State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Sustainability101

  • Polder 32 and Hiron Point

    Polder 32 and Hiron Point

    We visited Polder 32, an embanked island in the delta that was flooded for almost two years when the embankment failed in several places during Cyclone Aila. In addition to the problem of increased subsidence due to the embankment, the area struggles for fresh water. Then we sailed to Hiron Point, a forest station in…

  • Working in the Bangladeshi Countryside

    Working in the Bangladeshi Countryside

    After traveling by boat for two days, including crossing the Sundarban Mangrove Forest, we finally arrived in Khulna. We drove to the site of our compaction meter and separated into teams servicing the instruments, investigating agricultural practices, measuring arsenic in the well water and taking sediment samples for dating. We had finally started our work…

  • Intractable Conflict: Can We End ‘Endless’ Wars?

    Intractable Conflict: Can We End ‘Endless’ Wars?

    Intractable conflicts such as the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East or long-term civil wars in central Africa are among the world’s most destructive social ills, and the most difficult to solve. Over the past decade, Peter Coleman, director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University, has been…

  • Sailing Around Political Unrest in Bangladesh

    Sailing Around Political Unrest in Bangladesh

    With the roads in Bangladesh hazardous to drive because of the ongoing political unrest, our undergraduate sustainable development class managed to proceed with our class trip over Spring Break by doing all travel by boat.

  • Sustainable Development Spring 2015 Workshop Briefings

    Seniors in the Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development will deliver their final recommendations May 1 after working collaboratively on client projects this past semester.

  • Senior Shares Insights on Sustainable Development Program

    Senior Shares Insights on Sustainable Development Program

    For senior Norman Shafto, the interdisciplinary approach of the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development helped him link his interests in electrical engineering and environmental science.

  • Record Numbers at the Annual All Ivy Sustainability Career Fair

    Record Numbers at the Annual All Ivy Sustainability Career Fair

    The Annual All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair brought in a record number of recruiters and students last Friday, making it the largest and most successful fair in the event’s 12-year history.

  • Webcast Tonight: Focus on Extreme Weather

    Webcast Tonight: Focus on Extreme Weather

    The Columbia Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate brings together experts across the university to integrate research into the physical science of these events with research on their impacts on human society and engineering solutions. The initiative kicks off this evening with a panel discussion, “Preparing for Extreme Weather: Global Lessons from Sandy,” from 6-7:30…

  • Alumna Finds Good Fit for Communication Skills

    Alumna Finds Good Fit for Communication Skills

    Kathy Zhang CC ’13, is a graduate of the undergraduate sustainable development major program. She’s applying her skills in communications and other areas now at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • Polder 32 and Hiron Point

    Polder 32 and Hiron Point

    We visited Polder 32, an embanked island in the delta that was flooded for almost two years when the embankment failed in several places during Cyclone Aila. In addition to the problem of increased subsidence due to the embankment, the area struggles for fresh water. Then we sailed to Hiron Point, a forest station in…

  • Working in the Bangladeshi Countryside

    Working in the Bangladeshi Countryside

    After traveling by boat for two days, including crossing the Sundarban Mangrove Forest, we finally arrived in Khulna. We drove to the site of our compaction meter and separated into teams servicing the instruments, investigating agricultural practices, measuring arsenic in the well water and taking sediment samples for dating. We had finally started our work…

  • Intractable Conflict: Can We End ‘Endless’ Wars?

    Intractable Conflict: Can We End ‘Endless’ Wars?

    Intractable conflicts such as the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East or long-term civil wars in central Africa are among the world’s most destructive social ills, and the most difficult to solve. Over the past decade, Peter Coleman, director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University, has been…

  • Sailing Around Political Unrest in Bangladesh

    Sailing Around Political Unrest in Bangladesh

    With the roads in Bangladesh hazardous to drive because of the ongoing political unrest, our undergraduate sustainable development class managed to proceed with our class trip over Spring Break by doing all travel by boat.

  • Sustainable Development Spring 2015 Workshop Briefings

    Seniors in the Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development will deliver their final recommendations May 1 after working collaboratively on client projects this past semester.

  • Senior Shares Insights on Sustainable Development Program

    Senior Shares Insights on Sustainable Development Program

    For senior Norman Shafto, the interdisciplinary approach of the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development helped him link his interests in electrical engineering and environmental science.

  • Record Numbers at the Annual All Ivy Sustainability Career Fair

    Record Numbers at the Annual All Ivy Sustainability Career Fair

    The Annual All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair brought in a record number of recruiters and students last Friday, making it the largest and most successful fair in the event’s 12-year history.

  • Webcast Tonight: Focus on Extreme Weather

    Webcast Tonight: Focus on Extreme Weather

    The Columbia Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate brings together experts across the university to integrate research into the physical science of these events with research on their impacts on human society and engineering solutions. The initiative kicks off this evening with a panel discussion, “Preparing for Extreme Weather: Global Lessons from Sandy,” from 6-7:30…

  • Alumna Finds Good Fit for Communication Skills

    Alumna Finds Good Fit for Communication Skills

    Kathy Zhang CC ’13, is a graduate of the undergraduate sustainable development major program. She’s applying her skills in communications and other areas now at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.