State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters45

  • Terry Plank: Volcano Maven

    Terry Plank: Volcano Maven

    “It just looked like black rock, but every once in awhile a boulder at the end would fall off and you’d see it was completely red inside. And it made all these cool sounds and you’d feel these little earthquakes… It was totally cool. How could you not like that?”

  • New Initiative to Focus on Climate and Extreme Weather

    New Initiative to Focus on Climate and Extreme Weather

    Superstorm Sandy expert Adam Sobel is getting ready to launch a new initiative on extreme weather, thanks to a €250,000 two-year AXA Award in Climate and Extreme Weather he has just received from the AXA Research Fund.

  • AGU 2013: Social Science Perspectives on Natural Hazards

    AGU 2013: Social Science Perspectives on Natural Hazards

    Learn about improving communication of and planning for natural hazards from a social science perspective at AGU2013.

  • IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    Four scientists and one PhD student from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society are attending the 2013 American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. Below are links to Q&As with each of the presenters and the schedule of their posters and presentations.

  • Rising Seas Pose a Growing Threat to Coastlines

    Rising Seas Pose a Growing Threat to Coastlines

    The jury is still out on how tropical storms will change as climate warms, but rising sea levels will almost certainly place more coastal property at risk of flooding, says a team of scientists writing in the journal Nature.

  • The Rebuild by Design Challenge

    The Rebuild by Design Challenge

    When Hurricane Sandy hit last October, the vulnerabilities of the New York/New Jersey region to extreme weather were made all too clear. The Rebuild by Design challenge was launched to find the most innovative ways to make the region more resilient and sustainable.

  • Certificate Program in Conservation and Sustainability Spring Courses

    Certificate Program in Conservation and Sustainability Spring Courses

    The Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability (EICES) at Columbia University invites you to enroll in courses this Spring via our Certificate Program in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability.

  • Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    With the end of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure drawing near, many are speculating which of his policies will survive the next administration. New York City’s comprehensive environmental plan, PlaNYC 2030: A Greener, Greater New York, has been championed politically by Bloomberg, but is grounded in science and data, and performance management. It has demonstrated progress,…

  • Perspective: Q&A with Development Practitioner Ignacio Urrutia

    Perspective: Q&A with Development Practitioner Ignacio Urrutia

    By Sarayu Adeni With careful planning and a methodical approach, Ignacio Urrutia, MPA-DP ‘13, aims to solve problems before they happen. Currently working in South Asia’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Unit at the World Bank, he brought over five years of experience at the World Bank and UNDP in Washington, D.C. and…

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • Terry Plank: Volcano Maven

    Terry Plank: Volcano Maven

    “It just looked like black rock, but every once in awhile a boulder at the end would fall off and you’d see it was completely red inside. And it made all these cool sounds and you’d feel these little earthquakes… It was totally cool. How could you not like that?”

  • New Initiative to Focus on Climate and Extreme Weather

    New Initiative to Focus on Climate and Extreme Weather

    Superstorm Sandy expert Adam Sobel is getting ready to launch a new initiative on extreme weather, thanks to a €250,000 two-year AXA Award in Climate and Extreme Weather he has just received from the AXA Research Fund.

  • AGU 2013: Social Science Perspectives on Natural Hazards

    AGU 2013: Social Science Perspectives on Natural Hazards

    Learn about improving communication of and planning for natural hazards from a social science perspective at AGU2013.

  • IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    Four scientists and one PhD student from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society are attending the 2013 American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. Below are links to Q&As with each of the presenters and the schedule of their posters and presentations.

  • Rising Seas Pose a Growing Threat to Coastlines

    Rising Seas Pose a Growing Threat to Coastlines

    The jury is still out on how tropical storms will change as climate warms, but rising sea levels will almost certainly place more coastal property at risk of flooding, says a team of scientists writing in the journal Nature.

  • The Rebuild by Design Challenge

    The Rebuild by Design Challenge

    When Hurricane Sandy hit last October, the vulnerabilities of the New York/New Jersey region to extreme weather were made all too clear. The Rebuild by Design challenge was launched to find the most innovative ways to make the region more resilient and sustainable.

  • Certificate Program in Conservation and Sustainability Spring Courses

    Certificate Program in Conservation and Sustainability Spring Courses

    The Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability (EICES) at Columbia University invites you to enroll in courses this Spring via our Certificate Program in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability.

  • Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    With the end of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure drawing near, many are speculating which of his policies will survive the next administration. New York City’s comprehensive environmental plan, PlaNYC 2030: A Greener, Greater New York, has been championed politically by Bloomberg, but is grounded in science and data, and performance management. It has demonstrated progress,…

  • Perspective: Q&A with Development Practitioner Ignacio Urrutia

    Perspective: Q&A with Development Practitioner Ignacio Urrutia

    By Sarayu Adeni With careful planning and a methodical approach, Ignacio Urrutia, MPA-DP ‘13, aims to solve problems before they happen. Currently working in South Asia’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Unit at the World Bank, he brought over five years of experience at the World Bank and UNDP in Washington, D.C. and…