State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Ecology31

  • What Is Ocean Acidification & Why Does It Matter?

    What Is Ocean Acidification & Why Does It Matter?

    Excess carbon dioxide absorbed into the oceans is starting to have profound effects on marine life, from oysters to tiny snails at the base of the food chain. Our scientists explain the changes and what they are learning about ocean acidification in the past.

  • World Wildlife Fund, Earth Institute Form New Partnership

    World Wildlife Fund, Earth Institute Form New Partnership

    The World Wildlife Fund will collaborate with the Earth Institute’s Center for Climate Systems Research to advance adaptation to the impacts of climate change around the globe. The partners will create new ways of generating climate risk information and embedding it into the World Wildlife Fund’s conservation and development planning, policies and practice.

  • The Catskill Watershed: a Story of Sacrifice and Cooperation

    The Catskill Watershed: a Story of Sacrifice and Cooperation

    It has become so easy for us here in NYC to turn on the tap without realizing the hardship, unimaginable sacrifices and money that have allowed us this incredible resource at the mere flick of a finger. We returned to the downstream end of the aqueducts with a newfound appreciation of the hard work we…

  • Climate Is Changing Fast in West Antarctica

    Climate Is Changing Fast in West Antarctica

    Fast-rising temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula are having an impact on the ice and marine life, and providing clues about future ecosystem changes elsewhere.

  • Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Jeff Bowman, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is in Antarctica for the field season studying how phytoplankton and bacteria interact. Follow his reports from Palmer Station.

  • What Are Those Phytoplankton Up To? Genetics Holds Some Clues

    What Are Those Phytoplankton Up To? Genetics Holds Some Clues

    What will happen to phytoplankton as the oceans warm, carbon dioxide levels rise, and nutrients become scarce? The answer matters to the oxygen we breathe.

  • Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient pollen spores that were in the air when mammoths roamed Southern California are providing new insights into historic droughts in the region, including how a series of mega droughts 25,500 to 27,500 years ago changed the ecological landscape.

  • Make Yourself Count: Sandy Hook ‘BioBlitz’

    Make Yourself Count: Sandy Hook ‘BioBlitz’

    Amateur naturalists will gather this weekend at the Sandy Hook, N.J., unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area to count species of plants and animals.

  • Arctic Oil Drilling: Deluding Communities About the Benefits of Resource Extraction

    We continue to need resources that the earth provides and someday we may even mine other planets. But communities that rely on mining alone, or even depend on resource extraction as their primary source of revenue, are asking to be left behind in the modern global economy.

Colorful icons representing nature, sustainable living, and renewable energy with text "Earth Day 2026"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • What Is Ocean Acidification & Why Does It Matter?

    What Is Ocean Acidification & Why Does It Matter?

    Excess carbon dioxide absorbed into the oceans is starting to have profound effects on marine life, from oysters to tiny snails at the base of the food chain. Our scientists explain the changes and what they are learning about ocean acidification in the past.

  • World Wildlife Fund, Earth Institute Form New Partnership

    World Wildlife Fund, Earth Institute Form New Partnership

    The World Wildlife Fund will collaborate with the Earth Institute’s Center for Climate Systems Research to advance adaptation to the impacts of climate change around the globe. The partners will create new ways of generating climate risk information and embedding it into the World Wildlife Fund’s conservation and development planning, policies and practice.

  • The Catskill Watershed: a Story of Sacrifice and Cooperation

    The Catskill Watershed: a Story of Sacrifice and Cooperation

    It has become so easy for us here in NYC to turn on the tap without realizing the hardship, unimaginable sacrifices and money that have allowed us this incredible resource at the mere flick of a finger. We returned to the downstream end of the aqueducts with a newfound appreciation of the hard work we…

  • Climate Is Changing Fast in West Antarctica

    Climate Is Changing Fast in West Antarctica

    Fast-rising temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula are having an impact on the ice and marine life, and providing clues about future ecosystem changes elsewhere.

  • Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Jeff Bowman, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is in Antarctica for the field season studying how phytoplankton and bacteria interact. Follow his reports from Palmer Station.

  • What Are Those Phytoplankton Up To? Genetics Holds Some Clues

    What Are Those Phytoplankton Up To? Genetics Holds Some Clues

    What will happen to phytoplankton as the oceans warm, carbon dioxide levels rise, and nutrients become scarce? The answer matters to the oxygen we breathe.

  • Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient pollen spores that were in the air when mammoths roamed Southern California are providing new insights into historic droughts in the region, including how a series of mega droughts 25,500 to 27,500 years ago changed the ecological landscape.

  • Make Yourself Count: Sandy Hook ‘BioBlitz’

    Make Yourself Count: Sandy Hook ‘BioBlitz’

    Amateur naturalists will gather this weekend at the Sandy Hook, N.J., unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area to count species of plants and animals.

  • Arctic Oil Drilling: Deluding Communities About the Benefits of Resource Extraction

    We continue to need resources that the earth provides and someday we may even mine other planets. But communities that rely on mining alone, or even depend on resource extraction as their primary source of revenue, are asking to be left behind in the modern global economy.