State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Sustainability98

  • A Sustainable City Would Continue to Keep Cars Out of Times Square

    A Sustainable City Would Continue to Keep Cars Out of Times Square

    The trade-off between regulating public behavior and free speech can be difficult, but must be taken on if we are to have public space in sustainable cities. Since we need more of these public spaces rather than fewer spaces, the behavior in Times Square is a challenge of governance that must be taken on by…

  • Hillary Clinton Is Right on Climate Change and the New York Times Is Wrong

    I would argue that given human behavior and organizational inertia it is better to subsidize something new than tax something old. A subsidy, like a sale, sometimes stimulates changed behavior. But a tax may or may not influence behavior.

  • Post-Sandy Rebuilding for Resiliency: Lessons From Long Beach, NY

    It is not that people have gotten amnesia and don’t remember the damage of Hurricane Sandy. Some homes are still being rebuilt and some people are still displaced. Moreover, the people who lead the shore towns in Long Island and New Jersey are speaking the language of climate resiliency.

  • Impact Partnerships, with Return on Investment

    Impact Partnerships, with Return on Investment

    Philanthropy has evolved dramatically in recent years, changing the way individuals, organizations and foundations support the causes that concern them most. One manifestation of this evolution includes an array of sophisticated methods of investing in social causes while expecting a return, known as impact investing.

  • Coal Miners, Extractive Industries, and a Sustainable Economy

    The impact of new technologies on jobs is unavoidable, and not all of the news is bad. Many old jobs are destroyed but many new jobs are created. The problem is that with weak unions, global competition and inadequate wage regulation, some of the new jobs are lower paid than the old jobs.

  • The State of Sustainability Management and Measurement in China

    The State of Sustainability Management and Measurement in China

    Sustainability management is more than an emerging field; it is a vital aspect of many organizations and economies across the globe. Today’s leaders have accepted this as fact, and interest in environmental sustainability is increasing at all levels of society, which makes incorporating sustainability into daily operations of great importance.

  • Removing Toxic Electronics From NYC’s Waste

    We need to develop the public policies and standard operating procedures to make certain that discarded electronics are either recycled or carefully discarded. This requires that we abandon the idea that “out of sight is out of mind.”

  • Don’t Worry About Doomsday, Botanists Have a Plan

    Don’t Worry About Doomsday, Botanists Have a Plan

    A new initiative of the Smithsonian Institution is building a frozen library cataloging snippets of plant tissue from every species on the planet.

  • Embracing a New Environmental Era in China

    Embracing a New Environmental Era in China

    As China incorporates environmental considerations into its economic planning process, its government appears to be carefully examining the relationship between sustainability and broader development goals.

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

  • A Sustainable City Would Continue to Keep Cars Out of Times Square

    A Sustainable City Would Continue to Keep Cars Out of Times Square

    The trade-off between regulating public behavior and free speech can be difficult, but must be taken on if we are to have public space in sustainable cities. Since we need more of these public spaces rather than fewer spaces, the behavior in Times Square is a challenge of governance that must be taken on by…

  • Hillary Clinton Is Right on Climate Change and the New York Times Is Wrong

    I would argue that given human behavior and organizational inertia it is better to subsidize something new than tax something old. A subsidy, like a sale, sometimes stimulates changed behavior. But a tax may or may not influence behavior.

  • Post-Sandy Rebuilding for Resiliency: Lessons From Long Beach, NY

    It is not that people have gotten amnesia and don’t remember the damage of Hurricane Sandy. Some homes are still being rebuilt and some people are still displaced. Moreover, the people who lead the shore towns in Long Island and New Jersey are speaking the language of climate resiliency.

  • Impact Partnerships, with Return on Investment

    Impact Partnerships, with Return on Investment

    Philanthropy has evolved dramatically in recent years, changing the way individuals, organizations and foundations support the causes that concern them most. One manifestation of this evolution includes an array of sophisticated methods of investing in social causes while expecting a return, known as impact investing.

  • Coal Miners, Extractive Industries, and a Sustainable Economy

    The impact of new technologies on jobs is unavoidable, and not all of the news is bad. Many old jobs are destroyed but many new jobs are created. The problem is that with weak unions, global competition and inadequate wage regulation, some of the new jobs are lower paid than the old jobs.

  • The State of Sustainability Management and Measurement in China

    The State of Sustainability Management and Measurement in China

    Sustainability management is more than an emerging field; it is a vital aspect of many organizations and economies across the globe. Today’s leaders have accepted this as fact, and interest in environmental sustainability is increasing at all levels of society, which makes incorporating sustainability into daily operations of great importance.

  • Removing Toxic Electronics From NYC’s Waste

    We need to develop the public policies and standard operating procedures to make certain that discarded electronics are either recycled or carefully discarded. This requires that we abandon the idea that “out of sight is out of mind.”

  • Don’t Worry About Doomsday, Botanists Have a Plan

    Don’t Worry About Doomsday, Botanists Have a Plan

    A new initiative of the Smithsonian Institution is building a frozen library cataloging snippets of plant tissue from every species on the planet.

  • Embracing a New Environmental Era in China

    Embracing a New Environmental Era in China

    As China incorporates environmental considerations into its economic planning process, its government appears to be carefully examining the relationship between sustainability and broader development goals.