State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Poverty / Development16

  • Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    The Earth Institute will benefit this holiday season from a matching gift from dedicated donor Betsee Parker, who will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to $300,000 this holiday season.

  • New Data Website Helps Nigeria’s Campaign to Achieve Millennium Development Goals

    Site Tracks Data About Health Clinics, Schools, Other Facilities

  • Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

    Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

    Earth Institute agricultural scientist Pedro A. Sanchez argues in a new essay that new developments in both science and politics give him hope that sub-Saharan Africa will be able to feed itself by 2050, even with a projected population by then of about 2 billion people.

  • Designing a Sustainability Framework for China

    Designing a Sustainability Framework for China

    Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen traveled to Beijing to formalize a partnership with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, the preeminent think tank in China, to design sustainability metrics based on China’s unique development conditions.

  • Internship Opportunity for Millennium Villages

    Internship Opportunity for Millennium Villages

    As the Earth Institute’s monitoring and evaluation team gears up for its final evaluation of 10 Millennium Village sites, we are currently recruiting a qualitative research assistant intern to support field researchers conducting process evaluation studies across East and West Africa.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    Climate scientist William D’Andrea of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory asked young scientists attending a symposium last October, “What do you wish everyone knew about climate change?” He turned the responses into this video, which covers the topic pretty well.

  • ‘The Big Ratchet’

    ‘The Big Ratchet’

    In her new book, Ruth DeFries argues that we have continually created new technologies that allow our numbers to grow. But each new invention creates a new problem—which we solve with yet another innovation that creates the next problem. Will we be able to sustain this so-far successful cycle past the great leap in technology…

  • Teen Literacy in Nigeria is Lower in the North

    Teen Literacy in Nigeria is Lower in the North

    In Nigeria, differences in adolescent literacy rates between states are striking—higher in the South and lower in the Northeast.

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

  • Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31

    The Earth Institute will benefit this holiday season from a matching gift from dedicated donor Betsee Parker, who will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to $300,000 this holiday season.

  • New Data Website Helps Nigeria’s Campaign to Achieve Millennium Development Goals

    Site Tracks Data About Health Clinics, Schools, Other Facilities

  • Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

    Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?

    Earth Institute agricultural scientist Pedro A. Sanchez argues in a new essay that new developments in both science and politics give him hope that sub-Saharan Africa will be able to feed itself by 2050, even with a projected population by then of about 2 billion people.

  • Designing a Sustainability Framework for China

    Designing a Sustainability Framework for China

    Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen traveled to Beijing to formalize a partnership with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, the preeminent think tank in China, to design sustainability metrics based on China’s unique development conditions.

  • Internship Opportunity for Millennium Villages

    Internship Opportunity for Millennium Villages

    As the Earth Institute’s monitoring and evaluation team gears up for its final evaluation of 10 Millennium Village sites, we are currently recruiting a qualitative research assistant intern to support field researchers conducting process evaluation studies across East and West Africa.

  • MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation

    Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.

  • What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    What Everyone Should Know About Climate Change

    Climate scientist William D’Andrea of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory asked young scientists attending a symposium last October, “What do you wish everyone knew about climate change?” He turned the responses into this video, which covers the topic pretty well.

  • ‘The Big Ratchet’

    ‘The Big Ratchet’

    In her new book, Ruth DeFries argues that we have continually created new technologies that allow our numbers to grow. But each new invention creates a new problem—which we solve with yet another innovation that creates the next problem. Will we be able to sustain this so-far successful cycle past the great leap in technology…

  • Teen Literacy in Nigeria is Lower in the North

    Teen Literacy in Nigeria is Lower in the North

    In Nigeria, differences in adolescent literacy rates between states are striking—higher in the South and lower in the Northeast.