State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Clean energy2

  • The U.S. Can Still Take the Lead in Clean Energy Investment

    The U.S. Can Still Take the Lead in Clean Energy Investment

    In order for clean energy investments to deliver on their full potential for our economy, national security, and wellbeing, we need to remember three things.

  • Redefining our Relationship to Energy

    Redefining our Relationship to Energy

    MSSM alum Diana McCarthy-Bercury (’16) commuted from New Haven, Conn., to attend the MSSM program from 2012 to 2015. Diana is currently an energy efficiency program manager at Eversource, an electric and natural gas utility in New England, which specializes in energy services. She is determined to leave a mark by not leaving a mark.

  • Cities: the Vanguard Against Climate Change

    Cities: the Vanguard Against Climate Change

    Cities are leading the fight against climate change. Here’s what some of the most forward-looking ones are doing.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • Fossil Fuels Do Far More Harm Than Nuclear Power

    Fossil Fuels Do Far More Harm Than Nuclear Power

    Pushker Kharecha and James E. Hansen write about their recent paper on the long-term health effects of nuclear power versus fossil fuels, and argue that nuclear power needs to be part of the solution to climate change.

  • Pedaling to Power a Movement: An Invitation to Join Climate Ride 2013

    Pedaling to Power a Movement: An Invitation to Join Climate Ride 2013

    Student Scott Miller, who raised $3,000 for the Earth Institute last year on a 300-mile bike ride from New York to Washington, plans to do it again, and he’s inviting you to join him.

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 1): Making Sense of the Senate’s Climate and Energy Proposals

    Advocates for energy policy reform and legislative action on climate change have long anticipated their opportunity to effect change. This summer may be the turning point they have awaited. In recent weeks, energy and climate policy have taken over the political limelight. The devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has forced Americans to…

  • When High Hopes Make Little Sense: Why the Hartwell Paper Fails to Deliver

    Earlier this year, 14 energy academics, analysts and advocates gathered with hopes of reinventing the way the international community treats climate policy. The result, The Hartwell Paper: A new direction for climate policy after the crash of 2009, aims to examine “all aspects of the crisis which enveloped global climate policy” last December during the…

  • The U.S. Can Still Take the Lead in Clean Energy Investment

    The U.S. Can Still Take the Lead in Clean Energy Investment

    In order for clean energy investments to deliver on their full potential for our economy, national security, and wellbeing, we need to remember three things.

  • Redefining our Relationship to Energy

    Redefining our Relationship to Energy

    MSSM alum Diana McCarthy-Bercury (’16) commuted from New Haven, Conn., to attend the MSSM program from 2012 to 2015. Diana is currently an energy efficiency program manager at Eversource, an electric and natural gas utility in New England, which specializes in energy services. She is determined to leave a mark by not leaving a mark.

  • Cities: the Vanguard Against Climate Change

    Cities: the Vanguard Against Climate Change

    Cities are leading the fight against climate change. Here’s what some of the most forward-looking ones are doing.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • Fossil Fuels Do Far More Harm Than Nuclear Power

    Fossil Fuels Do Far More Harm Than Nuclear Power

    Pushker Kharecha and James E. Hansen write about their recent paper on the long-term health effects of nuclear power versus fossil fuels, and argue that nuclear power needs to be part of the solution to climate change.

  • Pedaling to Power a Movement: An Invitation to Join Climate Ride 2013

    Pedaling to Power a Movement: An Invitation to Join Climate Ride 2013

    Student Scott Miller, who raised $3,000 for the Earth Institute last year on a 300-mile bike ride from New York to Washington, plans to do it again, and he’s inviting you to join him.

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    The Policy Buffet (Part 3): As Kerry-Lieberman Fades, a Fresh Start for Cap-and-Trade?

    This is the third post in a series that covers the Senates current energy and climate proposals. The introductory post can be found here. The American Power Act (APA), co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), has been seen by many as a paradigm for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The bill…

  • The Policy Buffet (Part 1): Making Sense of the Senate’s Climate and Energy Proposals

    Advocates for energy policy reform and legislative action on climate change have long anticipated their opportunity to effect change. This summer may be the turning point they have awaited. In recent weeks, energy and climate policy have taken over the political limelight. The devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has forced Americans to…

  • When High Hopes Make Little Sense: Why the Hartwell Paper Fails to Deliver

    Earlier this year, 14 energy academics, analysts and advocates gathered with hopes of reinventing the way the international community treats climate policy. The result, The Hartwell Paper: A new direction for climate policy after the crash of 2009, aims to examine “all aspects of the crisis which enveloped global climate policy” last December during the…