State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate191

  • Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    The Earth Institute will benefit this holiday season from a matching gift from dedicated donor Betsee Parker, who will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to $300,000 this holiday season.

  • Why are Past Surface Temperatures and CO2 Concentrations Important?

    Why are Past Surface Temperatures and CO2 Concentrations Important?

    By burning fossil fuels for heating, electricity, transportation and other purposes, humans add CO2 to the atmosphere. Yet, by comparing ways in which the Earth’s temperature, CO2 concentration, sea level and ice sheets have changed in the past, we are able to learn valuable lessons about the climate system of today and tomorrow.

  • This Bird Flies South for the Winter

    This Bird Flies South for the Winter

    Migrating south in the winter is a behavior that Antarctic scientists share with many species of birds, although the scientists fly just a bit further south. For the IcePod team it was time to join the migration so they could test their equipment in the most challenging environment the Earth has to offer.

  • New Report Shows How U.S. Can Slash Greenhouse Emissions

    Researchers Map Low-Carbon Investments and Policy Changes

  • Floods, Companies and Supply Chain Risk

    Floods, Companies and Supply Chain Risk

    Global companies with long supply chains could do a much better job of managing climate disaster risk, according to a recently published study from the Columbia Water Center.

  • New Global Maps Detail Human-Caused Ocean Acidification

    Oceans Changing in Step with Rising CO2 Emissions

  • Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

    Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

    NASA has been at the forefront of climate science, launching satellites that take the pulse of Earth’s land, oceans and atmospheric systems. But the agency is increasingly vulnerable itself to the effects of a changing climate.

  • Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

    Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

    Sitting on the iconic front steps of Low Library, Alma Mater rests on a plinth that offers a clue to a possible method of carbon sequestration, a vital technology for addressing our problem of too much CO2.

  • An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    At a panel discussion this week, Leon Billings and Thomas Jorling, two senior staff members who helped craft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other major environmental legislation in the 1970s, spoke about the bipartisan effort to pass that legislation, and the partisan divide that stymies Congress today.

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

  • Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    The Earth Institute will benefit this holiday season from a matching gift from dedicated donor Betsee Parker, who will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to $300,000 this holiday season.

  • Why are Past Surface Temperatures and CO2 Concentrations Important?

    Why are Past Surface Temperatures and CO2 Concentrations Important?

    By burning fossil fuels for heating, electricity, transportation and other purposes, humans add CO2 to the atmosphere. Yet, by comparing ways in which the Earth’s temperature, CO2 concentration, sea level and ice sheets have changed in the past, we are able to learn valuable lessons about the climate system of today and tomorrow.

  • This Bird Flies South for the Winter

    This Bird Flies South for the Winter

    Migrating south in the winter is a behavior that Antarctic scientists share with many species of birds, although the scientists fly just a bit further south. For the IcePod team it was time to join the migration so they could test their equipment in the most challenging environment the Earth has to offer.

  • New Report Shows How U.S. Can Slash Greenhouse Emissions

    Researchers Map Low-Carbon Investments and Policy Changes

  • Floods, Companies and Supply Chain Risk

    Floods, Companies and Supply Chain Risk

    Global companies with long supply chains could do a much better job of managing climate disaster risk, according to a recently published study from the Columbia Water Center.

  • New Global Maps Detail Human-Caused Ocean Acidification

    Oceans Changing in Step with Rising CO2 Emissions

  • Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

    Study: NASA Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change

    NASA has been at the forefront of climate science, launching satellites that take the pulse of Earth’s land, oceans and atmospheric systems. But the agency is increasingly vulnerable itself to the effects of a changing climate.

  • Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

    Alma Mater’s Other Secret: a Way Forward on Climate

    Sitting on the iconic front steps of Low Library, Alma Mater rests on a plinth that offers a clue to a possible method of carbon sequestration, a vital technology for addressing our problem of too much CO2.

  • An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    At a panel discussion this week, Leon Billings and Thomas Jorling, two senior staff members who helped craft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other major environmental legislation in the 1970s, spoke about the bipartisan effort to pass that legislation, and the partisan divide that stymies Congress today.