State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate181

  • Alaska: Hotspot for Oil and Climate Change

    Alaska: Hotspot for Oil and Climate Change

    In September, Shell Oil abandoned its offshore oil drilling projects in the Alaskan Arctic. Why is Arctic drilling so controversial and what impacts will Shell’s announcement have?

  • Declining Snowpacks May Cut Many Nations’ Water

    With Warming, Possible Seasonal Deficits from California to Caucasus

  • The Paris Climate Change Conference – What You Need to Know

    The Paris Climate Change Conference – What You Need to Know

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference, meeting in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, brings together world leaders to craft a new international agreement to keep the average global temperature rise below 2°C by 2100. Here’s what you need to know about it.

  • International Conference on El Niño, Nov. 17-18

    International Conference on El Niño, Nov. 17-18

    A live-streamed international conference on El Niño takes place on Nov. 17 and 18 at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

  • Symbolic Politics, the Keystone Pipeline, and Climate Policy in the Real World

    The Clean Power Plan, the renewable energy tax credit, and state and local sustainability initiatives may not have the glamor of climate conferences in Paris or the media currency of the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline, but they are the real, operational policies and programs that actually reduce fossil fuel use and speed the…

  • New Drought Atlas Maps 2,000 Years of Climate in Europe

    Completes the First Big-Picture View Across Northern Hemisphere

  • Rapid-Fire Cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

    Rapid-Fire Cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

    With Chapala’s destructive landfall in Yemen just a couple of days in the past, a second tropical cyclone, Megh, has just formed in the Arabian Sea. This one is not forecast to become anywhere near as intense as Chapala did—though we know intensity forecasts can be wrong, as they were at early stages for both…

  • Getting Sustainability on the Agenda of Our Dysfunctional Federal Government

    What is needed politically and in reality is a positive vision of a sustainable society. In the case of this country it will need to be built on the traditional values that have always attracted people to America: freedom, rewarding individual achievement, a love of the new and novel, innovation, and acceptance (even if reluctantly)…

  • Antarctica’s Wildlife in a Changing Climate

    Antarctica’s Wildlife in a Changing Climate

    We hear a lot about polar bears and other Arctic mammals in connection to climate change, but what about biodiversity in Antarctica?

Colorful icons representing nature, sustainable living, and renewable energy with text "Earth Day 2026"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Alaska: Hotspot for Oil and Climate Change

    Alaska: Hotspot for Oil and Climate Change

    In September, Shell Oil abandoned its offshore oil drilling projects in the Alaskan Arctic. Why is Arctic drilling so controversial and what impacts will Shell’s announcement have?

  • Declining Snowpacks May Cut Many Nations’ Water

    With Warming, Possible Seasonal Deficits from California to Caucasus

  • The Paris Climate Change Conference – What You Need to Know

    The Paris Climate Change Conference – What You Need to Know

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference, meeting in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, brings together world leaders to craft a new international agreement to keep the average global temperature rise below 2°C by 2100. Here’s what you need to know about it.

  • International Conference on El Niño, Nov. 17-18

    International Conference on El Niño, Nov. 17-18

    A live-streamed international conference on El Niño takes place on Nov. 17 and 18 at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

  • Symbolic Politics, the Keystone Pipeline, and Climate Policy in the Real World

    The Clean Power Plan, the renewable energy tax credit, and state and local sustainability initiatives may not have the glamor of climate conferences in Paris or the media currency of the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline, but they are the real, operational policies and programs that actually reduce fossil fuel use and speed the…

  • New Drought Atlas Maps 2,000 Years of Climate in Europe

    Completes the First Big-Picture View Across Northern Hemisphere

  • Rapid-Fire Cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

    Rapid-Fire Cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

    With Chapala’s destructive landfall in Yemen just a couple of days in the past, a second tropical cyclone, Megh, has just formed in the Arabian Sea. This one is not forecast to become anywhere near as intense as Chapala did—though we know intensity forecasts can be wrong, as they were at early stages for both…

  • Getting Sustainability on the Agenda of Our Dysfunctional Federal Government

    What is needed politically and in reality is a positive vision of a sustainable society. In the case of this country it will need to be built on the traditional values that have always attracted people to America: freedom, rewarding individual achievement, a love of the new and novel, innovation, and acceptance (even if reluctantly)…

  • Antarctica’s Wildlife in a Changing Climate

    Antarctica’s Wildlife in a Changing Climate

    We hear a lot about polar bears and other Arctic mammals in connection to climate change, but what about biodiversity in Antarctica?