State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: Katherine Allen4


  • Tale of a Carbon Atom

    Tale of a Carbon Atom

    I am a wild carbon atom, To others I’ve sometimes been bound, Not locked in some hard, rocky stratum, I’m telling you: I get around!

  • Iron Fingerprints

    Iron Fingerprints

    Metals galore in deep Earth, But at the sea surface, a dearth. Iron is key For greening the sea … To planktic cells, gold has less worth.

  • Australopithecene Dental Calculus

    Australopithecene Dental Calculus

    Across a mixed landscape, Au. sediba plods Sometimes on two feet, and sometimes on four, Munching on fruits and leguminous pods, Nuts and some seeds … C3 foods galore!

  • Dancing in the Darkness

    Dancing in the Darkness

      In deep darkness, cunning lights are softly luring prey, Drawing closer to the glow, only some will flee … Subtle bodies, clear as glass, with organs on display, Exquisite dances only certain piercing eyes can see.

  • Apophis

    Apophis

    You may have heard the recent cries: An asteroid towards us flies! Apophis, a rocky mass, Some years from now will closely pass…

  • Lake Goo Clue

    Lake Goo Clue

    The lands of Africa’s Horn, Great Valleys sliced by a Rift, By drought and famine are torn … What drives such a large rainfall shift?

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Unexpected Sisters

    Unexpected Sisters

    An ancient island’s trove of treasure: Madagascan fauna Tenrec, fossa, lemur, hippo, dugong, bat, iguana. A giant bird – O, wondrous beast! – a half a ton, and tall, Laid foot-long eggs, had beefy legs, and did not fly at all.

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?

  • Tale of a Carbon Atom

    Tale of a Carbon Atom

    I am a wild carbon atom, To others I’ve sometimes been bound, Not locked in some hard, rocky stratum, I’m telling you: I get around!

  • Iron Fingerprints

    Iron Fingerprints

    Metals galore in deep Earth, But at the sea surface, a dearth. Iron is key For greening the sea … To planktic cells, gold has less worth.

  • Australopithecene Dental Calculus

    Australopithecene Dental Calculus

    Across a mixed landscape, Au. sediba plods Sometimes on two feet, and sometimes on four, Munching on fruits and leguminous pods, Nuts and some seeds … C3 foods galore!

  • Dancing in the Darkness

    Dancing in the Darkness

      In deep darkness, cunning lights are softly luring prey, Drawing closer to the glow, only some will flee … Subtle bodies, clear as glass, with organs on display, Exquisite dances only certain piercing eyes can see.

  • Apophis

    Apophis

    You may have heard the recent cries: An asteroid towards us flies! Apophis, a rocky mass, Some years from now will closely pass…

  • Lake Goo Clue

    Lake Goo Clue

    The lands of Africa’s Horn, Great Valleys sliced by a Rift, By drought and famine are torn … What drives such a large rainfall shift?

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Unexpected Sisters

    Unexpected Sisters

    An ancient island’s trove of treasure: Madagascan fauna Tenrec, fossa, lemur, hippo, dugong, bat, iguana. A giant bird – O, wondrous beast! – a half a ton, and tall, Laid foot-long eggs, had beefy legs, and did not fly at all.

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?