State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General74

  • At the Corner of Mudd Hall, the Secret of Blue Quartz

    At the Corner of Mudd Hall, the Secret of Blue Quartz

    How did big crystals of blue quartz get locked into the pink granite of Mudd Hall? David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory continues his Columbia Geology Tour.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • Aureococcus

    Aureococcus

    On skin, it’s barely a freckle I’d make, But baby, en masse, we turn seas opaque! Come darkness, come famine, come poison or flood, My kind can flourish in any old crud.

  • The Politics of Fracking: Polarization in New York State

    The Politics of Fracking: Polarization in New York State

    While public opinion is fairly skewed against the fracking process, policy actors in New York State can best be described as polarized. Predictably, the pro-fracking group generally disagrees with environmental groups while the anti-fracking group generally disagrees with the oil industry. Policy actors in New York had stark differences in answers on a wide variety…

  • 8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    President Obama this week announced a set of actions designed to help populations here and abroad develop better resilience against drought, sea level rise and other consequences of a changing climate. At The Earth Institute, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society has been working on these issues for years — making regular climate…

  • Revitalizing Africa’s Soils

    Revitalizing Africa’s Soils

    To feed our burgeoning global population, the world has to at least double crop yields by 2050, by improving seeds of high yielding crops and cultivating healthy fertile soils. A new on-the-spot soil testing kit will help meet this challenge.

  • Hatchets, Ratchets & Pivots: Book Talk by Ruth DeFries

    Hatchets, Ratchets & Pivots: Book Talk by Ruth DeFries

    As Professor Ruth DeFries aptly stated in her opening remarks at yesterday’s book launch for “The Big Ratchet,” if you look at satellite pictures of the earth, you see the imprint of the human species everywhere. Humans have come to dominate the planet. But how did this come to be? This question, among others, is…

  • Featured Video: Sustainability Management Alumni Advance Careers

    Featured Video: Sustainability Management Alumni Advance Careers

    Alumni of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program are cultivating meaningful careers in both the public and private spheres. The featured video highlights alums working in a variety of capacities including Erin McNally (’13), a Project Manager and Energy Efficiency Consultant at Luthin Associates; Adam Gordon (’14), an Account Manager for Supply Chain…

  • MPA Students Join Thousands at People’s Climate March

    MPA Students Join Thousands at People’s Climate March

    Members of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Class of 2015 joined a group of an estimated 400,000 New Yorkers and people from across the globe as members the People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21. The was organized in advance of the United Nations 2014 Climate Summit, which will take place in New…

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

  • At the Corner of Mudd Hall, the Secret of Blue Quartz

    At the Corner of Mudd Hall, the Secret of Blue Quartz

    How did big crystals of blue quartz get locked into the pink granite of Mudd Hall? David Walker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory continues his Columbia Geology Tour.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • Aureococcus

    Aureococcus

    On skin, it’s barely a freckle I’d make, But baby, en masse, we turn seas opaque! Come darkness, come famine, come poison or flood, My kind can flourish in any old crud.

  • The Politics of Fracking: Polarization in New York State

    The Politics of Fracking: Polarization in New York State

    While public opinion is fairly skewed against the fracking process, policy actors in New York State can best be described as polarized. Predictably, the pro-fracking group generally disagrees with environmental groups while the anti-fracking group generally disagrees with the oil industry. Policy actors in New York had stark differences in answers on a wide variety…

  • 8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    8 Ways We Can Strengthen Development and Increase Climate Resilience

    President Obama this week announced a set of actions designed to help populations here and abroad develop better resilience against drought, sea level rise and other consequences of a changing climate. At The Earth Institute, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society has been working on these issues for years — making regular climate…

  • Revitalizing Africa’s Soils

    Revitalizing Africa’s Soils

    To feed our burgeoning global population, the world has to at least double crop yields by 2050, by improving seeds of high yielding crops and cultivating healthy fertile soils. A new on-the-spot soil testing kit will help meet this challenge.

  • Hatchets, Ratchets & Pivots: Book Talk by Ruth DeFries

    Hatchets, Ratchets & Pivots: Book Talk by Ruth DeFries

    As Professor Ruth DeFries aptly stated in her opening remarks at yesterday’s book launch for “The Big Ratchet,” if you look at satellite pictures of the earth, you see the imprint of the human species everywhere. Humans have come to dominate the planet. But how did this come to be? This question, among others, is…

  • Featured Video: Sustainability Management Alumni Advance Careers

    Featured Video: Sustainability Management Alumni Advance Careers

    Alumni of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program are cultivating meaningful careers in both the public and private spheres. The featured video highlights alums working in a variety of capacities including Erin McNally (’13), a Project Manager and Energy Efficiency Consultant at Luthin Associates; Adam Gordon (’14), an Account Manager for Supply Chain…

  • MPA Students Join Thousands at People’s Climate March

    MPA Students Join Thousands at People’s Climate March

    Members of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Class of 2015 joined a group of an estimated 400,000 New Yorkers and people from across the globe as members the People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21. The was organized in advance of the United Nations 2014 Climate Summit, which will take place in New…