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Bamboo Bikes Nearing Production
Imagine creating an affordable product and a sustainable industry tailored to both meet urgent demand and use native materials. This is what the Bamboo Bike Project (BBP) is doing in Kumasi, Ghana. We’ve honed our bamboo bike design to be suitable for road conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, and created a system by which these bikes…
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Dr. Betsee Parker Donates to the Haiti Program
A $125,000 gift from longtime donor and Benefactor Dr. Betsee Parker will benefit the crucial work of the Earth Institute’s Haiti Program. Tatiana Wah, a professor at the New School in New York (on leave), where she is a renowned scholar and practitioner of Haitian economic and social development, leads the Haiti program with Earth…
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State of the Planet 2010
We all watched the earth move at State of the Planet (SOP) 2010 literally and figuratively. The backdrop on the main stage in New York was a giant rotating earth, spinning from continent to continent as we connected leaders from around the globe who urged action on issues of climate change, poverty, economic recovery and…
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The weight of ice
Taking off amidst snow flurries we are headed completely across the Greenland ice cap to the northeast corner of of the country. This flight will differ from most of the DC-8 flights during the Ice Bridge 2010 Greenland campaign. The DC-8 flights are mainly used to measure sea ice or surface mapping with high altitude…
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Creating a Workforce to Achieve a Low-Carbon Economy
Thanks to a recent gift of $250,000 from a generous Columbia University alumnus, the Earth Institute will be establishing an innovative master’s level program in carbon management. The program will provide interested students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to address the complex and competing challenges of achieving a low-carbon economy.
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Religion, Peace, and International Law: A Genealogy
This Thursday, April 1st ISERP (the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy) is hosting a lecture by Professor Nathaniel Berman of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. The lecture will be held in Room 1118 of the International Affairs Building on Columbia’s campus from 4:15 to 6:00pm. Nathaniel Berman is the Rahel Varnhagen…
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Ice Cube Science
We have flown three flights in the last week, with a fourth postponed as winds were too high for take off. Two of the flights have focused on sea ice in the Arctic. The first was flown north of Canada’s Ellsmere Island, where thick multiyear ice tends to accumulate. We examined the thickness of that…
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State of the Planet 2010 – Closing
Well folks, the events here at Columbia are wrapping up. We hope you enjoyed our comments and summaries. Discussions on these issues will continue here at the Earth Institute, online and hopefully in your lives as well. On behalf of myself (Stephanie Ruiz), Jaclyn Carlsen, and Eric Couper, thanks for joining us online today. Wrap…
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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…
COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More