State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate165

  • Forecasting Climate, with Help from the Baobab Tree

    Forecasting Climate, with Help from the Baobab Tree

    To improve climate forecasts, scientists study the complex interactions and mechanisms within the climate system. But they also need to hear from potential users of climate information, such as farmers, to get a better understanding of how people may use that information in their decision making.

  • Climate Game Challenge Finalists Announced

    Climate Game Challenge Finalists Announced

    The Columbia Climate Center-led PoLAR Partnership, together with Autodesk and Games for Change are proud to announce the four finalists in the Games for Change Climate Challenge.

  • Watch Live: Turning CO2 to Stone, Scientists Discuss a Climate Solution

    Watch Live: Turning CO2 to Stone, Scientists Discuss a Climate Solution

    On June 24, a scientist involved in the CarbFix carbon capture and storage project in Iceland will give a live-streamed presentation about the technology and the project’s success at turning CO2 to stone.

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • Greenland Set Melt Records in 2015 Consistent with ‘Arctic Amplification’

    Jet Stream Reached Northern Latitudes Never Before Recorded

  • Crushing Ice to Learn About Glaciers & Icy Moons

    Crushing Ice to Learn About Glaciers & Icy Moons

    To understand how quickly ice from glaciers can raise sea level or how moons far across the solar system evolved to hold vast, ice-covered oceans, we need to be able to measure the forces at work. A new instrument designed and built at Lamont does just that.

  • The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Mailman School of Public Health will hold a two-day meeting to talk about how climate influences issues of public health, from heat waves to infectious diseases. The event will be livestreamed, and you also can follow it on Twitter at #healthclimate2016.

  • Miracle on the Potomac: The New Bipartisan Law Regulating Toxics

    The new law is far from perfect, but it is a major improvement over the ineffectual 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Under that law, only five of the over 80,000 chemicals now in use have been banned or substantially restricted in use.

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Forecasting Climate, with Help from the Baobab Tree

    Forecasting Climate, with Help from the Baobab Tree

    To improve climate forecasts, scientists study the complex interactions and mechanisms within the climate system. But they also need to hear from potential users of climate information, such as farmers, to get a better understanding of how people may use that information in their decision making.

  • Climate Game Challenge Finalists Announced

    Climate Game Challenge Finalists Announced

    The Columbia Climate Center-led PoLAR Partnership, together with Autodesk and Games for Change are proud to announce the four finalists in the Games for Change Climate Challenge.

  • Watch Live: Turning CO2 to Stone, Scientists Discuss a Climate Solution

    Watch Live: Turning CO2 to Stone, Scientists Discuss a Climate Solution

    On June 24, a scientist involved in the CarbFix carbon capture and storage project in Iceland will give a live-streamed presentation about the technology and the project’s success at turning CO2 to stone.

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • Greenland Set Melt Records in 2015 Consistent with ‘Arctic Amplification’

    Jet Stream Reached Northern Latitudes Never Before Recorded

  • Crushing Ice to Learn About Glaciers & Icy Moons

    Crushing Ice to Learn About Glaciers & Icy Moons

    To understand how quickly ice from glaciers can raise sea level or how moons far across the solar system evolved to hold vast, ice-covered oceans, we need to be able to measure the forces at work. A new instrument designed and built at Lamont does just that.

  • The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Mailman School of Public Health will hold a two-day meeting to talk about how climate influences issues of public health, from heat waves to infectious diseases. The event will be livestreamed, and you also can follow it on Twitter at #healthclimate2016.

  • Miracle on the Potomac: The New Bipartisan Law Regulating Toxics

    The new law is far from perfect, but it is a major improvement over the ineffectual 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Under that law, only five of the over 80,000 chemicals now in use have been banned or substantially restricted in use.

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.