State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate232

  • Through the Looking Glass: Peering Through the Bottom of the Ocean

    Through the Looking Glass: Peering Through the Bottom of the Ocean

    Alice stepped through the mirror to see the world beyond, and we peer through the bottom of the ocean to see what is below. Short pulses of sound from the ship are focused on the seafloor, and we listen to the echo and reverberations that return.

  • Calmer Seas Ahead

    Calmer Seas Ahead

    After a short break due to weather and a bit of fun with Styrofoam cups, we are back in the lab sampling phytoplankton in the Bering Sea. We are using a specialized instrument to determine how well these small plant-like creatures are able to photosynthesize in the ocean, and we continue to learn fun facts…

  • 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.

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!

  • Through the Looking Glass: Peering Through the Bottom of the Ocean

    Through the Looking Glass: Peering Through the Bottom of the Ocean

    Alice stepped through the mirror to see the world beyond, and we peer through the bottom of the ocean to see what is below. Short pulses of sound from the ship are focused on the seafloor, and we listen to the echo and reverberations that return.

  • Calmer Seas Ahead

    Calmer Seas Ahead

    After a short break due to weather and a bit of fun with Styrofoam cups, we are back in the lab sampling phytoplankton in the Bering Sea. We are using a specialized instrument to determine how well these small plant-like creatures are able to photosynthesize in the ocean, and we continue to learn fun facts…

  • 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.