State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General196

  • Keynote Address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

    Update | 3:37 p.m. The break continues as the audience awaits the Secretary-General’s speech with anticipation. Update | 3:58 p.m And we’re back! Sachs introduces Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, with a clear respect, friendship, and a little humor to boot. Update | 4:02 p.m. Ban Ki-moon takes the stage.  He shares that beyond being a…

  • SESSION III: ECONOMIC RECOVERY – What Does a Green Recovery Look Like?

    Update | 1:35p.m. Good afternoon.  We are back and about to get started.  Jeffrey Sachs returns to the stage.  He introduces our first speaker of the afternoon, President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa of Mexico. Mexico will be hosting the next climate change conference in Cancun later this year. President Calderón will provide vision for this conference.…

  • SESSION II: POVERTY – How Do We Achieve the Millennium Development Goals?

    And we’re back with session II: Poverty – How Do We Achieve the Millennium Development Goals? Update | 11:15 a.m. The conversation begins with a short, but complex question: How are we doing with the MDGs? A panel of experts including HRH Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Glenn Denning, Professor of Processional Practice, Columbia University, Upmanu…

  • SESSION I: CLIMATE CHANGE – What Would It Take to Complete the Climate Deal?

    Hans Vestberg reveals shocking stats Update | 8:48 a.m. Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson takes the stage after Jeff Sachs and reveals some astounding statistics. Today, 4.6 people have mobile phones. Half a billion people have broadband. On the Chinese New Year 23 billion SMS were sent. In the upcoming years it’s predicted that…

  • State of the Planet 2010 – Introduction

    Update | 8:40 a.m. Hi everybody. The State of the Planet event is about to begin. The lights are darkening here at Lerner Hall at Columbia University. This year’s conference will address Climate Change, Poverty, Economic Recovery and International Systems. We begin today’s event with a panel on Climate Change. Jeff Sachs, Matthew Bishop and…

  • Following Arctic Leads

    Our ICE Bridge team of 34 scientists and NASA personnel has piled mounds of equipment, luggage, and emergency Arctic survival gear into the DC-8, setting off just before midnight for Thule, Greenland.All but two of the seats are filled, and every possible open area has been piled with our supplies for the next few weeks.Our…

  • Coca Production, Deforestation and Climate Change

    By Elisa Botero* Colombia is the number one cocaine producer in the world. Hundreds of hectares of coca bush, the main component of cocaine, are planted each year to produce this popular recreational drug, consumed mainly in Europe and North America.  The local social, economic and environmental impacts of illicit drug production have been discussed…

  • Second Spring Seminar Tomorrow Night!

    Second Spring Seminar Tomorrow Night!

    Wendy Chung, the director of the Clinical Genetics Program at Columbia University, is presenting the second lecture of the CSSR’s Spring series tomorrow night (March 23rd) at 6pm. Don’t miss the discussion of her fascinating research on genetic medicine. CSSR 2010 Spring Seminar Series Presents: Ethical Challenges in Genetic Medicine Wendy Chung, MD, PhD –…

  • California ‘shake down’ starts Greenland trip!

    Jim Cochran, Geophysicist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ICE Bridge scientists gathering at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in Palmdale, CA for our upcoming Greenland mission were greeted in true California style. We were awakened by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in the middle of the night! Although small by California standards the event was centered only about…

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

  • Keynote Address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

    Update | 3:37 p.m. The break continues as the audience awaits the Secretary-General’s speech with anticipation. Update | 3:58 p.m And we’re back! Sachs introduces Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, with a clear respect, friendship, and a little humor to boot. Update | 4:02 p.m. Ban Ki-moon takes the stage.  He shares that beyond being a…

  • SESSION III: ECONOMIC RECOVERY – What Does a Green Recovery Look Like?

    Update | 1:35p.m. Good afternoon.  We are back and about to get started.  Jeffrey Sachs returns to the stage.  He introduces our first speaker of the afternoon, President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa of Mexico. Mexico will be hosting the next climate change conference in Cancun later this year. President Calderón will provide vision for this conference.…

  • SESSION II: POVERTY – How Do We Achieve the Millennium Development Goals?

    And we’re back with session II: Poverty – How Do We Achieve the Millennium Development Goals? Update | 11:15 a.m. The conversation begins with a short, but complex question: How are we doing with the MDGs? A panel of experts including HRH Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Glenn Denning, Professor of Processional Practice, Columbia University, Upmanu…

  • SESSION I: CLIMATE CHANGE – What Would It Take to Complete the Climate Deal?

    Hans Vestberg reveals shocking stats Update | 8:48 a.m. Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson takes the stage after Jeff Sachs and reveals some astounding statistics. Today, 4.6 people have mobile phones. Half a billion people have broadband. On the Chinese New Year 23 billion SMS were sent. In the upcoming years it’s predicted that…

  • State of the Planet 2010 – Introduction

    Update | 8:40 a.m. Hi everybody. The State of the Planet event is about to begin. The lights are darkening here at Lerner Hall at Columbia University. This year’s conference will address Climate Change, Poverty, Economic Recovery and International Systems. We begin today’s event with a panel on Climate Change. Jeff Sachs, Matthew Bishop and…

  • Following Arctic Leads

    Our ICE Bridge team of 34 scientists and NASA personnel has piled mounds of equipment, luggage, and emergency Arctic survival gear into the DC-8, setting off just before midnight for Thule, Greenland.All but two of the seats are filled, and every possible open area has been piled with our supplies for the next few weeks.Our…

  • Coca Production, Deforestation and Climate Change

    By Elisa Botero* Colombia is the number one cocaine producer in the world. Hundreds of hectares of coca bush, the main component of cocaine, are planted each year to produce this popular recreational drug, consumed mainly in Europe and North America.  The local social, economic and environmental impacts of illicit drug production have been discussed…

  • Second Spring Seminar Tomorrow Night!

    Second Spring Seminar Tomorrow Night!

    Wendy Chung, the director of the Clinical Genetics Program at Columbia University, is presenting the second lecture of the CSSR’s Spring series tomorrow night (March 23rd) at 6pm. Don’t miss the discussion of her fascinating research on genetic medicine. CSSR 2010 Spring Seminar Series Presents: Ethical Challenges in Genetic Medicine Wendy Chung, MD, PhD –…

  • California ‘shake down’ starts Greenland trip!

    Jim Cochran, Geophysicist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ICE Bridge scientists gathering at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in Palmdale, CA for our upcoming Greenland mission were greeted in true California style. We were awakened by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in the middle of the night! Although small by California standards the event was centered only about…