State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate change127

  • 8 Ways to Look at 7 Billion

    8 Ways to Look at 7 Billion

    Interested in learning more about the world’s population? Here are some recent articles about the history, context and implications of 7 billion people living on earth.

  • The 7 Billion Challenge

    The 7 Billion Challenge

    The rapid rise in the world’s population to 7 billion — from 6 billion a dozen years ago — poses enormous challenges. In this video, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey D. Sachs talks about the stresses our population already puts on the planet, and the mission of the institute to promote sustainable development.

  • News Roundup: Week of 9/25

    News Roundup: Week of 9/25

    Climate Change and the Exodus of Species, New York Times, Sept 26 A team of scientists from the University of York examined the movement of 2,000 animal and plant species over the past decade. According to their study, published in Science last month, in their exodus from increasing heat, species have moved, on average, 13.3…

  • New Salt Map of Seas Gives Scientists Taste of Discoveries Ahead

    After less than a month in operation, a new NASA satellite has produced the first map showing how saltiness varies across the surface of the world’s oceans. Salt influences how seawater and heat move around the globe and also tells oceanographers how much rain and evaporation is happening at the surface. Until now, salt measurements…

  • Can Canadian Water Slake America’s Need for Power?

    Can Canadian Water Slake America’s Need for Power?

    At a time when the world is abuzz with talk of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to stem the tide of climate change, Canada’s surfeit of hydropower production appears an attractive option to people south of the border who still rely on fossil fuel-generated electricity.

  • Our Weatherbeaten Nation

    Our Weatherbeaten Nation

    When it comes to climate, data, research and problem-solving are taking a back seat to ideology, sentiment and politics. There is a great sense of disdain and suspicion right now for the liberal scientific elite in a significant portion of the U.S. population, and I’m afraid the feeling is often mutual. What can be done?

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 9/04

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 9/04

    Hurricanes Underscore Insurers’ Lack of Climate Change Readiness, GreenBiz.com, Sept 6 In a press conference to announce the publication of a new report, Sharlene Leurig, senior manager of the insurance program at Ceres and author of the report, stated, “2011 has been a painful and important reminder that changing climate will inflict damage across the…

  • Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    As climate changes and supplying water becomes more challenging, one company says it has a better management strategy.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • 8 Ways to Look at 7 Billion

    8 Ways to Look at 7 Billion

    Interested in learning more about the world’s population? Here are some recent articles about the history, context and implications of 7 billion people living on earth.

  • The 7 Billion Challenge

    The 7 Billion Challenge

    The rapid rise in the world’s population to 7 billion — from 6 billion a dozen years ago — poses enormous challenges. In this video, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey D. Sachs talks about the stresses our population already puts on the planet, and the mission of the institute to promote sustainable development.

  • News Roundup: Week of 9/25

    News Roundup: Week of 9/25

    Climate Change and the Exodus of Species, New York Times, Sept 26 A team of scientists from the University of York examined the movement of 2,000 animal and plant species over the past decade. According to their study, published in Science last month, in their exodus from increasing heat, species have moved, on average, 13.3…

  • New Salt Map of Seas Gives Scientists Taste of Discoveries Ahead

    After less than a month in operation, a new NASA satellite has produced the first map showing how saltiness varies across the surface of the world’s oceans. Salt influences how seawater and heat move around the globe and also tells oceanographers how much rain and evaporation is happening at the surface. Until now, salt measurements…

  • Can Canadian Water Slake America’s Need for Power?

    Can Canadian Water Slake America’s Need for Power?

    At a time when the world is abuzz with talk of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to stem the tide of climate change, Canada’s surfeit of hydropower production appears an attractive option to people south of the border who still rely on fossil fuel-generated electricity.

  • Our Weatherbeaten Nation

    Our Weatherbeaten Nation

    When it comes to climate, data, research and problem-solving are taking a back seat to ideology, sentiment and politics. There is a great sense of disdain and suspicion right now for the liberal scientific elite in a significant portion of the U.S. population, and I’m afraid the feeling is often mutual. What can be done?

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 9/04

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 9/04

    Hurricanes Underscore Insurers’ Lack of Climate Change Readiness, GreenBiz.com, Sept 6 In a press conference to announce the publication of a new report, Sharlene Leurig, senior manager of the insurance program at Ceres and author of the report, stated, “2011 has been a painful and important reminder that changing climate will inflict damage across the…

  • Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    Walking the Tightrope of Groundwater Management

    As climate changes and supplying water becomes more challenging, one company says it has a better management strategy.