State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General187

  • Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data…

  • Dealing with Disorder: Stories from TCC’s Huntington’s Disease Unit

    It is easy to take the relationship between body and mind for granted. We wake up in the morning, kick the alarm clock across the room, and pull the sheets back over our heads with little thought. There are few people who would simultaneously consider the neural activity that precipitated their habitual movements while burrowing…

  • Earth Institute Scientists Drill Into the Oil Spill

    Earth Institute Scientists Drill Into the Oil Spill

    Earth Institute scientists have begun research into the Gulf oil spill’s physical and ecological impacts, both on land at sea. While much attention has focused on surface oil washing up along the shores of Gulf coast states, one cruise starting in mid-August will study the location and magnitude of subsurface oil plumes, and their effects…

  • Snake Expert and Former Earth Institute Fellow Named a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”

    Snake Expert and Former Earth Institute Fellow Named a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”

    Snake venom can kill, but it might also save your life. Zoltan Takacs has co-invented a technology for building “toxin libraries” that might one day lead to drugs that can treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and a variety of other diseases. His quest for venomous creatures has taken him to 133 countries, across jungles, deserts and…

  • Sustaining Discovery Once Fieldwork Is Complete

    Sustaining Discovery Once Fieldwork Is Complete

    Watch a short video about the research of Lamont-Doherty geochemists and learn how you can support it. Researchers from the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory study the planet’s dynamic earth processes by venturing to the source, whether it be the submerged mountains of the Antarctic, the volcanoes of Southern Italy, or the stalagmite-rich caves of…

  • Irrigation project success in Mali

    Irrigation project success in Mali

    Columbia Water Center is working in Mali, Africa, as part of its PepsiCo Foundation funded project to improve rural water use and livelihoods. The Mali component of the project aims to develop an effective irrigation system to improve agricultural productivity and food security. In recent months, CWC’s Mali-based staff signed a Memorandum of Understanding with…

  • Tales of the inspired and the inspiring: Notes from a CSSR-TCC intern

    In his next posts Raphy Rosen relays stories of TCC’s one-woman cheering squad, and makes a case for the importance of input from nursing assistants in the doctor’s decisions on treatment. To learn more about the CSSR-TCC internship click here. 7- Inspiring patients Those of you who have been following these posts might recall a…

  • An Inspirational Conversation with Two School2School "Alums"

    An Inspirational Conversation with Two School2School "Alums"

    I met this weekend with two beautiful Kumasi teens who participated in MCI’s School2School (S2S) exchange 16 months ago, when they were 14. Back then, in March 2009, 7th-graders from Washington DC’s Sidwell Friends School came to Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city and a Millennium City since 2006, to teach some of their peers about…

  • Who Cares About Care?: 2 reports from Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

    In his time at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center our intrepid intern, Raphy Rosen, has learned of the intricacies of staff-patient relationships. In his next two posts, Raphy discusses the complications of closeness and asks the deceptively simple question, who cares about care? 5- Not too Attached One of the dilemmas that a…

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

  • Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study

    The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data…

  • Dealing with Disorder: Stories from TCC’s Huntington’s Disease Unit

    It is easy to take the relationship between body and mind for granted. We wake up in the morning, kick the alarm clock across the room, and pull the sheets back over our heads with little thought. There are few people who would simultaneously consider the neural activity that precipitated their habitual movements while burrowing…

  • Earth Institute Scientists Drill Into the Oil Spill

    Earth Institute Scientists Drill Into the Oil Spill

    Earth Institute scientists have begun research into the Gulf oil spill’s physical and ecological impacts, both on land at sea. While much attention has focused on surface oil washing up along the shores of Gulf coast states, one cruise starting in mid-August will study the location and magnitude of subsurface oil plumes, and their effects…

  • Snake Expert and Former Earth Institute Fellow Named a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”

    Snake Expert and Former Earth Institute Fellow Named a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”

    Snake venom can kill, but it might also save your life. Zoltan Takacs has co-invented a technology for building “toxin libraries” that might one day lead to drugs that can treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and a variety of other diseases. His quest for venomous creatures has taken him to 133 countries, across jungles, deserts and…

  • Sustaining Discovery Once Fieldwork Is Complete

    Sustaining Discovery Once Fieldwork Is Complete

    Watch a short video about the research of Lamont-Doherty geochemists and learn how you can support it. Researchers from the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory study the planet’s dynamic earth processes by venturing to the source, whether it be the submerged mountains of the Antarctic, the volcanoes of Southern Italy, or the stalagmite-rich caves of…

  • Irrigation project success in Mali

    Irrigation project success in Mali

    Columbia Water Center is working in Mali, Africa, as part of its PepsiCo Foundation funded project to improve rural water use and livelihoods. The Mali component of the project aims to develop an effective irrigation system to improve agricultural productivity and food security. In recent months, CWC’s Mali-based staff signed a Memorandum of Understanding with…

  • Tales of the inspired and the inspiring: Notes from a CSSR-TCC intern

    In his next posts Raphy Rosen relays stories of TCC’s one-woman cheering squad, and makes a case for the importance of input from nursing assistants in the doctor’s decisions on treatment. To learn more about the CSSR-TCC internship click here. 7- Inspiring patients Those of you who have been following these posts might recall a…

  • An Inspirational Conversation with Two School2School "Alums"

    An Inspirational Conversation with Two School2School "Alums"

    I met this weekend with two beautiful Kumasi teens who participated in MCI’s School2School (S2S) exchange 16 months ago, when they were 14. Back then, in March 2009, 7th-graders from Washington DC’s Sidwell Friends School came to Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city and a Millennium City since 2006, to teach some of their peers about…

  • Who Cares About Care?: 2 reports from Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

    In his time at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center our intrepid intern, Raphy Rosen, has learned of the intricacies of staff-patient relationships. In his next two posts, Raphy discusses the complications of closeness and asks the deceptively simple question, who cares about care? 5- Not too Attached One of the dilemmas that a…