State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters61

  • Measuring Earthquakes in Western New York

    Measuring Earthquakes in Western New York

    Each year, dozens of small, mostly harmless earthquakes quakes rattle the northeastern United States and southern Canada, and one quite active area runs along the shores of lakes Erie and Ontario, in western New York. In order to learn more about what generates these, and the possible threat of something bigger, scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth…

  • A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary solutions to unprecedented world challenges, and this report highlights some of our innovative projects in research, policy and education, and the partnerships that are helping to support them.

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Post-earth quake, the project team for the Haiti Regeneration Initiative (HRI) resumes fieldwork in the Haitian countryside. Program coordinator Alex Fischer is interviewed.

  • Cyprus: A Case Study in Water Challenges

    One tends to think of islands as wet places (surrounded as they are by water) but the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean sea belies that characterization. Among many childhood memories I have of that place, some of the most vivid are of the wide-open, piercing blue of cloudless skies and the sun-scorched, dusty…

  • The Pearl of Africa

    My cell phone rang in the middle of the night. “Are you in Kampala?” On the other line was my husband informing me that two bombs went off in Uganda’s capital city just several hours before, killing scores of people gathered at public spots to watch the final game of the World Cup. I was…

  • Rolling a 13: Global Warming and Regional Water Management in Pakistan and Russia

    Rolling a 13: Global Warming and Regional Water Management in Pakistan and Russia

    On July 28th in Peshawar, Pakistan, it rained more in one day than it had ever previously rained for the entire month. In the face of that kind of event, it’s hard not to think that we are entering unprecedented times. (It is still raining, with forecasts of more to come, with 1,600 people dead—at…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 5): How the Oil Spill Killed the Climate Bill — and Why the Economy Didn’t Help, Either

    The Policy Buffet (Part 5): How the Oil Spill Killed the Climate Bill — and Why the Economy Didn’t Help, Either

    The climate bill has come and gone. Just two months ago, it seemed as though the bill stood a fighting chance, given the buffet of options available to policymakers.

  • Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Adaptation in Action

    Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Adaptation in Action

    Across Indonesia, several effective climate adaptation actions on local levels are underway. These actions serve as a reminder of the important change that starts with a community of dedicated individuals.

  • Measuring Earthquakes in Western New York

    Measuring Earthquakes in Western New York

    Each year, dozens of small, mostly harmless earthquakes quakes rattle the northeastern United States and southern Canada, and one quite active area runs along the shores of lakes Erie and Ontario, in western New York. In order to learn more about what generates these, and the possible threat of something bigger, scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth…

  • A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary solutions to unprecedented world challenges, and this report highlights some of our innovative projects in research, policy and education, and the partnerships that are helping to support them.

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Post-earth quake, the project team for the Haiti Regeneration Initiative (HRI) resumes fieldwork in the Haitian countryside. Program coordinator Alex Fischer is interviewed.

  • Cyprus: A Case Study in Water Challenges

    One tends to think of islands as wet places (surrounded as they are by water) but the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean sea belies that characterization. Among many childhood memories I have of that place, some of the most vivid are of the wide-open, piercing blue of cloudless skies and the sun-scorched, dusty…

  • The Pearl of Africa

    My cell phone rang in the middle of the night. “Are you in Kampala?” On the other line was my husband informing me that two bombs went off in Uganda’s capital city just several hours before, killing scores of people gathered at public spots to watch the final game of the World Cup. I was…

  • Rolling a 13: Global Warming and Regional Water Management in Pakistan and Russia

    Rolling a 13: Global Warming and Regional Water Management in Pakistan and Russia

    On July 28th in Peshawar, Pakistan, it rained more in one day than it had ever previously rained for the entire month. In the face of that kind of event, it’s hard not to think that we are entering unprecedented times. (It is still raining, with forecasts of more to come, with 1,600 people dead—at…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 5): How the Oil Spill Killed the Climate Bill — and Why the Economy Didn’t Help, Either

    The Policy Buffet (Part 5): How the Oil Spill Killed the Climate Bill — and Why the Economy Didn’t Help, Either

    The climate bill has come and gone. Just two months ago, it seemed as though the bill stood a fighting chance, given the buffet of options available to policymakers.

  • Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Adaptation in Action

    Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Adaptation in Action

    Across Indonesia, several effective climate adaptation actions on local levels are underway. These actions serve as a reminder of the important change that starts with a community of dedicated individuals.