Author: Kevin Krajick2

Kevin Krajick is the Columbia Climate School’s senior editor for science news. He grew up in the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley of upstate New York, where he worked at his high-school newspaper. He started his professional career as a reporter covering crime, police and prisons across the United States. He has since reported from all 50 U.S. states and 30-some countries, writing about science, medicine, immigration and other subjects. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Science, Smithsonian and many other publications. He was a 1981 finalist for the National Magazine Award for Public Service for his reporting on organized crime’s links to the toxic waste-disposal industry. He is two-time winner of the American Geophysical Union’s Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, and his work has been featured repeatedly in the yearly book “Best American Science and Nature Writing.” His widely praised 2001 book “Barren Lands” is the true account of how two prospectors discovered diamonds in Canada’s remote far north. Krajick holds degrees in comparative literature and journalism from Columbia University. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and a tiny white dog.

Ancient Plant, Insect Bits Confirm Greenland Melted in Recent Geologic Past

Bits of plants and insects under thousands of meters of ice at the center of Greenland show that tundra existed there within the last million years.
Planting Some Tree Species May Worsen, Not Improve, NYC Air, Says New Study

New York is planting large numbers of trees in order to improve the city’s livability. But emissions from some species interact with tailpipe and building pollutants to form smog.
Study Challenges Popular Idea That Easter Islanders Committed ‘Ecocide’

A popular trope says settlers overtaxed an isolated Pacific island, wrecked the environment and suffered a population collapse. A new study claims the opposite.
An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.
Cascadia Subduction Zone, One of Earth’s Top Hazards, Comes Into Sharper Focus

Where tectonic plates collide off the coasts of the western United States and Canada, giant earthquakes and tsunamis occur. The last one was 324 years ago. When will be the next?
In the Jersey Suburbs, a Search for Rocks To Help Fight Climate Change

Like the tips of icebergs, small outcrops of volcanic basalt in highly populous areas may be representative of rocks under the nearby ocean that could be used in massive carbon-storage projects.
In New Jersey’s Ancient Rocks, Hunting for Clues to a 2024 Earthquake

Geologists are combing the New Jersey countryside for signs of earthquakes past and present.
Was It an Alien Spacecraft—Or a Delivery Truck?

A Harvard astronomer says a meteor came from beyond our solar system. A new study questions whether his data includes a more obvious explanation.
Key Ocean Current Contains a Warning on Climate

A new study shows that a giant current circling Antarctica has speeded up during past warm periods, eating away at the polar ice. It’s doing it again now.

Ancient Plant, Insect Bits Confirm Greenland Melted in Recent Geologic Past

Bits of plants and insects under thousands of meters of ice at the center of Greenland show that tundra existed there within the last million years.
Planting Some Tree Species May Worsen, Not Improve, NYC Air, Says New Study

New York is planting large numbers of trees in order to improve the city’s livability. But emissions from some species interact with tailpipe and building pollutants to form smog.
Study Challenges Popular Idea That Easter Islanders Committed ‘Ecocide’

A popular trope says settlers overtaxed an isolated Pacific island, wrecked the environment and suffered a population collapse. A new study claims the opposite.
An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.
Cascadia Subduction Zone, One of Earth’s Top Hazards, Comes Into Sharper Focus

Where tectonic plates collide off the coasts of the western United States and Canada, giant earthquakes and tsunamis occur. The last one was 324 years ago. When will be the next?
In the Jersey Suburbs, a Search for Rocks To Help Fight Climate Change

Like the tips of icebergs, small outcrops of volcanic basalt in highly populous areas may be representative of rocks under the nearby ocean that could be used in massive carbon-storage projects.
In New Jersey’s Ancient Rocks, Hunting for Clues to a 2024 Earthquake

Geologists are combing the New Jersey countryside for signs of earthquakes past and present.
Was It an Alien Spacecraft—Or a Delivery Truck?

A Harvard astronomer says a meteor came from beyond our solar system. A new study questions whether his data includes a more obvious explanation.
Key Ocean Current Contains a Warning on Climate

A new study shows that a giant current circling Antarctica has speeded up during past warm periods, eating away at the polar ice. It’s doing it again now.