State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General92

  • Faculty Profile: Scott Barrett

    Faculty Profile: Scott Barrett

    Scott Barrett, the first Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics, remembers the exact day when he became interested in researching and creating theoretical models about major issues that require global cooperation for their resolution. It was September 17, 1987, the day of the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect…

  • Solar Heartbeat

    Solar Heartbeat

    Upon our little spinning rock, Cosmic rays and debris knock. Through great fields and waves we race, Not empty, our broad path through space!

  • Has Global Warming Stalled? How Long Will It Last?

    Has Global Warming Stalled? How Long Will It Last?

    Climate Scientist Lisa Goddard talks about what may be behind the recent slowdown in global warming, and some of the nuances of predicting just how the climate will change.

  • Driving Sustainability in China

    Driving Sustainability in China

    In China, measuring sustainability is in a preliminary but progressive stage, and the government is playing a leading role in driving Chinese companies to go green. Behind the encouraging numbers, however, lie some less attractive facts.

  • Tangail and the Start of the Field School

    Tangail and the Start of the Field School

    Feb. 21 is Language Day in Bangladesh. It is a holiday, now adopted by the UN as International Mother Language Day. It commemorates a day in 1952 when a crowd of Bengali students protesting Pakistan’s adoption of “Urdu and only Urdu as the official language of Pakistan” were fired upon by the police. It marks…

  • ESP Student Expands Skillset

    ESP Student Expands Skillset

    After three years working with the Peace Corps in Madagascar, Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy student Jonathan Mason came to Columbia with a strong background in research and writing, but limited experience in quantitative analysis. As he begins his final semester, he reflects that the quantitative and project management skills he…

  • What To Do with NYC’s 33 Million Pounds of Daily Waste

    What To Do with NYC’s 33 Million Pounds of Daily Waste

    Typically in New York City, each person generates four pounds of waste every day. This means over eight million people generating about 33 million pounds of waste, every day. Think of the impact that composting and recycling could have on reducing even just half of this waste. Educating people on these issues is the mission…

  • Shag, Before It Was Cool

    Shag, Before It Was Cool

    More cuddly than a dino, The Zanda woolly rhino! This pioneer of old Grew shag before the cold. …

  • Employing a Knowledge Systems Approach to Creating a Sustainable Future

    Employing a Knowledge Systems Approach to Creating a Sustainable Future

    Jeffrey Potent discusses his upcoming course, the importance of understanding systems, and employing a knowledge systems approach to creating a sustainable future.

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

  • Faculty Profile: Scott Barrett

    Faculty Profile: Scott Barrett

    Scott Barrett, the first Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics, remembers the exact day when he became interested in researching and creating theoretical models about major issues that require global cooperation for their resolution. It was September 17, 1987, the day of the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect…

  • Solar Heartbeat

    Solar Heartbeat

    Upon our little spinning rock, Cosmic rays and debris knock. Through great fields and waves we race, Not empty, our broad path through space!

  • Has Global Warming Stalled? How Long Will It Last?

    Has Global Warming Stalled? How Long Will It Last?

    Climate Scientist Lisa Goddard talks about what may be behind the recent slowdown in global warming, and some of the nuances of predicting just how the climate will change.

  • Driving Sustainability in China

    Driving Sustainability in China

    In China, measuring sustainability is in a preliminary but progressive stage, and the government is playing a leading role in driving Chinese companies to go green. Behind the encouraging numbers, however, lie some less attractive facts.

  • Tangail and the Start of the Field School

    Tangail and the Start of the Field School

    Feb. 21 is Language Day in Bangladesh. It is a holiday, now adopted by the UN as International Mother Language Day. It commemorates a day in 1952 when a crowd of Bengali students protesting Pakistan’s adoption of “Urdu and only Urdu as the official language of Pakistan” were fired upon by the police. It marks…

  • ESP Student Expands Skillset

    ESP Student Expands Skillset

    After three years working with the Peace Corps in Madagascar, Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy student Jonathan Mason came to Columbia with a strong background in research and writing, but limited experience in quantitative analysis. As he begins his final semester, he reflects that the quantitative and project management skills he…

  • What To Do with NYC’s 33 Million Pounds of Daily Waste

    What To Do with NYC’s 33 Million Pounds of Daily Waste

    Typically in New York City, each person generates four pounds of waste every day. This means over eight million people generating about 33 million pounds of waste, every day. Think of the impact that composting and recycling could have on reducing even just half of this waste. Educating people on these issues is the mission…

  • Shag, Before It Was Cool

    Shag, Before It Was Cool

    More cuddly than a dino, The Zanda woolly rhino! This pioneer of old Grew shag before the cold. …

  • Employing a Knowledge Systems Approach to Creating a Sustainable Future

    Employing a Knowledge Systems Approach to Creating a Sustainable Future

    Jeffrey Potent discusses his upcoming course, the importance of understanding systems, and employing a knowledge systems approach to creating a sustainable future.