Climate264
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Why Women Matter
Megatons of carbon dioxide, radiative forcing, technology deployment, cap-and-trade systems: this is the common vocabulary of climate change. Concepts of equality, justice and ethics are relative latecomers to this highly specialized and technical world. Where they have emerged, terms like ‘climate justice’ usually refer to the interests of developing nations as a whole, reflecting the deep…
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Finished, as the Glaciers Fall Apart
We have finished our mission at Puncak Jaya and removed the ice cores, along with all camps and people from the field. Currently, we are in the coastal city of Timika for a few days, drying out our field equipment and tents. These are the first glaciers we have ever drilled where it rains almost every day–and…
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Applied Climate Research: A Conversation with Stefan Sobolowski (Part 2)
In part 1 of this interview, I talked with Columbia Water Center hydroclimatologist Stefan Sobolowski about the effects of continental snowcover on climate, and the implications of his research on climate change. In part 2, we talk about the problem of uncertainty in climate prediction models, extreme weather events, the regional variation of climate change…
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Answer to What Ended Last Ice Age May Be Blowing in the Wind
A Chain of Past Natural Events May Hold Lessons for the Future
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Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis
Columbia Water Center, The Asia Society and The Economist are cosponsoring the event Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis, Wednesday July 14, 2010, 6:30pm at the Asia Society.
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Climate News Roundup — Week of 6/14
Bill Gates funds cloud-whitening effort to reduce global warming. USA Today Bill Gates is funding research into whether or not it is effective and feasible to increase the albedo of atmospheric clouds by spray sea mist high into the atmosphere. The plan, spearheaded by Silicon Valley inventor Armand Neukermans, is a relatively benign method of…
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Energy, Agriculture, and the Environment: Dead Zones and the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Catastrophic, tragic, disastrous: these are all words that have been used to describe the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is impossible to deny that these words apply – thick, goopy crude has already coated the beaches and estuaries of the Gulf, contaminating more than 120 miles of coastline. The spill is…
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The Policy Buffet (Part 1): Making Sense of the Senate’s Climate and Energy Proposals
Advocates for energy policy reform and legislative action on climate change have long anticipated their opportunity to effect change. This summer may be the turning point they have awaited. In recent weeks, energy and climate policy have taken over the political limelight. The devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has forced Americans to…
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Decline and Fall of a Glacier
The glaciers around Puncak Jaya have long been in visible decline. From 1936 to 2006, they lost nearly 80 percent of their area–two-thirds of that since 1970, according to a new paper by glaciologist Michael Prentice of the Indiana Geological Survey, who has long been interested in the area. Satellite images show that from 2002 to 2006…
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More