those of us who remember the huge landfill that used to be there. But anyone born in the 21st century will not associate that space with garbage, and over the next half century it will become of increasing importance to the development of Staten Island…

  • Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    Connecting the Dots with a Summer Placement in Lesotho

    The Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice “offered a program that allowed me to explore potential paths in a career of development by having the flexibility to connect the dots with my previous experience.”

  • A Major Source of Air Pollution: Farms

    Global Study Shows How Agriculture Interacts With Industry