State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

carbon capture4

  • 10 Reasons to Take Direct Air Capture Seriously

    10 Reasons to Take Direct Air Capture Seriously

    Though still requiring more research and development, direct air capture, a technology that extracts CO­2 from ambient air, offers reason for optimism. It is economically viable in several areas and can permit negative emissions to eventually stabilize atmospheric concentrations. While current support for the pioneers in this industry comes from private and philanthropic investment, here…

  • The Advances and Challenges of Carbon Capture and Storage

    The Advances and Challenges of Carbon Capture and Storage

    While in energy policy discussions, I heard carbon capture, utilization and storage consistently dismissed as either too expensive or too uncertain in a low-carbon future that favors natural gas, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Yet as was made clear during the three-day Research Coordination Network on Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage annual meeting hosted by…

  • Climate Change Innovator Elected to National Academy

    Climate Change Innovator Elected to National Academy

    Peter Kelemen, a geologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who studies rocks from the deep earth and, recently, their possible uses in battling climate change, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

  • From Theory to Reality: Closing the Carbon Loop

    From Theory to Reality: Closing the Carbon Loop

    Carbon capture, storage and reuse has the potential to help us reduce CO2 emissions and combat global warming. The Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is bringing together experts from an array of fields to assess the state of the technology April 14-16.

  • Photo Essay: High Desert, Deep Earth

    Photo Essay: High Desert, Deep Earth

    In the Arabian peninsula nation of Oman, geologists are studying the Hajar mountains–a range containing rocks that have been thrust up from the deep earth. Accessible to humans in only a few places on earth, these kinds of rocks offer clues to the planet’s deep history–and possible ways that natural processes may be harnessed to…

  • Ancient Rocks, Modern Purpose

    Ancient Rocks, Modern Purpose

    The desert sultanate of Oman is home to some of the weirdest—and possibly most useful—rocks on earth. The stark Hajar mountains, near the border with Saudi Arabia, contain a chunk of earth’s mantle—a zone that makes up most of earth’s mass, but normally lies inaccessible to humans, far below the surface. Here, though, a sliver…

  • What’s the Real Story With Clean Coal?

    What’s the Real Story With Clean Coal?

    The Obama administration will propose new rules to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. But is “clean coal” technology up to the job?

  • Pulling CO2 From Air Vital To Curb Global Warming, Say Researchers

    But Lower-Cost Technology a Stumbling Block So Far

  • Studying Cutting-Edge Carbon Storage Technologies

    Studying Cutting-Edge Carbon Storage Technologies

    This past June, PhD candidates from Earth Institute’s Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy Miriam Okun and Yinghuang Ji traveled to Alabama to attend Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration (RECS), an intensive 10-day program hosted by Southern Company and sponsored by the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.  The program allowed participants to study cutting-edge…

  • 10 Reasons to Take Direct Air Capture Seriously

    10 Reasons to Take Direct Air Capture Seriously

    Though still requiring more research and development, direct air capture, a technology that extracts CO­2 from ambient air, offers reason for optimism. It is economically viable in several areas and can permit negative emissions to eventually stabilize atmospheric concentrations. While current support for the pioneers in this industry comes from private and philanthropic investment, here…

  • The Advances and Challenges of Carbon Capture and Storage

    The Advances and Challenges of Carbon Capture and Storage

    While in energy policy discussions, I heard carbon capture, utilization and storage consistently dismissed as either too expensive or too uncertain in a low-carbon future that favors natural gas, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Yet as was made clear during the three-day Research Coordination Network on Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage annual meeting hosted by…

  • Climate Change Innovator Elected to National Academy

    Climate Change Innovator Elected to National Academy

    Peter Kelemen, a geologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who studies rocks from the deep earth and, recently, their possible uses in battling climate change, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

  • From Theory to Reality: Closing the Carbon Loop

    From Theory to Reality: Closing the Carbon Loop

    Carbon capture, storage and reuse has the potential to help us reduce CO2 emissions and combat global warming. The Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is bringing together experts from an array of fields to assess the state of the technology April 14-16.

  • Photo Essay: High Desert, Deep Earth

    Photo Essay: High Desert, Deep Earth

    In the Arabian peninsula nation of Oman, geologists are studying the Hajar mountains–a range containing rocks that have been thrust up from the deep earth. Accessible to humans in only a few places on earth, these kinds of rocks offer clues to the planet’s deep history–and possible ways that natural processes may be harnessed to…

  • Ancient Rocks, Modern Purpose

    Ancient Rocks, Modern Purpose

    The desert sultanate of Oman is home to some of the weirdest—and possibly most useful—rocks on earth. The stark Hajar mountains, near the border with Saudi Arabia, contain a chunk of earth’s mantle—a zone that makes up most of earth’s mass, but normally lies inaccessible to humans, far below the surface. Here, though, a sliver…

  • What’s the Real Story With Clean Coal?

    What’s the Real Story With Clean Coal?

    The Obama administration will propose new rules to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. But is “clean coal” technology up to the job?

  • Pulling CO2 From Air Vital To Curb Global Warming, Say Researchers

    But Lower-Cost Technology a Stumbling Block So Far

  • Studying Cutting-Edge Carbon Storage Technologies

    Studying Cutting-Edge Carbon Storage Technologies

    This past June, PhD candidates from Earth Institute’s Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy Miriam Okun and Yinghuang Ji traveled to Alabama to attend Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration (RECS), an intensive 10-day program hosted by Southern Company and sponsored by the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.  The program allowed participants to study cutting-edge…