State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Poverty / Development24

  • Millennium City and Millennium Village Students ‘Stand Up for Girls’ on International Day of the Girl

    Millennium City and Millennium Village Students ‘Stand Up for Girls’ on International Day of the Girl

    In sub-Saharan Africa, only 63 percent of girls complete their schooling, according to the World Bank. Yet our own research in the Millennium Cities indicates that girls who continue their education will have far greater opportunities, and they will be in a better position to care for themselves and their families. To celebrate the United…

  • Polder 32

    Polder 32

    Polder 32 is one of the many inland islands in Bangladesh that was enclosed by an embankment to protect it from flooding. When that embankment failed during Cyclone Aila in 2009, the island was flooded for almost 2 years. Subsidence of the ground inside the embankment with no sedimentation to compensate made it worse. We…

  • MDP Students Map Kisumu Health Facilities

    MDP Students Map Kisumu Health Facilities

    Two Masters in Development Practice students, Paloma Ruiz Gonzalez and Marianna Costa Checa, used their MDP practicum this past summer to assist the Millennium Cities Initiative in mapping and surveying all health facilities in the Millennium City of Kisumu, Kenya, at the request of the city government and local health officials.

  • Partnering for Impact

    Partnering for Impact

    Our highly interconnected and interdependent world has given rise to an extraordinary collaborative effort to design a future that is sustainable, prosperous and empowering. The recently concluded Clinton Global Initiative 2012 annual meeting’s theme, “Designing for Impact,” focused on designing our lives, environments and the global systems that can create more opportunity and equality.

  • Nigeria Working With Earth Institute to Expand Anti-Poverty Program

    $1.2 Billion Committed to Achieving Millennium Development Goals

  • IKEA Foundation Pledges $2.5 Million to Earth Institute Project in India

    IKEA Foundation Pledges $2.5 Million to Earth Institute Project in India

    In partnership with Earth Institute researchers, the IKEA Foundation has pledged over $2.5 million to help improve the quality of education through pilot projects in two Indian states.

  • 2 Earth Institute Centers Join Forces

    The Earth Institute today announced that beginning Oct. 1, the Center for Global Health and Economic Development (CGHED) would migrate its staff and projects to the Earth Institute’s Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development.

  • Breaking the Poverty Trap in Ethiopia: Subsistence, Satellites, and Some Other Important Stuff

    Breaking the Poverty Trap in Ethiopia: Subsistence, Satellites, and Some Other Important Stuff

    Two acres of cracked earth. In northern Ethiopia, it can be a trap that keeps farmers tethered to it for generations. Or it can be a springboard to a better life for this and future generations. What impedes it from showing its springier qualities? You could argue the biggest pressure on the land comes from…

  • Internship Opportunities with the Earth Institute Director’s Office

    The Office of the Director of the Earth Institute is offering two internship opportunities: One is the Administrations, Communications, and Research Internship, and the other the Communications, Research, Writing and Event-Planning Internship. The deadline to apply is Sept. 14.

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Millennium City and Millennium Village Students ‘Stand Up for Girls’ on International Day of the Girl

    Millennium City and Millennium Village Students ‘Stand Up for Girls’ on International Day of the Girl

    In sub-Saharan Africa, only 63 percent of girls complete their schooling, according to the World Bank. Yet our own research in the Millennium Cities indicates that girls who continue their education will have far greater opportunities, and they will be in a better position to care for themselves and their families. To celebrate the United…

  • Polder 32

    Polder 32

    Polder 32 is one of the many inland islands in Bangladesh that was enclosed by an embankment to protect it from flooding. When that embankment failed during Cyclone Aila in 2009, the island was flooded for almost 2 years. Subsidence of the ground inside the embankment with no sedimentation to compensate made it worse. We…

  • MDP Students Map Kisumu Health Facilities

    MDP Students Map Kisumu Health Facilities

    Two Masters in Development Practice students, Paloma Ruiz Gonzalez and Marianna Costa Checa, used their MDP practicum this past summer to assist the Millennium Cities Initiative in mapping and surveying all health facilities in the Millennium City of Kisumu, Kenya, at the request of the city government and local health officials.

  • Partnering for Impact

    Partnering for Impact

    Our highly interconnected and interdependent world has given rise to an extraordinary collaborative effort to design a future that is sustainable, prosperous and empowering. The recently concluded Clinton Global Initiative 2012 annual meeting’s theme, “Designing for Impact,” focused on designing our lives, environments and the global systems that can create more opportunity and equality.

  • Nigeria Working With Earth Institute to Expand Anti-Poverty Program

    $1.2 Billion Committed to Achieving Millennium Development Goals

  • IKEA Foundation Pledges $2.5 Million to Earth Institute Project in India

    IKEA Foundation Pledges $2.5 Million to Earth Institute Project in India

    In partnership with Earth Institute researchers, the IKEA Foundation has pledged over $2.5 million to help improve the quality of education through pilot projects in two Indian states.

  • 2 Earth Institute Centers Join Forces

    The Earth Institute today announced that beginning Oct. 1, the Center for Global Health and Economic Development (CGHED) would migrate its staff and projects to the Earth Institute’s Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development.

  • Breaking the Poverty Trap in Ethiopia: Subsistence, Satellites, and Some Other Important Stuff

    Breaking the Poverty Trap in Ethiopia: Subsistence, Satellites, and Some Other Important Stuff

    Two acres of cracked earth. In northern Ethiopia, it can be a trap that keeps farmers tethered to it for generations. Or it can be a springboard to a better life for this and future generations. What impedes it from showing its springier qualities? You could argue the biggest pressure on the land comes from…

  • Internship Opportunities with the Earth Institute Director’s Office

    The Office of the Director of the Earth Institute is offering two internship opportunities: One is the Administrations, Communications, and Research Internship, and the other the Communications, Research, Writing and Event-Planning Internship. The deadline to apply is Sept. 14.