State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate199

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    The Caribbean, Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plain and West Africa are three regions known to be extremely vulnerable to climate variability and change, particularly to droughts, extreme weather events and stresses on food production, water resources and coastal areas. A new five-year project jointly led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the University…

  • How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    Scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are trying to determine how high sea levels may rise in the future by studying the shorelines of the past. Led by a team of researchers including Lamont climate scientist and marine geologist Maureen Raymo, the goal of Pliomax is to increase the accuracy of global sea level estimates for…

  • Clock Is Ticking in West Antarctic

    Clock Is Ticking in West Antarctic

    “The high-resolution records that we’re getting and the high-resolution models we’re able to make now are sort of moving the questions a little bit closer into human, understandable time frames.”

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?

  • Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    In the face of climate change, companies cannot continue to do “business as usual.” The risks and challenges of the changing climate threaten the bottom line, but also offer unprecedented opportunities.

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • 3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    Three scientific reports echo the message that climate change and its impacts are here and now, with more to come. So how to change the conversation to reach beyond the already informed and connect to a much larger population?

  • Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate scientist Radley Horton, one of the lead authors of the National Climate Assessment report released this week, will answer your questions in an “ask me anything” session on Redditt on Friday starting at 11 a.m.

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.

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    The Caribbean, Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plain and West Africa are three regions known to be extremely vulnerable to climate variability and change, particularly to droughts, extreme weather events and stresses on food production, water resources and coastal areas. A new five-year project jointly led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the University…

  • How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    Scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are trying to determine how high sea levels may rise in the future by studying the shorelines of the past. Led by a team of researchers including Lamont climate scientist and marine geologist Maureen Raymo, the goal of Pliomax is to increase the accuracy of global sea level estimates for…

  • Clock Is Ticking in West Antarctic

    Clock Is Ticking in West Antarctic

    “The high-resolution records that we’re getting and the high-resolution models we’re able to make now are sort of moving the questions a little bit closer into human, understandable time frames.”

  • Weak Underbelly

    Weak Underbelly

    Antarctica’s uncertain fuse, A “weak underbelly,” said Hughes. Pine Island and Thwaites, Thrown open, the gates? As humans, what path should we choose?

  • Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    Climate Change’s Bottom Line

    In the face of climate change, companies cannot continue to do “business as usual.” The risks and challenges of the changing climate threaten the bottom line, but also offer unprecedented opportunities.

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • 3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    3 Reports Bring a Wake-Up Call: Change the Conversation

    Three scientific reports echo the message that climate change and its impacts are here and now, with more to come. So how to change the conversation to reach beyond the already informed and connect to a much larger population?

  • Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate Report Author to Take Questions on Friday

    Climate scientist Radley Horton, one of the lead authors of the National Climate Assessment report released this week, will answer your questions in an “ask me anything” session on Redditt on Friday starting at 11 a.m.