State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate186

  • Study Sees Powerful Winds Carving Away Antarctic Snow

    Findings May Boost Estimates of Contributions to Sea Level

  • Cuomo’s Commitment to Addressing Climate Change

    Cuomo’s Commitment to Addressing Climate Change

    New York State has taken a progressive stand on climate change, pushing for renewable energy development and promising to curb greenhouse gas emissions. On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joined by Vice President Al Gore at Columbia University, announced several new actions to increase New York State’s commitment to fighting climate change.

  • A Game of Strategy and Survival in the High Arctic

    A Game of Strategy and Survival in the High Arctic

    EcoChains: Arctic Crisis is a card game for ages 10 and up that challenges players to strategically manage the Arctic marine ecosystem as climate changes, while they learn about the potential impacts of future changes.

  • Horn of Africa Drying in Sync With Climate

    Study Suggests Worsening Future for Troubled Region

  • Growing Up in an Era of Extreme Events: What We Need to Know Now

    NEW YORK (October 7, 2015)—The recent flooding in South Carolina is yet another reminder of just how much destruction natural disasters can cause and how ill prepared communities throughout the US continue to be. Extreme events such as flooding, drought, and storms are leading to not only short-term economic and health impacts but are setting…

  • Joaquin? There’s No Perfect Forecast, So Stay Tuned

    Joaquin? There’s No Perfect Forecast, So Stay Tuned

    What will Hurricane Joaquin do? The science of predicting that is getting better, but still uncertain. The debate today is over whether there will be a U.S. landfall now in five or more days’ time or not; 30 years ago there would have been no point in even having that discussion.

  • How Superstorm Sandy Inspired an Award-Winning Book

    How Superstorm Sandy Inspired an Award-Winning Book

    “A lot of the challenge is understanding what we as a species should do, because the disasters are getting more prevalent. In the last hundred years, both in human and financial costs, damages are skyrocketing. Most of that is just more people living in dangerous places, but climate change will be more of a factor…

  • Tropical Rainfall from Hours to Millennia

    Tropical Rainfall from Hours to Millennia

    Most of Earth’s rainfall occurs in a tropical zonal band that circles the Earth. Understanding how this band will responds to climate change requires us to combine time scales from hours to millennia.

  • The Climate of Things

    The Climate of Things

    In his talk on “The Climate of Things,” Professor Dan Rabinowitz of Tel Aviv University argued that the magnitude of climate change warrants a reexamination of modernist social science. Rather than using other disciplines to guide knowledge of the universe, his “fifth environmental paradigm” uses the climate crisis to reexamine the validity of those other…

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Study Sees Powerful Winds Carving Away Antarctic Snow

    Findings May Boost Estimates of Contributions to Sea Level

  • Cuomo’s Commitment to Addressing Climate Change

    Cuomo’s Commitment to Addressing Climate Change

    New York State has taken a progressive stand on climate change, pushing for renewable energy development and promising to curb greenhouse gas emissions. On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joined by Vice President Al Gore at Columbia University, announced several new actions to increase New York State’s commitment to fighting climate change.

  • A Game of Strategy and Survival in the High Arctic

    A Game of Strategy and Survival in the High Arctic

    EcoChains: Arctic Crisis is a card game for ages 10 and up that challenges players to strategically manage the Arctic marine ecosystem as climate changes, while they learn about the potential impacts of future changes.

  • Horn of Africa Drying in Sync With Climate

    Study Suggests Worsening Future for Troubled Region

  • Growing Up in an Era of Extreme Events: What We Need to Know Now

    NEW YORK (October 7, 2015)—The recent flooding in South Carolina is yet another reminder of just how much destruction natural disasters can cause and how ill prepared communities throughout the US continue to be. Extreme events such as flooding, drought, and storms are leading to not only short-term economic and health impacts but are setting…

  • Joaquin? There’s No Perfect Forecast, So Stay Tuned

    Joaquin? There’s No Perfect Forecast, So Stay Tuned

    What will Hurricane Joaquin do? The science of predicting that is getting better, but still uncertain. The debate today is over whether there will be a U.S. landfall now in five or more days’ time or not; 30 years ago there would have been no point in even having that discussion.

  • How Superstorm Sandy Inspired an Award-Winning Book

    How Superstorm Sandy Inspired an Award-Winning Book

    “A lot of the challenge is understanding what we as a species should do, because the disasters are getting more prevalent. In the last hundred years, both in human and financial costs, damages are skyrocketing. Most of that is just more people living in dangerous places, but climate change will be more of a factor…

  • Tropical Rainfall from Hours to Millennia

    Tropical Rainfall from Hours to Millennia

    Most of Earth’s rainfall occurs in a tropical zonal band that circles the Earth. Understanding how this band will responds to climate change requires us to combine time scales from hours to millennia.

  • The Climate of Things

    The Climate of Things

    In his talk on “The Climate of Things,” Professor Dan Rabinowitz of Tel Aviv University argued that the magnitude of climate change warrants a reexamination of modernist social science. Rather than using other disciplines to guide knowledge of the universe, his “fifth environmental paradigm” uses the climate crisis to reexamine the validity of those other…