State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earth Sciences84

  • Our Fiscal Year Ends June 30: Donate Now to Help Us Finish Strong!

    Our Fiscal Year Ends June 30: Donate Now to Help Us Finish Strong!

    The end of our fiscal year is just one week away and we need your support more than ever. This year, the generosity of Earth Institute supporters allowed our award-winning scientists and researchers to pursue groundbreaking initiatives in the fields of earth and environmental sciences, ecology, engineering and architecture, law, medicine and public health, economics,…

  • A Quick Retreat from ‘Mountain Lion’ Savannah

    A Quick Retreat from ‘Mountain Lion’ Savannah

    On their fourth day on Mount Chirripo, Lamont’s Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan explore an unusual valley and find the spot where a lion apparently killed someone.

  • Landslide Up Close

    Landslide Up Close

    On their third day on Mount Chirripo, Lamont geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan discover remnants of a mysterious landslide.

  • Chiseling Away

    Chiseling Away

    Lamont-Doherty geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan chisel away at glacial moraines on Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripo to understand when ice withdrew during the last ice age.

  • Climbing Mount Chirripó

    Climbing Mount Chirripó

    On the hike up Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó, Lamont geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan encounter varied climates and vegetation.

  • Mount Chirripó: Shaped by Glaciers or Tectonic Forces?

    Mount Chirripó: Shaped by Glaciers or Tectonic Forces?

    Lamont-Doherty graduate student Max Cunningham describes his upcoming research objectives on Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó.

  • The Fracking Facts

    The Fracking Facts

    Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method for extracting natural gas, has become a hot button issue across the U.S. But let’s try to look objectively at its benefits and risks.

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    The Caribbean, Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plain and West Africa are three regions known to be extremely vulnerable to climate variability and change, particularly to droughts, extreme weather events and stresses on food production, water resources and coastal areas. A new five-year project jointly led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the University…

Overhead view of Columbia campus with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2026: Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026

  • Our Fiscal Year Ends June 30: Donate Now to Help Us Finish Strong!

    Our Fiscal Year Ends June 30: Donate Now to Help Us Finish Strong!

    The end of our fiscal year is just one week away and we need your support more than ever. This year, the generosity of Earth Institute supporters allowed our award-winning scientists and researchers to pursue groundbreaking initiatives in the fields of earth and environmental sciences, ecology, engineering and architecture, law, medicine and public health, economics,…

  • A Quick Retreat from ‘Mountain Lion’ Savannah

    A Quick Retreat from ‘Mountain Lion’ Savannah

    On their fourth day on Mount Chirripo, Lamont’s Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan explore an unusual valley and find the spot where a lion apparently killed someone.

  • Landslide Up Close

    Landslide Up Close

    On their third day on Mount Chirripo, Lamont geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan discover remnants of a mysterious landslide.

  • Chiseling Away

    Chiseling Away

    Lamont-Doherty geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan chisel away at glacial moraines on Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripo to understand when ice withdrew during the last ice age.

  • Climbing Mount Chirripó

    Climbing Mount Chirripó

    On the hike up Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó, Lamont geologists Max Cunningham and Mike Kaplan encounter varied climates and vegetation.

  • Mount Chirripó: Shaped by Glaciers or Tectonic Forces?

    Mount Chirripó: Shaped by Glaciers or Tectonic Forces?

    Lamont-Doherty graduate student Max Cunningham describes his upcoming research objectives on Costa Rica’s Mount Chirripó.

  • The Fracking Facts

    The Fracking Facts

    Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method for extracting natural gas, has become a hot button issue across the U.S. But let’s try to look objectively at its benefits and risks.

  • Some Do Not Like It Hot

    Some Do Not Like It Hot

    The Great Dying, The Big One — The Permo-Triassic! (In a time machine, not sure if that’s where I’d aim …) As extinctions go, this one’s a blockbuster classic, When most of Earth’s species dropped out of the game.

  • Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience

    The Caribbean, Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plain and West Africa are three regions known to be extremely vulnerable to climate variability and change, particularly to droughts, extreme weather events and stresses on food production, water resources and coastal areas. A new five-year project jointly led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the University…