State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Health44

  • Fluoridation of Water: Communist Conspiracy, Genuine Threat or Both?

    Fluoridation of Water: Communist Conspiracy, Genuine Threat or Both?

    Who can forget the scene from Kubrick’s classic movie Dr. Strangelove of screws-loose General Jack D. Ripper pontificating to straight-laced British group captain Lionel Mandrake about the dangers of fluoride in water…

  • New Partnership Aims to Improve Maternal Health in Africa

    Community Empowerment Through Needed Supplies, Education, Family Planning to be Main Focus of Work

  • My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Mayuko Hashimoto, a GlaxoSmithKline PULSE volunteer from Tokyo, Japan, who is working with the Millennium Cities Initiative for six months in Kisumu, Kenya to further maternal and neonatal survival. As a volunteer with GlaxoSmithKline, I’ll be in Kisumu for six months to support the Millennium Cities Initiative…

  • Top Ten Lessons Learned on mHealth

    In the past 10 years I have witnessed a shift in the mhealth industry from solutions in search of problems, to a real demand for mHealth from within the health sector.  During this time, my research and work has taught me the art of capitalization—It’s critical to capitalize on what others have already accomplished, and…

  • Using Mobile Phones to Help Prevent HIV Transmission to Children

    Using Mobile Phones to Help Prevent HIV Transmission to Children

    By Casey Iiams-Hauser and Yanis Ben Amor HIV infection in children occurs most often during pregnancy and labor or post-natally during breastfeeding. While new HIV infections among children have declined since 2002, a staggering 430,000 children were infected in 2008…

  • Drugs in Our Drinking Water: An Update

    Drugs in Our Drinking Water: An Update

    The 2008 Associated Press report that drugs had been found in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans was alarming. What is the state of pharmaceuticals in our water today?

  • EI Exhibits Wares at mHealth Summit in Washington

    EI Exhibits Wares at mHealth Summit in Washington

    From November 8-10, more than 2000 attendees will come together at the 2010 mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C. to explore the many ways in which mobile technology is being leveraged to improve the health and well-being of millions of people through the world. Over 175 experts and leaders are scheduled to speak, with special Keynote…

  • Collaborating with Students from the Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Collaborating with Students from the Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Last week, the Earth Institute hosted a group of thirty-five students from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss topics ranging from reproductive health concerns in Chad to the use of mobile technology for health services in the Millennium Villages Project. Led by experts from the Earth Institute’s Center for Global Health and…

  • Can We Have Our Water and Drink It, Too? Exploring the Water Quality-Quantity Nexus

    Can We Have Our Water and Drink It, Too? Exploring the Water Quality-Quantity Nexus

    Water quantity and quality have generally been considered as separate problems and have usually been treated as such in policy-making and environmental restoration efforts. Increasingly, however, research and experience is beginning to show a strong link between water quantity and quality.

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

  • Fluoridation of Water: Communist Conspiracy, Genuine Threat or Both?

    Fluoridation of Water: Communist Conspiracy, Genuine Threat or Both?

    Who can forget the scene from Kubrick’s classic movie Dr. Strangelove of screws-loose General Jack D. Ripper pontificating to straight-laced British group captain Lionel Mandrake about the dangers of fluoride in water…

  • New Partnership Aims to Improve Maternal Health in Africa

    Community Empowerment Through Needed Supplies, Education, Family Planning to be Main Focus of Work

  • My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Mayuko Hashimoto, a GlaxoSmithKline PULSE volunteer from Tokyo, Japan, who is working with the Millennium Cities Initiative for six months in Kisumu, Kenya to further maternal and neonatal survival. As a volunteer with GlaxoSmithKline, I’ll be in Kisumu for six months to support the Millennium Cities Initiative…

  • Top Ten Lessons Learned on mHealth

    In the past 10 years I have witnessed a shift in the mhealth industry from solutions in search of problems, to a real demand for mHealth from within the health sector.  During this time, my research and work has taught me the art of capitalization—It’s critical to capitalize on what others have already accomplished, and…

  • Using Mobile Phones to Help Prevent HIV Transmission to Children

    Using Mobile Phones to Help Prevent HIV Transmission to Children

    By Casey Iiams-Hauser and Yanis Ben Amor HIV infection in children occurs most often during pregnancy and labor or post-natally during breastfeeding. While new HIV infections among children have declined since 2002, a staggering 430,000 children were infected in 2008…

  • Drugs in Our Drinking Water: An Update

    Drugs in Our Drinking Water: An Update

    The 2008 Associated Press report that drugs had been found in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans was alarming. What is the state of pharmaceuticals in our water today?

  • EI Exhibits Wares at mHealth Summit in Washington

    EI Exhibits Wares at mHealth Summit in Washington

    From November 8-10, more than 2000 attendees will come together at the 2010 mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C. to explore the many ways in which mobile technology is being leveraged to improve the health and well-being of millions of people through the world. Over 175 experts and leaders are scheduled to speak, with special Keynote…

  • Collaborating with Students from the Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Collaborating with Students from the Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Last week, the Earth Institute hosted a group of thirty-five students from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss topics ranging from reproductive health concerns in Chad to the use of mobile technology for health services in the Millennium Villages Project. Led by experts from the Earth Institute’s Center for Global Health and…

  • Can We Have Our Water and Drink It, Too? Exploring the Water Quality-Quantity Nexus

    Can We Have Our Water and Drink It, Too? Exploring the Water Quality-Quantity Nexus

    Water quantity and quality have generally been considered as separate problems and have usually been treated as such in policy-making and environmental restoration efforts. Increasingly, however, research and experience is beginning to show a strong link between water quantity and quality.