State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Ecology36

  • Chemical silence

    Chemical silence

    What if you couldn’t smell smoke? Or detect flirty signs from a bloke? Imagine the cost Of faculties lost, Of signals that deafness would cloak …

  • Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    In Part 4 of the Columbia Geology Tour, David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory explores the source of the red sandstone of Russell Hall at the Columbia Teachers College on 120th Street.

  • The Art and Science of Climate Change

    The Art and Science of Climate Change

    This fall, the photographs of Sebastião Salgado provide the springboard for an ambitious program of panel discussions, lectures and film screenings addressing the urgent issue of climate change, at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • Photo Essay: Open House at Lamont-Doherty

    Photo Essay: Open House at Lamont-Doherty

    Bend a rock. Channel your historic ‘birthquake.’ Check out rocks, fossils, sediment cores and more at Lamont’s Open House on Saturday, October 11.

  • What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    Climate scientist William D’Andrea of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory asked young scientists attending a symposium last October, “What do you wish everyone knew about climate change?” He turned the responses into this video, which covers the topic pretty well.

  • Is the Highest Climb Sustainable, and Who Pays the Price?

    Is the Highest Climb Sustainable, and Who Pays the Price?

    The Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest is perhaps the most well-known and notoriously dangerous glacial feature on the planet. In a fresh post on the Glacier Hub blog, the Earth Institute’s Ben Orlove, writing with anthropologist Pasang Yangjee Sherpa of Penn State, recounts a recent workshop held in Kathmandu to address the issues raised by…

  • ‘The Big Ratchet’

    ‘The Big Ratchet’

    In her new book, Ruth DeFries argues that we have continually created new technologies that allow our numbers to grow. But each new invention creates a new problem—which we solve with yet another innovation that creates the next problem. Will we be able to sustain this so-far successful cycle past the great leap in technology…

  • Like Weeds of the Sea, ‘Brown Tide’ Algae Exploit Nutrient-Rich Coastlines

    Close-Up Look at Genome May Lead to New Ways to Combat Harmful Blooms

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Chemical silence

    Chemical silence

    What if you couldn’t smell smoke? Or detect flirty signs from a bloke? Imagine the cost Of faculties lost, Of signals that deafness would cloak …

  • Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    Seeing Red: The Great Oxygenation Event

    In Part 4 of the Columbia Geology Tour, David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory explores the source of the red sandstone of Russell Hall at the Columbia Teachers College on 120th Street.

  • The Art and Science of Climate Change

    The Art and Science of Climate Change

    This fall, the photographs of Sebastião Salgado provide the springboard for an ambitious program of panel discussions, lectures and film screenings addressing the urgent issue of climate change, at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • Photo Essay: Open House at Lamont-Doherty

    Photo Essay: Open House at Lamont-Doherty

    Bend a rock. Channel your historic ‘birthquake.’ Check out rocks, fossils, sediment cores and more at Lamont’s Open House on Saturday, October 11.

  • What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    Climate scientist William D’Andrea of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory asked young scientists attending a symposium last October, “What do you wish everyone knew about climate change?” He turned the responses into this video, which covers the topic pretty well.

  • Is the Highest Climb Sustainable, and Who Pays the Price?

    Is the Highest Climb Sustainable, and Who Pays the Price?

    The Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest is perhaps the most well-known and notoriously dangerous glacial feature on the planet. In a fresh post on the Glacier Hub blog, the Earth Institute’s Ben Orlove, writing with anthropologist Pasang Yangjee Sherpa of Penn State, recounts a recent workshop held in Kathmandu to address the issues raised by…

  • ‘The Big Ratchet’

    ‘The Big Ratchet’

    In her new book, Ruth DeFries argues that we have continually created new technologies that allow our numbers to grow. But each new invention creates a new problem—which we solve with yet another innovation that creates the next problem. Will we be able to sustain this so-far successful cycle past the great leap in technology…

  • Like Weeds of the Sea, ‘Brown Tide’ Algae Exploit Nutrient-Rich Coastlines

    Close-Up Look at Genome May Lead to New Ways to Combat Harmful Blooms