Ecology28
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Student Writing Project Exposes NYC’s Illegal Ivory Trade
For a term project, Wendy Hapgood, MSSM ’16, investigated the possible illegal sale of ivory at shops in Manhattan. She found evidence for the largest ivory bust in New York state history.
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Grasslands More Sensitive to Dryness than Rainfall, Study Says
A new study shows that dryness of the atmosphere affects U.S. grassland productivity more than rainfall does. The findings could have important implications for predicting how plants will respond to warming climate conditions.
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How Climate Change Affects New York’s Plants and Animals
Climate change is already affecting New York, and these changes will have profound effects on its ecosystems, plants and animals. What are the implications of these projected changes?
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Study Finds Oil Palm Certification Plays Limited Role in Curbing Fires
Oil palm is in everything from food to cosmetics to fuel and is consumed and used by most people without giving it a second thought. Yet oil palm cultivation is a large contributor to environmental and social problems, especially in places like Indonesia, where the business of oil palm cultivation has become the second largest…
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Photo Essay: Where the Trees Meet the Tundra
Due to warming climate and increasing human exploitation, far northern forests and the tundra beyond are undergoing rapid changes. In northern Alaska, scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other institutions are studying the responses of trees at the very edge of their range.
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Illegal Ivory Almost all from Recent Killing, Study Finds
Global Analysis Shows Tusks Go From Slaughter to Sale in Months
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Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk
As the American Southwest grows hotter, the risk of severe, long-lasting megadroughts rises, passing 90 percent this century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, a new study from scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says. Aggressively reducing emissions can cut that risk.
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Rhino Number 100 and World Rhino Day
The sound of a chainsaw rises discordantly above all natural sounds, disrupting the quiet of a warm African winters’ day, a destructive sound at odds with the African wilderness. But it is not a tree that is being felled. It is the horn of a rhino.
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MSSM Alumnus Designs Bird Habitat in Thailand
MSSM Alum Chak Cherdsatirul, is transforming 30 acres into a natural sanctuary for birds in Thailand. A challenge for architects, zoologists and botanists to juxtapose biodiversity concepts with aesthetic human-nature design to ultimately create a sustainable avian habitat.
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
