State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Education74

  • Beyond the Classroom: Field Visit to Rockefeller State Park

    Beyond the Classroom: Field Visit to Rockefeller State Park

    As part of the course on The Business and Ecology of Sustainable Forestry with Professor Ralph Schmidt, students visited the Rockefeller State Park in October 2016.

  • Leon Billings, Tom Jorling and the Origins of U.S. Environmental Law

    Leon Billings, Tom Jorling and the Origins of U.S. Environmental Law

    If you had the experience of hearing Leon Billings teach and tell stories, it is hard to believe his voice is no longer with us. He was a great American and an important figure in American environmental history.

  • ESP Student Neerada Poduval: Building a Global Perspective

    ESP Student Neerada Poduval: Building a Global Perspective

    “I am keenly aware of the issues faced on the ground and the importance of political will and buy-in from the private sector to effectively develop and implement policies. … and I know from personal experience that there is immense potential to effect positive change in this field.”

  • Faculty Profile: Robert S. Chen

    Faculty Profile: Robert S. Chen

    When satellite images revealed rapid collapse of several ice shelves in Antarctica in early 2008, it triggered warning bells for Robert Chen. “My first scientific paper as a graduate student, published in 1980 and co-authored with climatologist Steve Schneider, was about the potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet,” says Chen. “Many believed that…

  • Alumna Planting ‘Seeds’ for Sustainable Education in Africa

    Alumna Planting ‘Seeds’ for Sustainable Education in Africa

    “What I enjoy the most is that I get to have to opportunity to solve real-life problems that affect hundreds of children and women that are part of our education and community development programs.”

  • Climate Justice Advocate Strives to Create Solutions

    Climate Justice Advocate Strives to Create Solutions

    “Climate adaptation often serves to reinforce existing power structures by focusing on technocratic solutions and empowering experts and policymakers. My research and career goals are framed by this understanding, and I seek to center political and social mechanisms in questions of adaptation.”

  • Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

    Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

    The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s annual Executive Training Program on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture will be held at Columbia University in New York City from July 12-21, 2017. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 31, 2017.

  • How a Student Project Helped to Change JetBlue’s Course

    How a Student Project Helped to Change JetBlue’s Course

    What began as research at Columbia University became the catalyst for improving the sustainability of an airline, as JetBlue recently forged a 10-year deal to buy 330 million gallons of jet fuel made partially from plants.

  • Don’t Be Bewitched by Paris Climate Change Deal

    Don’t Be Bewitched by Paris Climate Change Deal

    “We can and should develop other agreements that ask countries to coordinate their actions rather than to reduce their emissions voluntarily. Countries are good at coordination, and not so good at volunteering to act in their collective interests.”

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

  • Beyond the Classroom: Field Visit to Rockefeller State Park

    Beyond the Classroom: Field Visit to Rockefeller State Park

    As part of the course on The Business and Ecology of Sustainable Forestry with Professor Ralph Schmidt, students visited the Rockefeller State Park in October 2016.

  • Leon Billings, Tom Jorling and the Origins of U.S. Environmental Law

    Leon Billings, Tom Jorling and the Origins of U.S. Environmental Law

    If you had the experience of hearing Leon Billings teach and tell stories, it is hard to believe his voice is no longer with us. He was a great American and an important figure in American environmental history.

  • ESP Student Neerada Poduval: Building a Global Perspective

    ESP Student Neerada Poduval: Building a Global Perspective

    “I am keenly aware of the issues faced on the ground and the importance of political will and buy-in from the private sector to effectively develop and implement policies. … and I know from personal experience that there is immense potential to effect positive change in this field.”

  • Faculty Profile: Robert S. Chen

    Faculty Profile: Robert S. Chen

    When satellite images revealed rapid collapse of several ice shelves in Antarctica in early 2008, it triggered warning bells for Robert Chen. “My first scientific paper as a graduate student, published in 1980 and co-authored with climatologist Steve Schneider, was about the potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet,” says Chen. “Many believed that…

  • Alumna Planting ‘Seeds’ for Sustainable Education in Africa

    Alumna Planting ‘Seeds’ for Sustainable Education in Africa

    “What I enjoy the most is that I get to have to opportunity to solve real-life problems that affect hundreds of children and women that are part of our education and community development programs.”

  • Climate Justice Advocate Strives to Create Solutions

    Climate Justice Advocate Strives to Create Solutions

    “Climate adaptation often serves to reinforce existing power structures by focusing on technocratic solutions and empowering experts and policymakers. My research and career goals are framed by this understanding, and I seek to center political and social mechanisms in questions of adaptation.”

  • Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

    Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

    The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s annual Executive Training Program on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture will be held at Columbia University in New York City from July 12-21, 2017. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 31, 2017.

  • How a Student Project Helped to Change JetBlue’s Course

    How a Student Project Helped to Change JetBlue’s Course

    What began as research at Columbia University became the catalyst for improving the sustainability of an airline, as JetBlue recently forged a 10-year deal to buy 330 million gallons of jet fuel made partially from plants.

  • Don’t Be Bewitched by Paris Climate Change Deal

    Don’t Be Bewitched by Paris Climate Change Deal

    “We can and should develop other agreements that ask countries to coordinate their actions rather than to reduce their emissions voluntarily. Countries are good at coordination, and not so good at volunteering to act in their collective interests.”