State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General72

  • Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

    Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

    China’s problems with air pollution mirror what the United States went through during the rapid economic growth following World War II, and the solutions will likely be the same, Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen said Saturday on an English-language news program on China Central Television.

  • Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Frozen into the stone floor of a stairway landing, several flights up in Columbia’s Lewisohn Hall, sits a stark reminder of how life has evolved in the sea. Part 6 of the Columbia Geology Tour.

  • MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    M.S. in Sustainability Management professor Ben Cook often tells his students that the past can provide critical lessons for how we manage sustainability challenges now and in the future. Thus, it is not surprising that Cook, whose research at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory focuses on drought, hydroclimate, and interactions between the land surface…

  • MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    The Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program now offers its first full-tuition grant, the Dean’s Environmental Science and Policy Fellowship. Apply by Nov. 1 for early admission.

  • Sun-gazing

    Sun-gazing

    By Galileo’s careful hand, sunspot details are exquisite, Through eye of forehead, eye of mind beholds what body can not visit. If only he could see the sights now rendered from Earth’s outer space, Ultraviolet sunscapes – Oh, to see his raptured face!

  • MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    Alison Miller, a 2011 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, was recently named one of 2014 City & State’s top 40 under 40 Rising Stars. The media company, devoted to covering New York politics and policies, nominates 40 exceptional individuals each year who are leaving their mark on New York City.

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • Orogenous Zones: How Rock Flows

    Orogenous Zones: How Rock Flows

    The architects of Columbia’s modern Northwest Tower, at the corner of Broadway and 120th Street, made good use of some beautiful stones. In their polished and swirling surfaces, they tell a story of the clash of continents and the processes by which mountains are made.

  • Chemical silence

    Chemical silence

    What if you couldn’t smell smoke? Or detect flirty signs from a bloke? Imagine the cost Of faculties lost, Of signals that deafness would cloak …

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

  • Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

    Cohen: China’s Pollution Problems Mirroring U.S. Experience

    China’s problems with air pollution mirror what the United States went through during the rapid economic growth following World War II, and the solutions will likely be the same, Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen said Saturday on an English-language news program on China Central Television.

  • Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Watch Your Step: the Alpha Predator of the Ordovician

    Frozen into the stone floor of a stairway landing, several flights up in Columbia’s Lewisohn Hall, sits a stark reminder of how life has evolved in the sea. Part 6 of the Columbia Geology Tour.

  • MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    M.S. in Sustainability Management professor Ben Cook often tells his students that the past can provide critical lessons for how we manage sustainability challenges now and in the future. Thus, it is not surprising that Cook, whose research at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory focuses on drought, hydroclimate, and interactions between the land surface…

  • MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    The Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program now offers its first full-tuition grant, the Dean’s Environmental Science and Policy Fellowship. Apply by Nov. 1 for early admission.

  • Sun-gazing

    Sun-gazing

    By Galileo’s careful hand, sunspot details are exquisite, Through eye of forehead, eye of mind beholds what body can not visit. If only he could see the sights now rendered from Earth’s outer space, Ultraviolet sunscapes – Oh, to see his raptured face!

  • MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    Alison Miller, a 2011 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, was recently named one of 2014 City & State’s top 40 under 40 Rising Stars. The media company, devoted to covering New York politics and policies, nominates 40 exceptional individuals each year who are leaving their mark on New York City.

  • What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    What Do Wildfires Have to Do with Climate Change?

    “Climate change has been making the fire season in the United States longer and on average more intense,” said John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor. And, wildfires are not only intensified by climate change, they also exacerbate it.

  • Orogenous Zones: How Rock Flows

    Orogenous Zones: How Rock Flows

    The architects of Columbia’s modern Northwest Tower, at the corner of Broadway and 120th Street, made good use of some beautiful stones. In their polished and swirling surfaces, they tell a story of the clash of continents and the processes by which mountains are made.

  • Chemical silence

    Chemical silence

    What if you couldn’t smell smoke? Or detect flirty signs from a bloke? Imagine the cost Of faculties lost, Of signals that deafness would cloak …