State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: Renée Cho21


  • What Obama Can and Should Do About Climate Change

    What Obama Can and Should Do About Climate Change

    As President Obama embarks on his second term, many Americans are hoping that the extreme weather of 2012 will mark a sea change and finally goad him into making meaningful efforts to deal with climate change.

  • How the Warming Arctic Affects Us All

    How the Warming Arctic Affects Us All

    The Arctic may seem remote, but the overall rate of global warming, our climate and weather, sea levels, and many ecosystems and species will be affected by the warming that is occurring there.

  • The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    Though driverless cars sound like something out of the “The Jetsons,” they are just one of many innovations already under way in the realm of personal transportation.

  • Getting Better Prepared for the Next Big Storm

    Getting Better Prepared for the Next Big Storm

    Super Storm Sandy was an unusually powerful and destructive storm because of a rare constellation of factors, but scientists predict that we can expect more extreme weather events due to the effects of climate change. Has the super storm made us take warnings about extreme weather more seriously?

  • Composting—Turning Garbage into Black Gold

    Composting—Turning Garbage into Black Gold

    Forty percent of our food is wasted, but through composting, food waste can be turned into black gold—so called because compost, the mixture of decayed organic matter, is valuable as a nutrient-rich soil additive. In the United States, however, less than 3 percent of food waste is composted.

  • Rare Earth Metals: Will We Have Enough?

    Rare Earth Metals: Will We Have Enough?

    Cell phones, iPads, laptops, televisions, hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar cells and many more products depend on rare earth metals to function. Will there be enough for us to continue our high-tech lifestyle and transition to a renewable energy economy?

  • How Green is Local Food?

    How Green is Local Food?

    Local food proponents often claim that food grown close to home helps prevent global warming because it requires less fossil fuels to transport, generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally produced food. But just how green is local food?

  • Preparing for a Future of Perpetual Drought

    Preparing for a Future of Perpetual Drought

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that droughts will likely increase in central North America this century. How can we prepare for a future of perpetual drought?

  • Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    With the incidence of extreme weather on the increase, concern about global warming is also growing. This concern needs to be turned into action—whether local, regional or national. Here are a dozen ways to take action.

  • What Obama Can and Should Do About Climate Change

    What Obama Can and Should Do About Climate Change

    As President Obama embarks on his second term, many Americans are hoping that the extreme weather of 2012 will mark a sea change and finally goad him into making meaningful efforts to deal with climate change.

  • How the Warming Arctic Affects Us All

    How the Warming Arctic Affects Us All

    The Arctic may seem remote, but the overall rate of global warming, our climate and weather, sea levels, and many ecosystems and species will be affected by the warming that is occurring there.

  • The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    Though driverless cars sound like something out of the “The Jetsons,” they are just one of many innovations already under way in the realm of personal transportation.

  • Getting Better Prepared for the Next Big Storm

    Getting Better Prepared for the Next Big Storm

    Super Storm Sandy was an unusually powerful and destructive storm because of a rare constellation of factors, but scientists predict that we can expect more extreme weather events due to the effects of climate change. Has the super storm made us take warnings about extreme weather more seriously?

  • Composting—Turning Garbage into Black Gold

    Composting—Turning Garbage into Black Gold

    Forty percent of our food is wasted, but through composting, food waste can be turned into black gold—so called because compost, the mixture of decayed organic matter, is valuable as a nutrient-rich soil additive. In the United States, however, less than 3 percent of food waste is composted.

  • Rare Earth Metals: Will We Have Enough?

    Rare Earth Metals: Will We Have Enough?

    Cell phones, iPads, laptops, televisions, hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar cells and many more products depend on rare earth metals to function. Will there be enough for us to continue our high-tech lifestyle and transition to a renewable energy economy?

  • How Green is Local Food?

    How Green is Local Food?

    Local food proponents often claim that food grown close to home helps prevent global warming because it requires less fossil fuels to transport, generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally produced food. But just how green is local food?

  • Preparing for a Future of Perpetual Drought

    Preparing for a Future of Perpetual Drought

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that droughts will likely increase in central North America this century. How can we prepare for a future of perpetual drought?

  • Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    With the incidence of extreme weather on the increase, concern about global warming is also growing. This concern needs to be turned into action—whether local, regional or national. Here are a dozen ways to take action.