State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate238

  • The Art and Science of Speed Dating

    The Art and Science of Speed Dating

    Speed dating can help singles looking for love. Can it help bring artists and scientists closer together, too?

  • Under the Dead Sea, Warnings on Climate and Earthquakes

    Under the Dead Sea, Warnings on Climate and Earthquakes

          An international team of scientists drilling deep under the bed of the Dead Sea has found evidence that the sea may have dried up during a past warm period analogous to scenarios for climate change in coming decades. With nations in the volatile region already running short on water, the finding could be a…

  • Climate Services event at COP-17

    Climate Services event at COP-17

    A side event hosted by the IRI at this year’s U.N. climate conference will discuss a new Climate Services Partnership.

  • Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    For millennia, people have set fires to clear land for cultivation, pastures or hunting; so-called slash-and-burn agriculture is still common across much of tropical Africa, Asia and South America. It has been a useful strategy–but …

  • New York State May Soon Suffer Outsize Effects from Climate, Says Report

    From Farms to Subways, Many Sectors Could Be Affected

  • PhD. Ode to a Tree

    PhD. Ode to a Tree

    “I was deeply saddened by the loss of one of our most beautiful trees on campus during the last storm. It had perfect symmetry and such a beautiful color display late in the fall,” wrote geochemist Martin Stute, after a highly unusual heavy October snow felled a 22-year-old Bradford pear at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where he…

  • Winter Extremes: So Last Year?

    Winter Extremes: So Last Year?

    What are the odds that this winter will be as snowy as the last two? Climate scientist Jason Smerdon and tree-ring scientist Rosanne D’Arrigo are working on an answer, looking at the long-term history of two important weather patterns—the North Atlantic Oscillation and La Niña state in the tropical Pacific—that similar to last year could…

  • Trees on Tundra’s Border Are Growing Faster in a Hotter Climate

    Measuring Techniques Improve—But Implications Are Not Certain

  • Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Video Short: IRI’s Madeleine Thomson discusses the short- and long-term health risks of the East Africa famine

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

  • The Art and Science of Speed Dating

    The Art and Science of Speed Dating

    Speed dating can help singles looking for love. Can it help bring artists and scientists closer together, too?

  • Under the Dead Sea, Warnings on Climate and Earthquakes

    Under the Dead Sea, Warnings on Climate and Earthquakes

          An international team of scientists drilling deep under the bed of the Dead Sea has found evidence that the sea may have dried up during a past warm period analogous to scenarios for climate change in coming decades. With nations in the volatile region already running short on water, the finding could be a…

  • Climate Services event at COP-17

    Climate Services event at COP-17

    A side event hosted by the IRI at this year’s U.N. climate conference will discuss a new Climate Services Partnership.

  • Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    For millennia, people have set fires to clear land for cultivation, pastures or hunting; so-called slash-and-burn agriculture is still common across much of tropical Africa, Asia and South America. It has been a useful strategy–but …

  • New York State May Soon Suffer Outsize Effects from Climate, Says Report

    From Farms to Subways, Many Sectors Could Be Affected

  • PhD. Ode to a Tree

    PhD. Ode to a Tree

    “I was deeply saddened by the loss of one of our most beautiful trees on campus during the last storm. It had perfect symmetry and such a beautiful color display late in the fall,” wrote geochemist Martin Stute, after a highly unusual heavy October snow felled a 22-year-old Bradford pear at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where he…

  • Winter Extremes: So Last Year?

    Winter Extremes: So Last Year?

    What are the odds that this winter will be as snowy as the last two? Climate scientist Jason Smerdon and tree-ring scientist Rosanne D’Arrigo are working on an answer, looking at the long-term history of two important weather patterns—the North Atlantic Oscillation and La Niña state in the tropical Pacific—that similar to last year could…

  • Trees on Tundra’s Border Are Growing Faster in a Hotter Climate

    Measuring Techniques Improve—But Implications Are Not Certain

  • Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Video Short: IRI’s Madeleine Thomson discusses the short- and long-term health risks of the East Africa famine