State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Ecology29

  • Illegal Ivory Almost all from Recent Killing, Study Finds

    Global Analysis Shows Tusks Go From Slaughter to Sale in Months

  • Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    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.

  • Rhino Number 100 and World Rhino Day

    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.

  • MSSM Alumnus Designs Bird Habitat in Thailand

    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.

  • President Obama Continues to Build His Environmental Legacy

    President Obama Continues to Build His Environmental Legacy

    There are limits to how much a president can do without a congress willing to legislate. Barack Obama produced his environmental legacy through the creative and determined use of his executive authority.

  • Wonder Where Pepperoni Went? Now We Know

    Wonder Where Pepperoni Went? Now We Know

    Big Mac, Pepperoni, Billie Jo, Birdy Sanders, Bertie, Journey, Hippy and Twitter flew an average of about 1,215 km. “Paul,” named for a teacher who had passed away, traveled 3,220 km.

  • Climate and Cod

    Climate and Cod

    A new study finds that the climatological phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation contributes to fluctuations in the cod population off the New England coast, and could help fishery managers protect the population from future collapse.

  • Balancing Development and Preservation in an Urban National Park

    Balancing Development and Preservation in an Urban National Park

    Nairobi National Park is the only wildlife park in the world within a city’s administrative boundaries. However, the park’s value to its greater ecosystem, as well as its role in promoting conservation throughout Kenya, are under threat due to recent urban and infrastructure developments.

  • Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.

Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

  • Illegal Ivory Almost all from Recent Killing, Study Finds

    Global Analysis Shows Tusks Go From Slaughter to Sale in Months

  • Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    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.

  • Rhino Number 100 and World Rhino Day

    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.

  • MSSM Alumnus Designs Bird Habitat in Thailand

    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.

  • President Obama Continues to Build His Environmental Legacy

    President Obama Continues to Build His Environmental Legacy

    There are limits to how much a president can do without a congress willing to legislate. Barack Obama produced his environmental legacy through the creative and determined use of his executive authority.

  • Wonder Where Pepperoni Went? Now We Know

    Wonder Where Pepperoni Went? Now We Know

    Big Mac, Pepperoni, Billie Jo, Birdy Sanders, Bertie, Journey, Hippy and Twitter flew an average of about 1,215 km. “Paul,” named for a teacher who had passed away, traveled 3,220 km.

  • Climate and Cod

    Climate and Cod

    A new study finds that the climatological phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation contributes to fluctuations in the cod population off the New England coast, and could help fishery managers protect the population from future collapse.

  • Balancing Development and Preservation in an Urban National Park

    Balancing Development and Preservation in an Urban National Park

    Nairobi National Park is the only wildlife park in the world within a city’s administrative boundaries. However, the park’s value to its greater ecosystem, as well as its role in promoting conservation throughout Kenya, are under threat due to recent urban and infrastructure developments.

  • Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

    It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.