State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • Migration Mysteries of the American Robin

    Migration Mysteries of the American Robin

    Ecologist Natalie Boelman is headed back to the far north to study birds—this time to the town of Slave Lake, in northern Alberta, Canada, to track the migration of American robins. She will have some schoolchildren in New York remotely helping her as she and her colleagues get to work.

  • World Surf League Teams Up with Columbia to Support Ocean Science

    New philanthropy takes an innovative approach

  • NYC’s Public-Private Partnerships to Fight Climate Change

    NYC’s Public-Private Partnerships to Fight Climate Change

    New York City’s Carbon Challenge is helping to foster public-private partnerships that are crucial in any city’s attempt to combat climate change.

  • Almost Home, with Another 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Almost Home, with Another 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Science at sea isn’t easy, but the benefits are huge, writes Sidney Hemming in her final post from a two-month expedition that collected millions of years of climate history in the deep-sea sediment from off southern Africa.

  • Create a Climate Game—and You Could Win $10,000

    Create a Climate Game—and You Could Win $10,000

    Through the Games for Change Climate Challenge, you can be a climate game-changer.

  • Filling a Climate Gap and Helping Rwandan Farmers

    Filling a Climate Gap and Helping Rwandan Farmers

    Agriculture makes up a major portion of Rwanda’s economy, and employs eight in 10 Rwandans. Of course, farmers are hugely dependent on the climate, and a new project hopes to ensure they get timely information so they can plan for both good times and bad.

  • The Damaging Effects of Black Carbon

    The Damaging Effects of Black Carbon

    Air pollution, both outdoors and indoors, causes millions of premature deaths each year. The deaths are mainly caused by the inhalation of particulate matter, especially black carbon. But black carbon not only has impacts on human health, it also affects visibility, harms ecosystems, reduces agricultural productivity and exacerbates global warming.

  • The Presidency and Sustainability

    The president’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy given the toxic political environment he must operate within. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis provides an example of how partisan politics is dominating federal environmental policy.

  • Global Warming Pushes Wines Into Uncharted Terroir

    Heat Has Decoupled French Grapes from Old Weather Patterns

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Migration Mysteries of the American Robin

    Migration Mysteries of the American Robin

    Ecologist Natalie Boelman is headed back to the far north to study birds—this time to the town of Slave Lake, in northern Alberta, Canada, to track the migration of American robins. She will have some schoolchildren in New York remotely helping her as she and her colleagues get to work.

  • World Surf League Teams Up with Columbia to Support Ocean Science

    New philanthropy takes an innovative approach

  • NYC’s Public-Private Partnerships to Fight Climate Change

    NYC’s Public-Private Partnerships to Fight Climate Change

    New York City’s Carbon Challenge is helping to foster public-private partnerships that are crucial in any city’s attempt to combat climate change.

  • Almost Home, with Another 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Almost Home, with Another 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Science at sea isn’t easy, but the benefits are huge, writes Sidney Hemming in her final post from a two-month expedition that collected millions of years of climate history in the deep-sea sediment from off southern Africa.

  • Create a Climate Game—and You Could Win $10,000

    Create a Climate Game—and You Could Win $10,000

    Through the Games for Change Climate Challenge, you can be a climate game-changer.

  • Filling a Climate Gap and Helping Rwandan Farmers

    Filling a Climate Gap and Helping Rwandan Farmers

    Agriculture makes up a major portion of Rwanda’s economy, and employs eight in 10 Rwandans. Of course, farmers are hugely dependent on the climate, and a new project hopes to ensure they get timely information so they can plan for both good times and bad.

  • The Damaging Effects of Black Carbon

    The Damaging Effects of Black Carbon

    Air pollution, both outdoors and indoors, causes millions of premature deaths each year. The deaths are mainly caused by the inhalation of particulate matter, especially black carbon. But black carbon not only has impacts on human health, it also affects visibility, harms ecosystems, reduces agricultural productivity and exacerbates global warming.

  • The Presidency and Sustainability

    The president’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy given the toxic political environment he must operate within. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis provides an example of how partisan politics is dominating federal environmental policy.

  • Global Warming Pushes Wines Into Uncharted Terroir

    Heat Has Decoupled French Grapes from Old Weather Patterns