State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate265

  • Scary Water Study from the NRDC

    Scary Water Study from the NRDC

    A fascinating and frightening recent study from the National Resources Defense Council unveiled serious threats to water sustainability in the United States over the coming decades. In an era of rapidly unfolding climate change, the Council’s research found that more than 1,100 counties, or one third of all counties in the lower 48 states, face…

  • Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data…

  • Core of the Matter

    Core of the Matter

    A final note (for now) on the expedition to recover ice cores from the top of Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia: the cores arrived safely on Thursday, July 22, at Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center, and are now in a special freezer. In coming months, the team hopes to extract and interpret climatic…

  • Converging Weather Patterns Caused Last Winter’s Huge Snows

    A Warming World Can Still See Severe Storms

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/12

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/12

    Solar-Powered Light Promises Safe, Kerosene-free Lighting for Millions, The Denver Post A Denver-based inventor has taken an idea for a solar-powered light bulb and scaled up to a model designed to make electric light available for millions of people around the world, whose main lighting is produced by kerosene lamp. The bulb is powered by…

  • The Glaciers Disappear: The Startling Photos of David Breashears

    The Glaciers Disappear: The Startling Photos of David Breashears

    Mountaineer, photographer and documentary filmmaker David Breashears is obviously a tough man—he has, after all, reached the summit of Mount Everest over five times, one of the very few people in the world to even attempt such a feat. In person, though, the soft-spoken Breashears comes off less like an indomitable mountain conqueror than like…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of  7/5

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/5

    Solar-Powered Plane Completes 26-hour Journey, CBC News An experimental Swiss aircraft christened the Solar Impulse completed the world’s first 26-hour solar flight on July 8. The 3,500-pound plane has 206-foot wings covered in 12,000 solar cells, and batteries used to store energy for nighttime flight. The project has been hailed as a great success –…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • Ice on Ice

    Ice on Ice

    I have reached Jakarta, and so have the ice cores, which are being kept frozen while awaiting air shipment to the United States. The rest of the team has already returned to their homes. Next for me: back to sea level, on two research cruises that will add oceanographic information to the data we gathered on Puncak Jaya.…

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

  • Scary Water Study from the NRDC

    Scary Water Study from the NRDC

    A fascinating and frightening recent study from the National Resources Defense Council unveiled serious threats to water sustainability in the United States over the coming decades. In an era of rapidly unfolding climate change, the Council’s research found that more than 1,100 counties, or one third of all counties in the lower 48 states, face…

  • Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data…

  • Core of the Matter

    Core of the Matter

    A final note (for now) on the expedition to recover ice cores from the top of Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia: the cores arrived safely on Thursday, July 22, at Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center, and are now in a special freezer. In coming months, the team hopes to extract and interpret climatic…

  • Converging Weather Patterns Caused Last Winter’s Huge Snows

    A Warming World Can Still See Severe Storms

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/12

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/12

    Solar-Powered Light Promises Safe, Kerosene-free Lighting for Millions, The Denver Post A Denver-based inventor has taken an idea for a solar-powered light bulb and scaled up to a model designed to make electric light available for millions of people around the world, whose main lighting is produced by kerosene lamp. The bulb is powered by…

  • The Glaciers Disappear: The Startling Photos of David Breashears

    The Glaciers Disappear: The Startling Photos of David Breashears

    Mountaineer, photographer and documentary filmmaker David Breashears is obviously a tough man—he has, after all, reached the summit of Mount Everest over five times, one of the very few people in the world to even attempt such a feat. In person, though, the soft-spoken Breashears comes off less like an indomitable mountain conqueror than like…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of  7/5

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/5

    Solar-Powered Plane Completes 26-hour Journey, CBC News An experimental Swiss aircraft christened the Solar Impulse completed the world’s first 26-hour solar flight on July 8. The 3,500-pound plane has 206-foot wings covered in 12,000 solar cells, and batteries used to store energy for nighttime flight. The project has been hailed as a great success –…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • Ice on Ice

    Ice on Ice

    I have reached Jakarta, and so have the ice cores, which are being kept frozen while awaiting air shipment to the United States. The rest of the team has already returned to their homes. Next for me: back to sea level, on two research cruises that will add oceanographic information to the data we gathered on Puncak Jaya.…