State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate change125

  • What Really Sways Public Opinion on Climate Change

    What Really Sways Public Opinion on Climate Change

    Being part of the Columbia Climate Center, which endeavors to improve public understanding of climate change as part of its mission, I was dismayed, but not surprised to read a study confirming that dissemination of scientific information on climate change to the public has a minimal effect on public opinion.  A recent analysis shows that…

  • Ocean Acidification: Geologic Record Adds New Warning

    Ocean Acidification: Geologic Record Adds New Warning

    A new study in Science finds that the oceans may be acidifying faster today from industrial emissions than they did during four major extinctions in the last 300 million years when carbon levels spiked naturally.

  • Ocean Acidification Rate May Be Unprecedented, Study Says

    Few Parallels in 300-Million Year Geologic Record

  • Watch an Antarctic Iceberg in the Making

    Watch an Antarctic Iceberg in the Making

    What does a glacier about to spawn an iceberg the size of New York City look like? A new animation from NASA flies you through the 19-mile crack that is slowly tearing Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier apart.

  • EPA’s greenhouse gas rule poses challenges for US policy review process

    Just in case anyone you missed it, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving, albeit almost imperceptibly, toward regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It took one more step in January, published the emissions of 6700 facilities with annual emissions of more than 25,000 MtCO2e. This category of emitters was required to report these figures…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/19

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/19

    Climate change increased likelihood of Russian 2010 heatwave, The Guardian, Feb 21 The extreme Russian heatwave of 2010 was made three times more likely because of man-made climate change, according to a study led by climate scientists and number-crunched by home PC users. But the size of the event was mostly within natural limits, said…

  • Climate Services: Science=Credibility

    Climate Services: Science=Credibility

    It’s terribly important that those who provide climate services are backed up by science and most importantly, link with and understand the problems of the user community. – says John Zillman, former president of the World Meteorological Organization, in the fourth in a series of video interviews.

  • U.S., 5 Nations to Cut Methane, Soot Emissions

    U.S., 5 Nations to Cut Methane, Soot Emissions

    The United States and five other countries agreed this week to fund an effort to cut emissions of methane, soot and other pollutants to start to slow the rate of human-induced climate change.

  • Climate Change in Haiti

    Climate Change in Haiti

    By Tracy Slagle and Madeleine Rubenstein Of the many countries at risk from the effects of climate change, small island states are widely considered to be among the most vulnerable. Not only are these countries exposed to direct impacts of climate change, particularly sea level rise, they are also highly sensitive to existing environmental stresses…

Overhead view of Columbia campus with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2026: Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026

  • What Really Sways Public Opinion on Climate Change

    What Really Sways Public Opinion on Climate Change

    Being part of the Columbia Climate Center, which endeavors to improve public understanding of climate change as part of its mission, I was dismayed, but not surprised to read a study confirming that dissemination of scientific information on climate change to the public has a minimal effect on public opinion.  A recent analysis shows that…

  • Ocean Acidification: Geologic Record Adds New Warning

    Ocean Acidification: Geologic Record Adds New Warning

    A new study in Science finds that the oceans may be acidifying faster today from industrial emissions than they did during four major extinctions in the last 300 million years when carbon levels spiked naturally.

  • Ocean Acidification Rate May Be Unprecedented, Study Says

    Few Parallels in 300-Million Year Geologic Record

  • Watch an Antarctic Iceberg in the Making

    Watch an Antarctic Iceberg in the Making

    What does a glacier about to spawn an iceberg the size of New York City look like? A new animation from NASA flies you through the 19-mile crack that is slowly tearing Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier apart.

  • EPA’s greenhouse gas rule poses challenges for US policy review process

    Just in case anyone you missed it, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving, albeit almost imperceptibly, toward regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It took one more step in January, published the emissions of 6700 facilities with annual emissions of more than 25,000 MtCO2e. This category of emitters was required to report these figures…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/19

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/19

    Climate change increased likelihood of Russian 2010 heatwave, The Guardian, Feb 21 The extreme Russian heatwave of 2010 was made three times more likely because of man-made climate change, according to a study led by climate scientists and number-crunched by home PC users. But the size of the event was mostly within natural limits, said…

  • Climate Services: Science=Credibility

    Climate Services: Science=Credibility

    It’s terribly important that those who provide climate services are backed up by science and most importantly, link with and understand the problems of the user community. – says John Zillman, former president of the World Meteorological Organization, in the fourth in a series of video interviews.

  • U.S., 5 Nations to Cut Methane, Soot Emissions

    U.S., 5 Nations to Cut Methane, Soot Emissions

    The United States and five other countries agreed this week to fund an effort to cut emissions of methane, soot and other pollutants to start to slow the rate of human-induced climate change.

  • Climate Change in Haiti

    Climate Change in Haiti

    By Tracy Slagle and Madeleine Rubenstein Of the many countries at risk from the effects of climate change, small island states are widely considered to be among the most vulnerable. Not only are these countries exposed to direct impacts of climate change, particularly sea level rise, they are also highly sensitive to existing environmental stresses…