State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate190

  • Eco-Theater Engages Visitors at Lamont-Doherty’s Open House

    Eco-Theater Engages Visitors at Lamont-Doherty’s Open House

    Visitors to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s open house on Oct. 11 could tune in to a performance of “Salty Folk” by Superhero Clubhouse, a collective of artists and environmental advocates. Created by Jeremy Pickard and Nate Weida, the play uses music and humor to illustrate the history and importance of New York Harbor through the “eyes”…

  • Eye on the Storm

    Eye on the Storm

    Atmospheric scientist Adam Sobel is author of the new book “Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future.” Sobel was one of the first researchers to explain to media and the public what might be brewing, before the storm hit. In the aftermath, he looked closely at the…

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    In Part 4 of the Columbia Geology Tour, David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory explores the source of the red sandstone of Russell Hall at the Columbia Teachers College on 120th Street.

  • The Art and Science of Climate Change

    The Art and Science of Climate Change

    This fall, the photographs of Sebastião Salgado provide the springboard for an ambitious program of panel discussions, lectures and film screenings addressing the urgent issue of climate change, at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

  • Photo Essay: Sculpting Tropical Peaks

    Photo Essay: Sculpting Tropical Peaks

    Max Cunningham, a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty, traveled to Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó this past summer to test the idea that mountain glaciers carved the summit we see today. He and his colleagues hope to eventually pin down when Chirripó’s high-elevation valleys eroded into their current form. Check out a recap of their 2014 field…

  • 8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    President Obama this week announced a set of actions designed to help populations here and abroad develop better resilience against drought, sea level rise and other consequences of a changing climate. At The Earth Institute, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society has been working on these issues for years — making regular climate…

  • Join the Crowd: Scenes from the Climate March

    Join the Crowd: Scenes from the Climate March

    Student Jane Rebecca Marchant was one among the hundreds of thousands who joined the People’s Climate March Sunday, and she took a lot of photos. You can see her photo essay on the march on the website of the Morningside Post, the student-run newspaper at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

  • Tanzania Launches Plan to Fight Climate Impacts on Agriculture

    Tanzania Launches Plan to Fight Climate Impacts on Agriculture

    Vital Signs is a key part of Tanzania’s new Agriculture Climate Resilience Plan, which presents a strategy for sustainable agricultural development in the face of shifting rainfall patterns and other effects of a changing climate.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Eco-Theater Engages Visitors at Lamont-Doherty’s Open House

    Eco-Theater Engages Visitors at Lamont-Doherty’s Open House

    Visitors to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s open house on Oct. 11 could tune in to a performance of “Salty Folk” by Superhero Clubhouse, a collective of artists and environmental advocates. Created by Jeremy Pickard and Nate Weida, the play uses music and humor to illustrate the history and importance of New York Harbor through the “eyes”…

  • Eye on the Storm

    Eye on the Storm

    Atmospheric scientist Adam Sobel is author of the new book “Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future.” Sobel was one of the first researchers to explain to media and the public what might be brewing, before the storm hit. In the aftermath, he looked closely at the…

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    In Part 4 of the Columbia Geology Tour, David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory explores the source of the red sandstone of Russell Hall at the Columbia Teachers College on 120th Street.

  • The Art and Science of Climate Change

    The Art and Science of Climate Change

    This fall, the photographs of Sebastião Salgado provide the springboard for an ambitious program of panel discussions, lectures and film screenings addressing the urgent issue of climate change, at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

  • Photo Essay: Sculpting Tropical Peaks

    Photo Essay: Sculpting Tropical Peaks

    Max Cunningham, a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty, traveled to Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó this past summer to test the idea that mountain glaciers carved the summit we see today. He and his colleagues hope to eventually pin down when Chirripó’s high-elevation valleys eroded into their current form. Check out a recap of their 2014 field…

  • 8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    President Obama this week announced a set of actions designed to help populations here and abroad develop better resilience against drought, sea level rise and other consequences of a changing climate. At The Earth Institute, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society has been working on these issues for years — making regular climate…

  • Join the Crowd: Scenes from the Climate March

    Join the Crowd: Scenes from the Climate March

    Student Jane Rebecca Marchant was one among the hundreds of thousands who joined the People’s Climate March Sunday, and she took a lot of photos. You can see her photo essay on the march on the website of the Morningside Post, the student-run newspaper at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

  • Tanzania Launches Plan to Fight Climate Impacts on Agriculture

    Tanzania Launches Plan to Fight Climate Impacts on Agriculture

    Vital Signs is a key part of Tanzania’s new Agriculture Climate Resilience Plan, which presents a strategy for sustainable agricultural development in the face of shifting rainfall patterns and other effects of a changing climate.