State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Education73

  • Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    How do multiple stakeholders compromise their competing needs and develop a global coordinated strategy that is politically palatable, possible and comprehensive enough to have an impact? Students from universities all over the U.S. Northeast gathered at Columbia for the 2017 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition that challenged students to do just this.

  • Kevin & Allison: ESP Students Maximizing Opportunity

    Kevin & Allison: ESP Students Maximizing Opportunity

    Kevin Fertig and Allison Pace are both ESP students who make use of every opportunity they have, from being involved in research projects around campus to leading their cohort and organizing campus wide events. “Say yes, until you can’t say yes anymore” is their success mantra.

  • An Integrated Approach to Sustainability

    An Integrated Approach to Sustainability

    Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Celine Gaasrud was attracted to the opportunity to combine courses in different areas to explore and solve sustainability challenges. She intends to maintain an international perspective and work on implementing solutions to achieve sustainable development.

  • Isaac Wilkins: An Environmental Justice and Sustainability Calling

    Isaac Wilkins: An Environmental Justice and Sustainability Calling

    Isaac Wilkins, a current MPA ESP student, has a calling. Introduced to the environmental movement through advocating for environmental justice issues impacting communities of color, he is expanding his mission to help solve diverse issues across the various sectors within the environmental movement.

  • Columbia Alumni Making Sense of Sustainable Investing

    Columbia Alumni Making Sense of Sustainable Investing

    While more institutional investors are factoring sustainability in their investment decisions, there is little agreement about what sustainability means, or how to measure it. Interviews with three sustainable investment professionals—all graduates of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management graduate program—indicate a growing demand for investing that accounts for sustainability performance, but also obstacles to discerning the best…

  • Learn About Environmental Sustainability and Conservation

    Learn About Environmental Sustainability and Conservation

    The Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability offers an Executive Education Program in Environmental Sustainability and Conservation that is geared toward professionals seeking an understanding of our natural world and our changing environment.

  • Students Advise County on Permeable Pavement

    Students Advise County on Permeable Pavement

    The biggest barrier to installation or permeable pavement is funding. But the positive outcomes include reduced flooding, less stormwater runoff, and recharging of aquifers.

  • Faculty Profile: Klaus S. Lackner

    Faculty Profile: Klaus S. Lackner

    Editor’s Note: In the time since this article was written, Klaus S. Lackner has moved on to another position and is no longer affiliated with the Earth Institute. To address the exponential rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations since the Industrial Revolution, Professor Klaus S. Lackner, director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at…

  • Sustainable Development Fall 2016 Workshop Briefings

    By Chandler Precht On December 9, 2016, students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development presented practical solutions to sustainability issues and challenges faced by real world clients. Under the guidance of Professor Stuart Gaffin and Professor Radley Horton, the Capstone Workshop offers students a chance to convey the knowledge and theories gained throughout their time in the…

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    How do multiple stakeholders compromise their competing needs and develop a global coordinated strategy that is politically palatable, possible and comprehensive enough to have an impact? Students from universities all over the U.S. Northeast gathered at Columbia for the 2017 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition that challenged students to do just this.

  • Kevin & Allison: ESP Students Maximizing Opportunity

    Kevin & Allison: ESP Students Maximizing Opportunity

    Kevin Fertig and Allison Pace are both ESP students who make use of every opportunity they have, from being involved in research projects around campus to leading their cohort and organizing campus wide events. “Say yes, until you can’t say yes anymore” is their success mantra.

  • An Integrated Approach to Sustainability

    An Integrated Approach to Sustainability

    Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Celine Gaasrud was attracted to the opportunity to combine courses in different areas to explore and solve sustainability challenges. She intends to maintain an international perspective and work on implementing solutions to achieve sustainable development.

  • Isaac Wilkins: An Environmental Justice and Sustainability Calling

    Isaac Wilkins: An Environmental Justice and Sustainability Calling

    Isaac Wilkins, a current MPA ESP student, has a calling. Introduced to the environmental movement through advocating for environmental justice issues impacting communities of color, he is expanding his mission to help solve diverse issues across the various sectors within the environmental movement.

  • Columbia Alumni Making Sense of Sustainable Investing

    Columbia Alumni Making Sense of Sustainable Investing

    While more institutional investors are factoring sustainability in their investment decisions, there is little agreement about what sustainability means, or how to measure it. Interviews with three sustainable investment professionals—all graduates of Columbia University’s Sustainability Management graduate program—indicate a growing demand for investing that accounts for sustainability performance, but also obstacles to discerning the best…

  • Learn About Environmental Sustainability and Conservation

    Learn About Environmental Sustainability and Conservation

    The Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability offers an Executive Education Program in Environmental Sustainability and Conservation that is geared toward professionals seeking an understanding of our natural world and our changing environment.

  • Students Advise County on Permeable Pavement

    Students Advise County on Permeable Pavement

    The biggest barrier to installation or permeable pavement is funding. But the positive outcomes include reduced flooding, less stormwater runoff, and recharging of aquifers.

  • Faculty Profile: Klaus S. Lackner

    Faculty Profile: Klaus S. Lackner

    Editor’s Note: In the time since this article was written, Klaus S. Lackner has moved on to another position and is no longer affiliated with the Earth Institute. To address the exponential rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations since the Industrial Revolution, Professor Klaus S. Lackner, director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at…

  • Sustainable Development Fall 2016 Workshop Briefings

    By Chandler Precht On December 9, 2016, students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development presented practical solutions to sustainability issues and challenges faced by real world clients. Under the guidance of Professor Stuart Gaffin and Professor Radley Horton, the Capstone Workshop offers students a chance to convey the knowledge and theories gained throughout their time in the…