State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate266

  • Ideas for the Sustainable City: Green Buildings

    On March 23, the Environmental Protection Agency released a list of the 40 cities with the highest percentage of energy-efficient buildings. While Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco made the top three, NYC came in at number ten. When we think about carbon emissions, we often think of cars, trucks, factories, and power plants. We think…

  • Looking Back on Winter: Part I

    The arrival of spring in temperate climates means more hours of daylight, showers and flowers.  Despite the general mood improvement from the dark days of winter, we should not be quick to forget the controversies surrounding this past season. Winter 2010, deemed by media outlets as Snowmaggedon and Snowpocalypse, was the snowiest season on record…

  • State of the Planet 2010: Join the Global Conversation

    What is the current state of the planet? How do we move forward on a global climate deal? On March 25, The Earth Institute, Columbia University; The Economist; and Ericsson will bring together some of the world’s most influential thinkers to propose innovative solutions to these and other critical questions at our biennial State of…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 3/21

    Progress Seen on Forest Scheme, Tehran Times Germany joins a 60-country and multi-billion dollar effort to stave deforestation in developing and tropical countries. The plan was initially discussed during the Copenhagen summit this December. However, the details were finally fleshed out Thursday at an all-day conference in Paris, where representatives gathered to decide how to…

  • University Joins ‘Synthetic Tree’ Venture

    Devices Would Pull Carbon From Air

  • China and India officially agree to associate with Copenhagen Accord

    This week, China and India agreed to add their names to the list of countries officially “supporting” the Copenhagen Accord. Athough both countries had previously submitted emission reduction commitments to be included in the Accord, agreeing to be listed is a gesture of official endorsement. In their letters to the Secretariat both India and China…

  • Cap-and-Trade Under the Clean Air Act?: Rethinking Section 115

      As comprehensive climate legislation stagnates in Congress, the possibility of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) regulation under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) existing Clean Air Act (“the Act”) authority as the sole federal means of addressing climate change becomes increasingly likely.  Whether EPA has existing authority to implement a cap-and-trade program for GHGs, which many believe…

  • From snow to rain? Not so much.

    In a seminar March 4th, Dr. Venkat Lakshmi presented his study showing that snowcover doesn’t directly influence the amount of precipitation during the rainy season, in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region.

  • Climate and Meningitis in Africa

    The International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Google are offering a guided tour of Africa to teach you about the relationship between climate and deadly meningitis outbreaks there. No need to pack your bags, though: it’s a virtual tour, one you can run on Google Earth from your living room. The climate and…

  • Ideas for the Sustainable City: Green Buildings

    On March 23, the Environmental Protection Agency released a list of the 40 cities with the highest percentage of energy-efficient buildings. While Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco made the top three, NYC came in at number ten. When we think about carbon emissions, we often think of cars, trucks, factories, and power plants. We think…

  • Looking Back on Winter: Part I

    The arrival of spring in temperate climates means more hours of daylight, showers and flowers.  Despite the general mood improvement from the dark days of winter, we should not be quick to forget the controversies surrounding this past season. Winter 2010, deemed by media outlets as Snowmaggedon and Snowpocalypse, was the snowiest season on record…

  • State of the Planet 2010: Join the Global Conversation

    What is the current state of the planet? How do we move forward on a global climate deal? On March 25, The Earth Institute, Columbia University; The Economist; and Ericsson will bring together some of the world’s most influential thinkers to propose innovative solutions to these and other critical questions at our biennial State of…

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 3/21

    Progress Seen on Forest Scheme, Tehran Times Germany joins a 60-country and multi-billion dollar effort to stave deforestation in developing and tropical countries. The plan was initially discussed during the Copenhagen summit this December. However, the details were finally fleshed out Thursday at an all-day conference in Paris, where representatives gathered to decide how to…

  • University Joins ‘Synthetic Tree’ Venture

    Devices Would Pull Carbon From Air

  • China and India officially agree to associate with Copenhagen Accord

    This week, China and India agreed to add their names to the list of countries officially “supporting” the Copenhagen Accord. Athough both countries had previously submitted emission reduction commitments to be included in the Accord, agreeing to be listed is a gesture of official endorsement. In their letters to the Secretariat both India and China…

  • Cap-and-Trade Under the Clean Air Act?: Rethinking Section 115

      As comprehensive climate legislation stagnates in Congress, the possibility of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) regulation under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) existing Clean Air Act (“the Act”) authority as the sole federal means of addressing climate change becomes increasingly likely.  Whether EPA has existing authority to implement a cap-and-trade program for GHGs, which many believe…

  • From snow to rain? Not so much.

    In a seminar March 4th, Dr. Venkat Lakshmi presented his study showing that snowcover doesn’t directly influence the amount of precipitation during the rainy season, in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region.

  • Climate and Meningitis in Africa

    The International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Google are offering a guided tour of Africa to teach you about the relationship between climate and deadly meningitis outbreaks there. No need to pack your bags, though: it’s a virtual tour, one you can run on Google Earth from your living room. The climate and…