State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water28

  • Climate Change and the Future of Mono Lake

    Climate Change and the Future of Mono Lake

    Understanding the climate history of Mono Lake will help scientists understand the future impact of climate change. This is no esoteric question for Los Angeles, which depends in part on Mono Lake’s watershed for drinking water, green lawns, agriculture and industry.

  • IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    Four scientists and one PhD student from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society are attending the 2013 American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. Below are links to Q&As with each of the presenters and the schedule of their posters and presentations.

  • Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    With the end of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure drawing near, many are speculating which of his policies will survive the next administration. New York City’s comprehensive environmental plan, PlaNYC 2030: A Greener, Greater New York, has been championed politically by Bloomberg, but is grounded in science and data, and performance management. It has demonstrated progress,…

  • When the Sahara Turned to Sand

    When the Sahara Turned to Sand

    The Sahara wasn’t always a desert. Trees and grasslands dominated the landscape from roughly 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. Then, abruptly, the climate changed. A study by Lamont-Doherty’s Peter deMenocal says it took just a few hundred years to happen.

  • Just How Effective is Green Infrastructure?

    Just How Effective is Green Infrastructure?

    Over the next 18 years, New York City’s 2010 Green Infrastructure Plan will spend $2.4 billion on green infrastructure— green roofs, tree plantings, and increased vegetation— to combat coastal pollution. But how does green infrastructure work and how effective is it really?

  • The End of Cheap Water?

    The End of Cheap Water?

    Americans are paying more for water than they did a decade ago, even as water utilities fall into debt and water infrastructure deteriorates, according to a Columbia Water Center report.

  • Resource Consumption — the Ultimate Bubble?

    Resource Consumption — the Ultimate Bubble?

    “Basically, the instinct of civilizations in the past has been to run off a cliff. This time it’s different. We have one global civilization, so we have to be very careful not to run off a cliff.”

  • Exploring New Zealand Climate Change in Groundwater

    Exploring New Zealand Climate Change in Groundwater

    Alan Seltzer, a senior at Columbia University, traveled to New Zealand this past summer to work on field experiments aimed at reconstructing temperatures in the region over the last 20,000 years. His adviser, geochemist Martin Stute, is working closely with colleagues at Lamont-Doherty to understand how the southern hemisphere came out of the last ice…

  • Sustainability Certification in Aquaculture: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is?

    Sustainability Certification in Aquaculture: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is?

    Should we certify aquaculture? A look at mounting challenges in the push for sustainable seafood.

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Climate Change and the Future of Mono Lake

    Climate Change and the Future of Mono Lake

    Understanding the climate history of Mono Lake will help scientists understand the future impact of climate change. This is no esoteric question for Los Angeles, which depends in part on Mono Lake’s watershed for drinking water, green lawns, agriculture and industry.

  • IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    IRI@AGU: Schedule of Events + Q&As

    Four scientists and one PhD student from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society are attending the 2013 American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. Below are links to Q&As with each of the presenters and the schedule of their posters and presentations.

  • Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    Is Sustainability Sustainable in a Post-Bloomberg NYC?

    With the end of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure drawing near, many are speculating which of his policies will survive the next administration. New York City’s comprehensive environmental plan, PlaNYC 2030: A Greener, Greater New York, has been championed politically by Bloomberg, but is grounded in science and data, and performance management. It has demonstrated progress,…

  • When the Sahara Turned to Sand

    When the Sahara Turned to Sand

    The Sahara wasn’t always a desert. Trees and grasslands dominated the landscape from roughly 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. Then, abruptly, the climate changed. A study by Lamont-Doherty’s Peter deMenocal says it took just a few hundred years to happen.

  • Just How Effective is Green Infrastructure?

    Just How Effective is Green Infrastructure?

    Over the next 18 years, New York City’s 2010 Green Infrastructure Plan will spend $2.4 billion on green infrastructure— green roofs, tree plantings, and increased vegetation— to combat coastal pollution. But how does green infrastructure work and how effective is it really?

  • The End of Cheap Water?

    The End of Cheap Water?

    Americans are paying more for water than they did a decade ago, even as water utilities fall into debt and water infrastructure deteriorates, according to a Columbia Water Center report.

  • Resource Consumption — the Ultimate Bubble?

    Resource Consumption — the Ultimate Bubble?

    “Basically, the instinct of civilizations in the past has been to run off a cliff. This time it’s different. We have one global civilization, so we have to be very careful not to run off a cliff.”

  • Exploring New Zealand Climate Change in Groundwater

    Exploring New Zealand Climate Change in Groundwater

    Alan Seltzer, a senior at Columbia University, traveled to New Zealand this past summer to work on field experiments aimed at reconstructing temperatures in the region over the last 20,000 years. His adviser, geochemist Martin Stute, is working closely with colleagues at Lamont-Doherty to understand how the southern hemisphere came out of the last ice…

  • Sustainability Certification in Aquaculture: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is?

    Sustainability Certification in Aquaculture: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is?

    Should we certify aquaculture? A look at mounting challenges in the push for sustainable seafood.