State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General91

  • ‘Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound’ at The Bruce Museum

    ‘Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound’ at The Bruce Museum

    “Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound,” on display now at The Bruce Museum of Arts and Sciences, is both informative and visually engaging. Running until March 23, the exhibition introduces the ecology and evolutionary history of these mollusks, but that’s not all. True to a museum of both art and science, The Bruce has drawn…

  • A Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Itajaí River Valley Disaster

    A Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Itajaí River Valley Disaster

    Biophysical and socioeconomic risk factors—such as terrain, population distribution, settlement patterns, poverty, and governance—can combine to produce high levels of vulnerability to heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides.

  • Alums Recruit Students at All-Ivy Fair

    Alums Recruit Students at All-Ivy Fair

    On Feb. 28, the All-Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair marked its 11th year. The eight Ivy League schools – Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale – teamed up once again to host the fair at Columbia University in New York City. This year’s event attracted 69 recruiting…

  • Bricks, an Archeological Site and Home

    Bricks, an Archeological Site and Home

    It was time to pack up and leave. Shofiq, who is from Sylhet, was dropped off near his home and the fellowship of the rocks was broken. We settled in for another long drive. We made an impromptu stop at one of the numerous brick factories scattered across Bangladesh. Here, the workers immediately started snapping…

  • Field School: Sylhet Tectonics

    Field School: Sylhet Tectonics

    Most field trips have a “death march” hiking a long way through forest, swamps, hills or deserts to get to a remote outcrop. We have a “death bus ride” instead.

  • MS Student Takes Sustainability to the Skies

    MS Student Takes Sustainability to the Skies

    As head of sustainability for JetBlue Airways, current Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Sophia Mendelsohn is responsible for reducing the environmental impact of one of the largest airlines in North America. While this can be a challenge, the financial and scientific skills she has gained through the program provide her with a solid…

  • Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Many resettlers are economically better off, but the dislocations remain significant, especially for older resettlers, who have a harder time getting work in the newly developed industrial sector. Although the plight of some resettlers has been quite difficult (one older man competed fiercely to serve as a porter for us for the royal sum of…

  • A Life Well Mapped

    A Life Well Mapped

    Mark Becker believed in the power of geospatial data and analysis to motivate our stewardship of the environment and guide development of sustainable approaches that balance human and environmental needs.

  • Field School: The Brahmaputra River

    Field School: The Brahmaputra River

    The first day was very light for the jet-lagged students, just a short introduction to the field school and some background, and then introductions all around as we started to get to know each other. The final group of nine students finally arrived around 9 p.m. They were the most worn-out, bedraggled bunch of travelers…

Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

  • ‘Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound’ at The Bruce Museum

    ‘Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound’ at The Bruce Museum

    “Oysters, Pearls of Long Island Sound,” on display now at The Bruce Museum of Arts and Sciences, is both informative and visually engaging. Running until March 23, the exhibition introduces the ecology and evolutionary history of these mollusks, but that’s not all. True to a museum of both art and science, The Bruce has drawn…

  • A Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Itajaí River Valley Disaster

    A Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Itajaí River Valley Disaster

    Biophysical and socioeconomic risk factors—such as terrain, population distribution, settlement patterns, poverty, and governance—can combine to produce high levels of vulnerability to heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides.

  • Alums Recruit Students at All-Ivy Fair

    Alums Recruit Students at All-Ivy Fair

    On Feb. 28, the All-Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair marked its 11th year. The eight Ivy League schools – Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale – teamed up once again to host the fair at Columbia University in New York City. This year’s event attracted 69 recruiting…

  • Bricks, an Archeological Site and Home

    Bricks, an Archeological Site and Home

    It was time to pack up and leave. Shofiq, who is from Sylhet, was dropped off near his home and the fellowship of the rocks was broken. We settled in for another long drive. We made an impromptu stop at one of the numerous brick factories scattered across Bangladesh. Here, the workers immediately started snapping…

  • Field School: Sylhet Tectonics

    Field School: Sylhet Tectonics

    Most field trips have a “death march” hiking a long way through forest, swamps, hills or deserts to get to a remote outcrop. We have a “death bus ride” instead.

  • MS Student Takes Sustainability to the Skies

    MS Student Takes Sustainability to the Skies

    As head of sustainability for JetBlue Airways, current Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Sophia Mendelsohn is responsible for reducing the environmental impact of one of the largest airlines in North America. While this can be a challenge, the financial and scientific skills she has gained through the program provide her with a solid…

  • Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Mekong Delta and Three Gorges Dam: World’s First Climate Change Resettlements?

    Many resettlers are economically better off, but the dislocations remain significant, especially for older resettlers, who have a harder time getting work in the newly developed industrial sector. Although the plight of some resettlers has been quite difficult (one older man competed fiercely to serve as a porter for us for the royal sum of…

  • A Life Well Mapped

    A Life Well Mapped

    Mark Becker believed in the power of geospatial data and analysis to motivate our stewardship of the environment and guide development of sustainable approaches that balance human and environmental needs.

  • Field School: The Brahmaputra River

    Field School: The Brahmaputra River

    The first day was very light for the jet-lagged students, just a short introduction to the field school and some background, and then introductions all around as we started to get to know each other. The final group of nine students finally arrived around 9 p.m. They were the most worn-out, bedraggled bunch of travelers…