State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • Second GROCC Meets Amid Changing World

    More than 200 participants from nearly 150 corporations and other institutions from around the world met November 14 and 15 at Columbia University for the second session of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC). With 2005 on pace to becoming the warmest year on record, as well as the most active for hurricanes, and…

  • Wealth & Giving Forum Inspires Spirit of Giving to Fight Malaria in Africa

    A myriad of messages compete for attention in today’s world. Filtering reliable facts from all the noise can be a time-consuming challenge for philanthropists interested in taking concrete steps to create lasting, positive change. Organizations like the Wealth & Giving Forum are helping families and individuals of means to distill competing demands on philanthropy into…

  • Earth Institute Researchers Present Their Work at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting

    Wide array of topics includes climate change, social consequences of natural disasters

  • Soviet Union Conducted 130 Nuclear Tests in Remote Arctic Location, Study Says

    The Soviet Union conducted 130 underwater, atmospheric and underground nuclear tests in a remote archipelago above the Arctic Circle over a period of 35 years, according to a comprehensive study done by scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the U.S. Geological Survey. Some of these tests involved multiple explosions. In all, 224 nuclear devices were…

  • Landfill Disposal May Pose Greater Health Risks Than WTE Treatment, Student Research Shows

    Disposing of waste via landfills increases health risks 30-fold, compared with using waste-to-energy treatment — which generates electricity by burning waste — for disposal. This is according to a study conducted by a student in the Masters in Public Health (MPH) program at the Mailman School at Columbia University. The study, carried out by Pearl…

  • The IRI Becomes The International Research Institute for Climate and Society

    In October 2005, the Trustees of Columbia University changed the name of the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction to better reflect the work of the Institute. The IRI develops and implements strategies to reduce society’s vulnerability to climate risk. It partners with local institutions to best understand needs, risks and possibilities. The IRI supports…

  • Answers About the Earth’s Energy Imbalance by James E. Hansen, Director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    Below are answers to typical questions about this research topic and its implications provided by James E. Hansen, director, NASA’s Goddard Insittute for Space Studies. Hansen was lead author on a paper published by Science in April 2005 on this topic. What is the direct significance of the energy imbalance found by the authors in…

  • In Rwanda, Clever Use of Technology Helps a Little Go a Long Way, and Faster

    In a country that made headlines for a brutal genocide that left an estimated 800,000 dead, Rwanda now counts itself among several African nations battling with another devastating enemy: AIDS. According to government estimates, about 4 percent of adults living in rural areas and as many as 13 percent in Kigali, the country’s capital, are…

  • Seeing the Forest and the Trees

    Study finds that loss of tree diversity affects the ability of tropical forests to sequester carbon

  • Second GROCC Meets Amid Changing World

    More than 200 participants from nearly 150 corporations and other institutions from around the world met November 14 and 15 at Columbia University for the second session of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC). With 2005 on pace to becoming the warmest year on record, as well as the most active for hurricanes, and…

  • Wealth & Giving Forum Inspires Spirit of Giving to Fight Malaria in Africa

    A myriad of messages compete for attention in today’s world. Filtering reliable facts from all the noise can be a time-consuming challenge for philanthropists interested in taking concrete steps to create lasting, positive change. Organizations like the Wealth & Giving Forum are helping families and individuals of means to distill competing demands on philanthropy into…

  • Earth Institute Researchers Present Their Work at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting

    Wide array of topics includes climate change, social consequences of natural disasters

  • Soviet Union Conducted 130 Nuclear Tests in Remote Arctic Location, Study Says

    The Soviet Union conducted 130 underwater, atmospheric and underground nuclear tests in a remote archipelago above the Arctic Circle over a period of 35 years, according to a comprehensive study done by scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the U.S. Geological Survey. Some of these tests involved multiple explosions. In all, 224 nuclear devices were…

  • Landfill Disposal May Pose Greater Health Risks Than WTE Treatment, Student Research Shows

    Disposing of waste via landfills increases health risks 30-fold, compared with using waste-to-energy treatment — which generates electricity by burning waste — for disposal. This is according to a study conducted by a student in the Masters in Public Health (MPH) program at the Mailman School at Columbia University. The study, carried out by Pearl…

  • The IRI Becomes The International Research Institute for Climate and Society

    In October 2005, the Trustees of Columbia University changed the name of the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction to better reflect the work of the Institute. The IRI develops and implements strategies to reduce society’s vulnerability to climate risk. It partners with local institutions to best understand needs, risks and possibilities. The IRI supports…

  • Answers About the Earth’s Energy Imbalance by James E. Hansen, Director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    Below are answers to typical questions about this research topic and its implications provided by James E. Hansen, director, NASA’s Goddard Insittute for Space Studies. Hansen was lead author on a paper published by Science in April 2005 on this topic. What is the direct significance of the energy imbalance found by the authors in…

  • In Rwanda, Clever Use of Technology Helps a Little Go a Long Way, and Faster

    In a country that made headlines for a brutal genocide that left an estimated 800,000 dead, Rwanda now counts itself among several African nations battling with another devastating enemy: AIDS. According to government estimates, about 4 percent of adults living in rural areas and as many as 13 percent in Kigali, the country’s capital, are…

  • Seeing the Forest and the Trees

    Study finds that loss of tree diversity affects the ability of tropical forests to sequester carbon