State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Sustainability101

  • From PlaNYC to OneNYC: New York’s Evolving Sustainability Policy

    How do we encourage the wealthy to participate in our real estate market without driving out the rest of us? How can the city tax some of the new real estate wealth to provide housing subsidies for working New Yorkers?

  • Earth Day’s Importance and Evolution Since 1970

    The issue for Earth Day, 2015, is how we marshal the forces of technology toward the goal of creating a sustainable, high-throughput economy. Some of these new technologies will damage our environment. Some, like solar power, can help protect the environment.

  • Lessons in Sustainability Policy

    Lessons in Sustainability Policy

    On April 7, 2015, the Earth Institute hosted a panel event and reception on ‘Sustainability Policy: Progress and Opportunity.’ Over 170 students, faculty, and local professionals gathered in Low Library to hear a panel of experts speak about sustainability and the role of government. Panelists discussed local-level policy, the role of metrics, and what the…

  • We Need to Finance and Subsidize Mass Transit

    While it would be nice to see a mass transit financing solution included in an effort to rebuild the nation’s depleted highway trust fund, a nation that refuses to tax itself to repair deteriorating roads and bridges appears unlikely to provide funding for mass transit. Still, no effort to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse…

  • Indian Sundarban

    Indian Sundarban

    We arrived in Kolkata, and filmed by the Hooghly River. While it is no longer the main channel of the Ganges, it is still the Holy Ganges and we saw a funeral procession spreading ashes of a loved one while filming there. Then a 5 hour trip by car, ferry, rickshaw and boat to the…

  • Geology and Filming in Mizoram

    Geology and Filming in Mizoram

    In the small town of Kolasib, we stayed in Hotel Cloud 9. I had been told since I was a child that I was always off on Cloud 9 and now I was actually here. However, the electricity wasn’t for the first few hours, so showers were cold, but the dinner was hot.

  • Science Journalists and the Data Revolution

    Science Journalists and the Data Revolution

    Journalist Cheryl Philips described using publicly accessible records of infrastructure assessments done by the Department of Transportation in Washington State to map the most vulnerable bridges and to tell the story behind a bridge that collapsed, killing several people. John Bohannon of Science Magazine used iPython coding to send a fake journal article to close…

  • Tiger Footprints and Dhaka

    Tiger Footprints and Dhaka

    We finished our time in the Sundarbans with a silent boat ride in a tidal creek. The highlight was sets of fresh tiger footprints. We then had a long sail back to Dhaka with only one stop at a village. We then had a whirlwind tour of Old Dhaka with enough shopping to send the…

  • Salt Kilns and Landscape Change in the Sundarbans

    Salt Kilns and Landscape Change in the Sundarbans

    Leaving Hiron Point, we headed east through the Sundarbans to Kotka. At Kotka the students had walks through the forest seeing deer, wild boar and monkeys, while a smaller group also sampled near a set of 300 year old salt making kilns for OSL dating. We managed to finish while the tide inundated the site.…

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • From PlaNYC to OneNYC: New York’s Evolving Sustainability Policy

    How do we encourage the wealthy to participate in our real estate market without driving out the rest of us? How can the city tax some of the new real estate wealth to provide housing subsidies for working New Yorkers?

  • Earth Day’s Importance and Evolution Since 1970

    The issue for Earth Day, 2015, is how we marshal the forces of technology toward the goal of creating a sustainable, high-throughput economy. Some of these new technologies will damage our environment. Some, like solar power, can help protect the environment.

  • Lessons in Sustainability Policy

    Lessons in Sustainability Policy

    On April 7, 2015, the Earth Institute hosted a panel event and reception on ‘Sustainability Policy: Progress and Opportunity.’ Over 170 students, faculty, and local professionals gathered in Low Library to hear a panel of experts speak about sustainability and the role of government. Panelists discussed local-level policy, the role of metrics, and what the…

  • We Need to Finance and Subsidize Mass Transit

    While it would be nice to see a mass transit financing solution included in an effort to rebuild the nation’s depleted highway trust fund, a nation that refuses to tax itself to repair deteriorating roads and bridges appears unlikely to provide funding for mass transit. Still, no effort to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse…

  • Indian Sundarban

    Indian Sundarban

    We arrived in Kolkata, and filmed by the Hooghly River. While it is no longer the main channel of the Ganges, it is still the Holy Ganges and we saw a funeral procession spreading ashes of a loved one while filming there. Then a 5 hour trip by car, ferry, rickshaw and boat to the…

  • Geology and Filming in Mizoram

    Geology and Filming in Mizoram

    In the small town of Kolasib, we stayed in Hotel Cloud 9. I had been told since I was a child that I was always off on Cloud 9 and now I was actually here. However, the electricity wasn’t for the first few hours, so showers were cold, but the dinner was hot.

  • Science Journalists and the Data Revolution

    Science Journalists and the Data Revolution

    Journalist Cheryl Philips described using publicly accessible records of infrastructure assessments done by the Department of Transportation in Washington State to map the most vulnerable bridges and to tell the story behind a bridge that collapsed, killing several people. John Bohannon of Science Magazine used iPython coding to send a fake journal article to close…

  • Tiger Footprints and Dhaka

    Tiger Footprints and Dhaka

    We finished our time in the Sundarbans with a silent boat ride in a tidal creek. The highlight was sets of fresh tiger footprints. We then had a long sail back to Dhaka with only one stop at a village. We then had a whirlwind tour of Old Dhaka with enough shopping to send the…

  • Salt Kilns and Landscape Change in the Sundarbans

    Salt Kilns and Landscape Change in the Sundarbans

    Leaving Hiron Point, we headed east through the Sundarbans to Kotka. At Kotka the students had walks through the forest seeing deer, wild boar and monkeys, while a smaller group also sampled near a set of 300 year old salt making kilns for OSL dating. We managed to finish while the tide inundated the site.…