State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water82

  • JM Eagle and Earth Institute Bring Cleaner, Safer Water to Thousands in Rural Senegal

    Rural villagers in one of the poorest and driest parts of Senegal are turning on their taps for the first time and seeing water flow freely from the ground into their containers. JM Eagle, the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturer, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University announced on January 14 the official completion of…

  • Climate change and the hydrological cycle

    The prospects of significant and damaging changes in the hydrological cycle due to the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were raised in earlier IPCC reports and restated more strongly in the most recent, 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Now, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) issued its final Synthesis and Assessment Report on…

  • Abrupt Climate Change, How Likely?

    Yesterday the USGS released “Abrupt Climate Change, Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.4” of  the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. You can download the four page brochure or the full report here.  Columbia scientists Edward R. Cook (the lead author) and Richard Seager, both from Lamont-Doherty Earth…

  • Is the Hudson Swimmable? New Program Aims to Test the Waters

    Ongoing Work By Scientists Will Supply Data to the Public

  • PepsiCo Foundation announces major new grant to the Earth Institute at Columbia University to promote global water sustainability

    January 22 – Projects designed to address the emerging challenges of global water scarcity received a $6 million boost today with the announcement of a new grant from the PepsiCo Foundation to the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Targeted solutions towards more efficient water use and sustainable supply development will be explored in critical settings…

  • Scientists Urge Revised Policies to Address Arsenic Problem in Bangladesh

    An international group of scientists are suggesting new priorities for the next government of Bangladesh to advance the country’s fight against naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater. In an article entitled “Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Bangladesh,” they urge a major revision of government policy following upcoming elections. Their work appeared in the December 15 issue…

  • Holey Asphalt: New Lamont Parking Lot will Help Reduce Runoff

    It isn’t often that a new parking lot receives positive reviews from the environmental community. In keeping with Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory’s history of environmental stewardship along the Hudson River, however, the new lot currently under construction on campus is no ordinary blacktop. Intended as a replacement for the existing lot that will soon become…

  • Water shortages in Northeast Linked to Human Activity

    Recent water shortages in Rockland County, N.Y., reveal an increasing mismatch between water demand and supply following rapid growth in the Northeast during period of abnormally high precipitation. With the summer approaching, new research has shown that recent water emergencies in the Northeast have resulted from more than just dry weather. Instead, researchers from The…

  • More Than 1,000 to Get Their Feet Wet in Hudson Estuary Project

    For many residents of New York City and upstate communities, the Hudson River is such a constant presence that it can sometimes fade into the background of daily life. On Wednesday, October 12, however, Earth Institute researchers contributed to the efforts of volunteers and students from Troy to Brooklyn in putting the Hudson front-and-center by…

Blue banner with NYC background: "Columbia Climate School Class Day 2025 -- Congratulations Graduates"
  • JM Eagle and Earth Institute Bring Cleaner, Safer Water to Thousands in Rural Senegal

    Rural villagers in one of the poorest and driest parts of Senegal are turning on their taps for the first time and seeing water flow freely from the ground into their containers. JM Eagle, the world’s largest plastic pipe manufacturer, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University announced on January 14 the official completion of…

  • Climate change and the hydrological cycle

    The prospects of significant and damaging changes in the hydrological cycle due to the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were raised in earlier IPCC reports and restated more strongly in the most recent, 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Now, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) issued its final Synthesis and Assessment Report on…

  • Abrupt Climate Change, How Likely?

    Yesterday the USGS released “Abrupt Climate Change, Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 3.4” of  the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. You can download the four page brochure or the full report here.  Columbia scientists Edward R. Cook (the lead author) and Richard Seager, both from Lamont-Doherty Earth…

  • Is the Hudson Swimmable? New Program Aims to Test the Waters

    Ongoing Work By Scientists Will Supply Data to the Public

  • PepsiCo Foundation announces major new grant to the Earth Institute at Columbia University to promote global water sustainability

    January 22 – Projects designed to address the emerging challenges of global water scarcity received a $6 million boost today with the announcement of a new grant from the PepsiCo Foundation to the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Targeted solutions towards more efficient water use and sustainable supply development will be explored in critical settings…

  • Scientists Urge Revised Policies to Address Arsenic Problem in Bangladesh

    An international group of scientists are suggesting new priorities for the next government of Bangladesh to advance the country’s fight against naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater. In an article entitled “Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Bangladesh,” they urge a major revision of government policy following upcoming elections. Their work appeared in the December 15 issue…

  • Holey Asphalt: New Lamont Parking Lot will Help Reduce Runoff

    It isn’t often that a new parking lot receives positive reviews from the environmental community. In keeping with Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory’s history of environmental stewardship along the Hudson River, however, the new lot currently under construction on campus is no ordinary blacktop. Intended as a replacement for the existing lot that will soon become…

  • Water shortages in Northeast Linked to Human Activity

    Recent water shortages in Rockland County, N.Y., reveal an increasing mismatch between water demand and supply following rapid growth in the Northeast during period of abnormally high precipitation. With the summer approaching, new research has shown that recent water emergencies in the Northeast have resulted from more than just dry weather. Instead, researchers from The…

  • More Than 1,000 to Get Their Feet Wet in Hudson Estuary Project

    For many residents of New York City and upstate communities, the Hudson River is such a constant presence that it can sometimes fade into the background of daily life. On Wednesday, October 12, however, Earth Institute researchers contributed to the efforts of volunteers and students from Troy to Brooklyn in putting the Hudson front-and-center by…