State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • Californians Are Ready for Recycled Water

    Californians Are Ready for Recycled Water

    Water reuse is a proven technology that can produce a drought-proof sustainable water supply. Yet historically, there has been some reluctance to adopt it here in the United States. Xylem commissioned a poll to try to better understand perceptions about recycled water in drought-stricken California. And the findings were eye-opening.

  • Questioning Carbon Capture and Storage

    Questioning Carbon Capture and Storage

    With billions of dollars around the world being invested into carbon capture and storage, often in the energy sector, there are compelling questions to ask about when, where and for what purpose we use this technology.

  • Faculty Profile: Elke Weber

    Faculty Profile: Elke Weber

    Elke Weber has made it her life’s work to understand why and how people make the decisions they make.  Not a simple task.  Take, for example, smoking cigarettes.  Doctors’ warnings of the deadly consequences of becoming addicted to cigarettes have been publicized for nearly 50 years now, but this hasn’t stopped millions of people from…

  • In a Vast Ocean, Studying Impact of the Tiniest Creatures

    In a Vast Ocean, Studying Impact of the Tiniest Creatures

    Vast portions of the oceans contain low levels of the nutrients that normally sustain life. Yet these areas are not devoid of life. Once thought to be biological deserts, recent research has shown that such nutrient-poor marine systems could significantly contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide that is trapped into the deep ocean, influencing…

  • Using Data to Assess Progress of Sustainable Development Goals

    Using Data to Assess Progress of Sustainable Development Goals

    The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all member states of the United Nations in September 2015 set an ambitious global sustainable development agenda. The goals span the three dimensions of sustainable development—economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance. In order to operationalize this cross-cutting agenda in the varied contexts of…

  • On the Surface, Feeling Further Away from the Ocean than Ever

    On the Surface, Feeling Further Away from the Ocean than Ever

    My German colleague and I could conceptualize five kilometers horizontally—the same as her bike ride to work, the same as the first ever race I ran. Neither of us could quite grasp what flipping 5 kilometers 90 degrees might mean, as our pump continued on its 3-hour vertical journey to that depth.

  • Faculty Profile: Wallace S. Broecker

    Faculty Profile: Wallace S. Broecker

    Wallace Broecker passed away on Feb 19, 2019. Read his obituary: Wallace Broecker, Prophet of Climate Change To his colleagues, peers and admirers he is a genius and a pioneer, the Grandfather of Climate Science. And to his countless friends – most of whom also happen to be colleagues, peers and admirers – he is simply…

  • In Isolation, Community

    In Isolation, Community

    Being aboard a ship is isolating—but for a scientist, it’s not lonely.

  • It’s Beginning to Look Not a Lot Like Christmas

    It’s Beginning to Look Not a Lot Like Christmas

    Much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States was balmy on Christmas Day, with high temperatures more than 20°F above average from Texas to Maine. According to NOAA, 789 daily high temperature records were tied or broken on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the continental United States. What’s behind this unusual weather?

  • Californians Are Ready for Recycled Water

    Californians Are Ready for Recycled Water

    Water reuse is a proven technology that can produce a drought-proof sustainable water supply. Yet historically, there has been some reluctance to adopt it here in the United States. Xylem commissioned a poll to try to better understand perceptions about recycled water in drought-stricken California. And the findings were eye-opening.

  • Questioning Carbon Capture and Storage

    Questioning Carbon Capture and Storage

    With billions of dollars around the world being invested into carbon capture and storage, often in the energy sector, there are compelling questions to ask about when, where and for what purpose we use this technology.

  • Faculty Profile: Elke Weber

    Faculty Profile: Elke Weber

    Elke Weber has made it her life’s work to understand why and how people make the decisions they make.  Not a simple task.  Take, for example, smoking cigarettes.  Doctors’ warnings of the deadly consequences of becoming addicted to cigarettes have been publicized for nearly 50 years now, but this hasn’t stopped millions of people from…

  • In a Vast Ocean, Studying Impact of the Tiniest Creatures

    In a Vast Ocean, Studying Impact of the Tiniest Creatures

    Vast portions of the oceans contain low levels of the nutrients that normally sustain life. Yet these areas are not devoid of life. Once thought to be biological deserts, recent research has shown that such nutrient-poor marine systems could significantly contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide that is trapped into the deep ocean, influencing…

  • Using Data to Assess Progress of Sustainable Development Goals

    Using Data to Assess Progress of Sustainable Development Goals

    The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all member states of the United Nations in September 2015 set an ambitious global sustainable development agenda. The goals span the three dimensions of sustainable development—economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance. In order to operationalize this cross-cutting agenda in the varied contexts of…

  • On the Surface, Feeling Further Away from the Ocean than Ever

    On the Surface, Feeling Further Away from the Ocean than Ever

    My German colleague and I could conceptualize five kilometers horizontally—the same as her bike ride to work, the same as the first ever race I ran. Neither of us could quite grasp what flipping 5 kilometers 90 degrees might mean, as our pump continued on its 3-hour vertical journey to that depth.

  • Faculty Profile: Wallace S. Broecker

    Faculty Profile: Wallace S. Broecker

    Wallace Broecker passed away on Feb 19, 2019. Read his obituary: Wallace Broecker, Prophet of Climate Change To his colleagues, peers and admirers he is a genius and a pioneer, the Grandfather of Climate Science. And to his countless friends – most of whom also happen to be colleagues, peers and admirers – he is simply…

  • In Isolation, Community

    In Isolation, Community

    Being aboard a ship is isolating—but for a scientist, it’s not lonely.

  • It’s Beginning to Look Not a Lot Like Christmas

    It’s Beginning to Look Not a Lot Like Christmas

    Much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States was balmy on Christmas Day, with high temperatures more than 20°F above average from Texas to Maine. According to NOAA, 789 daily high temperature records were tied or broken on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the continental United States. What’s behind this unusual weather?