State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

CERC

  • CERC Certificate Alum Pursues His Passion For Protecting Oceans

    CERC Certificate Alum Pursues His Passion For Protecting Oceans

    Learn more about Mike Misner, a 2006 graduate of the Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC).

  • The Little Things and Their Influence on Planet Earth

    The Little Things and Their Influence on Planet Earth

    In the last century we have witnessed incredible environmental leaps in our understanding of planet Earth. With a focus on integrated, systems thinking we invite you to register for an interactive online webinar that explores the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment.

  • Upcoming Certificate Course: The Sustainable City

    Upcoming Certificate Course: The Sustainable City

    More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban settings, making sustainable urban management a critical concern. This course introduces you to the fundamentals of urban environmental management and sustainability with a special focus on New York City.

  • Save those Acorns for the Apocalypse

    Save those Acorns for the Apocalypse

    As biodiversity takes a hit from climate change, forward thinking groups store seed samples in gene banks. The idea: if an entire species is wiped out, scientists can repopulate from the samples. Hello, plant versions of Adam and Eve.

  • Expanding Overseas Study Opportunities

    Expanding Overseas Study Opportunities

    A golf-ball-sized rhinoceros beetle flies through the open-air pavilion and lands on my table. I look up from my notes, an attempt at reworking my African wild dog study methods, and realize I haven’t seen one of these mighty beasts since my junior year in South Africa. The beetle is a welcome companion on this…

  • A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    The organic-rich source rock of the Marcellus Shale is an on-going target for massive gas extraction. Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, have made this extensive area of Marcellus black shale one of the largest unconventional and widely controversial gas operations in the United States today.

  • Keeping America Competitive by Sparking Curiosity in the Classroom

    Keeping America Competitive by Sparking Curiosity in the Classroom

    To keep America competitive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM disciplines), a report from the National Academy of Sciences calls for strengthening the skills of some 250,000 teachers across the United States through university-run science training programs. The report asserts that when teachers gain laboratory experience and conduct fieldwork alongside active researchers, they…

  • Ruth DeFries – Denning Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology

    What can satellite imagery tell us about the impact of humanity’s transformation of the landscape on climate and ecosystems? A lot, according to Ruth DeFries, ecosystems expert, Denning Professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of ecology, evolution, and environmental biology at Columbia University and the Earth Institute’s Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC). DeFries…

  • Supporting Conservation in Latin America

    Overbrook Fellows Will Study Forests, Watersheds and Seas

  • CERC Certificate Alum Pursues His Passion For Protecting Oceans

    CERC Certificate Alum Pursues His Passion For Protecting Oceans

    Learn more about Mike Misner, a 2006 graduate of the Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC).

  • The Little Things and Their Influence on Planet Earth

    The Little Things and Their Influence on Planet Earth

    In the last century we have witnessed incredible environmental leaps in our understanding of planet Earth. With a focus on integrated, systems thinking we invite you to register for an interactive online webinar that explores the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment.

  • Upcoming Certificate Course: The Sustainable City

    Upcoming Certificate Course: The Sustainable City

    More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban settings, making sustainable urban management a critical concern. This course introduces you to the fundamentals of urban environmental management and sustainability with a special focus on New York City.

  • Save those Acorns for the Apocalypse

    Save those Acorns for the Apocalypse

    As biodiversity takes a hit from climate change, forward thinking groups store seed samples in gene banks. The idea: if an entire species is wiped out, scientists can repopulate from the samples. Hello, plant versions of Adam and Eve.

  • Expanding Overseas Study Opportunities

    Expanding Overseas Study Opportunities

    A golf-ball-sized rhinoceros beetle flies through the open-air pavilion and lands on my table. I look up from my notes, an attempt at reworking my African wild dog study methods, and realize I haven’t seen one of these mighty beasts since my junior year in South Africa. The beetle is a welcome companion on this…

  • A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    A Controversy: Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale

    The organic-rich source rock of the Marcellus Shale is an on-going target for massive gas extraction. Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, have made this extensive area of Marcellus black shale one of the largest unconventional and widely controversial gas operations in the United States today.

  • Keeping America Competitive by Sparking Curiosity in the Classroom

    Keeping America Competitive by Sparking Curiosity in the Classroom

    To keep America competitive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM disciplines), a report from the National Academy of Sciences calls for strengthening the skills of some 250,000 teachers across the United States through university-run science training programs. The report asserts that when teachers gain laboratory experience and conduct fieldwork alongside active researchers, they…

  • Ruth DeFries – Denning Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology

    What can satellite imagery tell us about the impact of humanity’s transformation of the landscape on climate and ecosystems? A lot, according to Ruth DeFries, ecosystems expert, Denning Professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of ecology, evolution, and environmental biology at Columbia University and the Earth Institute’s Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC). DeFries…

  • Supporting Conservation in Latin America

    Overbrook Fellows Will Study Forests, Watersheds and Seas