State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate228

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of April 30th

    Climate News Roundup: Week of April 30th

    Scientists race to save world’s rice bowl from climate change; Study: climate change causes plants to flower earlier; Panetta warms climate change having ‘dramatic impact’ on national security; Climate change is real and here: what to do now to protect your building

  • Riding for Change:  MSSM Student Rides 300 Miles to Raise Awareness about Sustainability Issues

    Riding for Change: MSSM Student Rides 300 Miles to Raise Awareness about Sustainability Issues

    MS in Sustainability Management student Scott Miller rides 300 miles from New York to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about sustainability issues and promote support for Earth Institute research and projects.

  • Exploring the Bering Sea Ecosystem

    Exploring the Bering Sea Ecosystem

    Our stations have continued to be rich in phytoplankton, while our colleagues are excited by the larval fish they are finding in the southern Bering Sea. Wildlife sightings have included whales, dolphin, and the jawless lamprey fish, and we are settling in for potentially bumpy seas ahead.

  • Switchyard 2012: Climate Change in the Arctic

    Arctic summer sea ice is declining rapidly: a trend with enormous implications for global weather and climate. Now in its eighth year, the multi-year Arctic Switchyard project is tracking the Arctic seascape to distinguish the effects of natural climate variability from human-induced climate change. The University of Washington is leading the project. A) The Canadian…

  • Experiments May Understate Plant Responses to Climate

    Observations in Nature Outrun Those in Artificial Plots

  • The Double-Edged Sword of Geoengineering

    The Double-Edged Sword of Geoengineering

    Shooting sulfur particles into the stratosphere to reflect the sun? Dumping iron into the ocean to boost the absorption of carbon dioxide? Could these far-fetched and dangerous-sounding schemes—geoengineering—help avert potentially catastrophic effects of climate change, or would they exacerbate conditions on our ever warming planet?

  • World Climate Policies: Substantial Progress But Enormous Challenges Remain

    World Climate Policies: Substantial Progress But Enormous Challenges Remain

    Recent analysis by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisory (DBCCA) in conjunction with the Columbia Climate Center, shows that the existing world climate policies have the potential to substantially reduce CO2 emissions, but are not aggressive enough to meet the suggested 450 ppm stabilization pathways.

  • Why I Care About the Bottom of the Ocean

    Why I Care About the Bottom of the Ocean

    It is the middle of the night and I am wide awake thinking about the ocean, specifically the bottom of the ocean. Is it rocky? Jumbled? Smooth? Rocky is bad. Jumbled is bad. Smooth is good.

  • Warming and the Water Cycle: More than Just a Faster Wetter Wet and Drier Dry

    Warming and the Water Cycle: More than Just a Faster Wetter Wet and Drier Dry

    One of the most serious consequences of global warming is its predicted impact on the water cycle.  A new study, described below, presents evidence that the global water cycle is changing even faster than predicted.  A further concern is that future rainfall patterns may be extremely variable in both space and time. As the atmosphere…

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

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of April 30th

    Climate News Roundup: Week of April 30th

    Scientists race to save world’s rice bowl from climate change; Study: climate change causes plants to flower earlier; Panetta warms climate change having ‘dramatic impact’ on national security; Climate change is real and here: what to do now to protect your building

  • Riding for Change:  MSSM Student Rides 300 Miles to Raise Awareness about Sustainability Issues

    Riding for Change: MSSM Student Rides 300 Miles to Raise Awareness about Sustainability Issues

    MS in Sustainability Management student Scott Miller rides 300 miles from New York to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about sustainability issues and promote support for Earth Institute research and projects.

  • Exploring the Bering Sea Ecosystem

    Exploring the Bering Sea Ecosystem

    Our stations have continued to be rich in phytoplankton, while our colleagues are excited by the larval fish they are finding in the southern Bering Sea. Wildlife sightings have included whales, dolphin, and the jawless lamprey fish, and we are settling in for potentially bumpy seas ahead.

  • Switchyard 2012: Climate Change in the Arctic

    Arctic summer sea ice is declining rapidly: a trend with enormous implications for global weather and climate. Now in its eighth year, the multi-year Arctic Switchyard project is tracking the Arctic seascape to distinguish the effects of natural climate variability from human-induced climate change. The University of Washington is leading the project. A) The Canadian…

  • Experiments May Understate Plant Responses to Climate

    Observations in Nature Outrun Those in Artificial Plots

  • The Double-Edged Sword of Geoengineering

    The Double-Edged Sword of Geoengineering

    Shooting sulfur particles into the stratosphere to reflect the sun? Dumping iron into the ocean to boost the absorption of carbon dioxide? Could these far-fetched and dangerous-sounding schemes—geoengineering—help avert potentially catastrophic effects of climate change, or would they exacerbate conditions on our ever warming planet?

  • World Climate Policies: Substantial Progress But Enormous Challenges Remain

    World Climate Policies: Substantial Progress But Enormous Challenges Remain

    Recent analysis by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisory (DBCCA) in conjunction with the Columbia Climate Center, shows that the existing world climate policies have the potential to substantially reduce CO2 emissions, but are not aggressive enough to meet the suggested 450 ppm stabilization pathways.

  • Why I Care About the Bottom of the Ocean

    Why I Care About the Bottom of the Ocean

    It is the middle of the night and I am wide awake thinking about the ocean, specifically the bottom of the ocean. Is it rocky? Jumbled? Smooth? Rocky is bad. Jumbled is bad. Smooth is good.

  • Warming and the Water Cycle: More than Just a Faster Wetter Wet and Drier Dry

    Warming and the Water Cycle: More than Just a Faster Wetter Wet and Drier Dry

    One of the most serious consequences of global warming is its predicted impact on the water cycle.  A new study, described below, presents evidence that the global water cycle is changing even faster than predicted.  A further concern is that future rainfall patterns may be extremely variable in both space and time. As the atmosphere…