State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201630

  • Viewing Science Through a Different Frame

    Viewing Science Through a Different Frame

    Is it an album cover for a 1980s hair band, or a thin section micrograph of precious minerals? A model of ice streams in glacial lakes, or a 3D laser light show from a dance club? This past week at the third annual Research as Art exhibit at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scientists traded in…

  • The How and Why of Green Building

    The How and Why of Green Building

    Buildings account for almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and the U.N. Environment Programme projects that if we continue with business as usual in the building sector, these emissions will double by 2030. Fortunately, green building is on the rise around the world.

  • Report Assesses Risks to World’s Shared River Basins

    Report Assesses Risks to World’s Shared River Basins

    Risks for the world’s Transboundary River Basins are projected to increase in the next 15–30 years, particularly in four hotspot regions: the Middle East, Central Asia, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, and the Orange and Limpopo basins in Southern Africa.

  • Study Downgrades Groundwater Contribution to Sea Level Rise

    Study Downgrades Groundwater Contribution to Sea Level Rise

    Some research suggests that, along with melting ice sheets and glaciers, the water pumped from underground for irrigation and other uses, on the rise worldwide, could contribute substantially to rising sea levels over the next 50 years. A new study published in Nature Climate Change says the magnitude is substantially lower.

  • Maureen Raymo Elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Maureen Raymo Elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Maureen Raymo, a marine geologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory whose name is connected with key theories about how ice ages wax and wane and how sea levels change, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors awarded to scientists in the United States.

  • Open Dialogue and Sustainability Education

    Among the academics I find a mix of optimism and dire pessimism. It’s a recurring theme—can we build an economic life that can preserve the planet, or is it already too late? My responsibility is to ensure that our students hear both perspectives.

  • Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    “Despite an early love affair with technology encouraged by my computer scientist, Silicon Valley-based parents, even I had a hard time envisioning a world in which I would spend a summer flying fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over pastoral East Africa.”

  • Undergraduate Program Fall 2016 Teaching Assistant Positions

    Undergraduate Program Fall 2016 Teaching Assistant Positions

    The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development is accepting applications for Fall 2016 teaching assistant positions.

  • As Predicted: A Rising Tide of Migration

    As Predicted: A Rising Tide of Migration

    “With sea levels on the rise, several island nations are scrambling to stay above water and ensure citizens will have a place to go when the ocean engulfs their homeland. The humanitarian-crisis phase of climate change has officially begun.”

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

  • Viewing Science Through a Different Frame

    Viewing Science Through a Different Frame

    Is it an album cover for a 1980s hair band, or a thin section micrograph of precious minerals? A model of ice streams in glacial lakes, or a 3D laser light show from a dance club? This past week at the third annual Research as Art exhibit at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scientists traded in…

  • The How and Why of Green Building

    The How and Why of Green Building

    Buildings account for almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and the U.N. Environment Programme projects that if we continue with business as usual in the building sector, these emissions will double by 2030. Fortunately, green building is on the rise around the world.

  • Report Assesses Risks to World’s Shared River Basins

    Report Assesses Risks to World’s Shared River Basins

    Risks for the world’s Transboundary River Basins are projected to increase in the next 15–30 years, particularly in four hotspot regions: the Middle East, Central Asia, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, and the Orange and Limpopo basins in Southern Africa.

  • Study Downgrades Groundwater Contribution to Sea Level Rise

    Study Downgrades Groundwater Contribution to Sea Level Rise

    Some research suggests that, along with melting ice sheets and glaciers, the water pumped from underground for irrigation and other uses, on the rise worldwide, could contribute substantially to rising sea levels over the next 50 years. A new study published in Nature Climate Change says the magnitude is substantially lower.

  • Maureen Raymo Elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Maureen Raymo Elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Maureen Raymo, a marine geologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory whose name is connected with key theories about how ice ages wax and wane and how sea levels change, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors awarded to scientists in the United States.

  • Open Dialogue and Sustainability Education

    Among the academics I find a mix of optimism and dire pessimism. It’s a recurring theme—can we build an economic life that can preserve the planet, or is it already too late? My responsibility is to ensure that our students hear both perspectives.

  • Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    Taking Flight (Remotely) over East Africa

    “Despite an early love affair with technology encouraged by my computer scientist, Silicon Valley-based parents, even I had a hard time envisioning a world in which I would spend a summer flying fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over pastoral East Africa.”

  • Undergraduate Program Fall 2016 Teaching Assistant Positions

    Undergraduate Program Fall 2016 Teaching Assistant Positions

    The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development is accepting applications for Fall 2016 teaching assistant positions.

  • As Predicted: A Rising Tide of Migration

    As Predicted: A Rising Tide of Migration

    “With sea levels on the rise, several island nations are scrambling to stay above water and ensure citizens will have a place to go when the ocean engulfs their homeland. The humanitarian-crisis phase of climate change has officially begun.”