News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: David Funkhouser7

I’m a writer and former content manager and science writer for the Earth Institute and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. I worked for 35 years at newspapers around New England, including The MetroWest News in Framingham, Mass.; The New Haven Register and The Hartford Courant in Connecticut. Visit website »

Talking Climate: a New Guide to More Effective Communication

What motivates people to accept or reject climate change? What do personal and political values have to do with it? How can you best get your message across? A new guide to climate change communication offers some of the answers.
Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

Glaciers in one part of West Antarctica are melting at triple the rate of a decade ago and have become the most significant contributor to sea level rise in that region, a new study says. The study found that the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica have shrunk by an average of…
Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

Earth Institute agricultural scientist Pedro A. Sanchez argues in a new essay that new developments in both science and politics give him hope that sub-Saharan Africa will be able to feed itself by 2050, even with a projected population by then of about 2 billion people.
Money, Power and the Media in the Ebola Crisis

The Ebola crisis has serious implications for governments, the private sector, and public messengers. To address these issues, and to assess the state of the science behind the Ebola crisis, The Earth Institute has sponsored two discussions recently.
Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

NASA has been at the forefront of climate science, launching satellites that take the pulse of Earth’s land, oceans and atmospheric systems. But the agency is increasingly vulnerable itself to the effects of a changing climate.
Agreement with NY State Protects Black Rock Forest

New York State will acquire a conservation easement for the Black Rock Forest, protecting the 3,800-acre preserve 50 miles north of New York City for both public use and scientific research.
Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

Sitting on the iconic front steps of Low Library, Alma Mater rests on a plinth that offers a clue to a possible method of carbon sequestration, a vital technology for addressing our problem of too much CO2.
The Ebola Crisis: What It Means for West Africa and the World

“The Ebola epidemic … should be viewed akin to a world war whose outcome matters crucially for all of us,” said Dr. Ranu Dhillon; he and other health experts will speak at a forum on Ebola at Columbia University Monday.
Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

China’s problems with air pollution mirror what the United States went through during the rapid economic growth following World War II, and the solutions will likely be the same, Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen said Saturday on an English-language news program on China Central Television.

Talking Climate: a New Guide to More Effective Communication

What motivates people to accept or reject climate change? What do personal and political values have to do with it? How can you best get your message across? A new guide to climate change communication offers some of the answers.
Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

Glaciers in one part of West Antarctica are melting at triple the rate of a decade ago and have become the most significant contributor to sea level rise in that region, a new study says. The study found that the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica have shrunk by an average of…
Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

Earth Institute agricultural scientist Pedro A. Sanchez argues in a new essay that new developments in both science and politics give him hope that sub-Saharan Africa will be able to feed itself by 2050, even with a projected population by then of about 2 billion people.
Money, Power and the Media in the Ebola Crisis

The Ebola crisis has serious implications for governments, the private sector, and public messengers. To address these issues, and to assess the state of the science behind the Ebola crisis, The Earth Institute has sponsored two discussions recently.
Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

NASA has been at the forefront of climate science, launching satellites that take the pulse of Earth’s land, oceans and atmospheric systems. But the agency is increasingly vulnerable itself to the effects of a changing climate.
Agreement with NY State Protects Black Rock Forest

New York State will acquire a conservation easement for the Black Rock Forest, protecting the 3,800-acre preserve 50 miles north of New York City for both public use and scientific research.
Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

Sitting on the iconic front steps of Low Library, Alma Mater rests on a plinth that offers a clue to a possible method of carbon sequestration, a vital technology for addressing our problem of too much CO2.
The Ebola Crisis: What It Means for West Africa and the World

“The Ebola epidemic … should be viewed akin to a world war whose outcome matters crucially for all of us,” said Dr. Ranu Dhillon; he and other health experts will speak at a forum on Ebola at Columbia University Monday.
Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

China’s problems with air pollution mirror what the United States went through during the rapid economic growth following World War II, and the solutions will likely be the same, Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen said Saturday on an English-language news program on China Central Television.