State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Ecology36

  • Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Frozen into the stone floor of a stairway landing, several flights up in Columbia’s Lewisohn Hall, sits a stark reminder of how life has evolved in the sea. Part 6 of the Columbia Geology Tour.

  • Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    To protect a river, you must preserve its headwaters. Agricultural development is warming streams at the headwaters of the Xingu River, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Rising temperatures have local impacts that could cascade into regional changes, highlighting the importance of responsible land use outside of protected areas.

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • 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.

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.

  • Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Frozen into the stone floor of a stairway landing, several flights up in Columbia’s Lewisohn Hall, sits a stark reminder of how life has evolved in the sea. Part 6 of the Columbia Geology Tour.

  • Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    To protect a river, you must preserve its headwaters. Agricultural development is warming streams at the headwaters of the Xingu River, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Rising temperatures have local impacts that could cascade into regional changes, highlighting the importance of responsible land use outside of protected areas.

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • 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.