State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate matters16

  • How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    People understand that weather can affect certain markets — especially energy prices and other commodities — but its impact on portfolios more broadly might surprise. Just last week, a new study was released that estimated $485 billion of annual weather-related economic impact in the United States alone. Another calculated the effect at nearly 10 times that amount…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/24

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/24

    Carbon emissions ‘hidden’ in imported goods revealed, BBC, Apr. 25 Two recent studies present that the amount of carbon dioxide emissions “hidden” in imported goods is increasing. These emissions are not currently included in national estimates. “There is a degree of delusion about emissions cuts in developed nations. They are not really cuts at all…

  • ‘One Yard Line’ For Cape Wind?

    ‘One Yard Line’ For Cape Wind?

    Jim Gordon, the developer of Cape Wind, recently spoke at Columbia University about his experience working to get the first offshore wind farm in the US built.

  • La Niña Still Hanging On

    La Niña Still Hanging On

    IRI’s latest climate briefing shows a weak La Niña still hanging around. The big question is what will happen next?

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/17

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/17

    Young Climate Activists Push Obama, Vow to Create More Local Awareness, NY Times, Apr. 18 This past weekend, around 10,000 young climate change activists gathered in Washington, D.C for the third Power Shift. While previous Power Shifts held educational workshops on climate science and technology specifics, this year’s event focused on training young activists in…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/10

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/10

    Fewer penguins survive warming Antarctic climate, Reuters, Apr. 11 A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that in Antarctica, only 10 percent of juvenile chinstrap and Adelies penguins now survive the first independent trip they take from their winter habitat back to their colonies, know as the penguin’s “transition…

  • Communicating with the Six Americas of Climate Change

    Communicating with the Six Americas of Climate Change

    The 2009 study by the Yale Project on Climate Change and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, “Global Warming’s Six Americas: An Audience Segmentation Analysis,” classified Americans based on their views on climate change into six groups (Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, Dismissive). This report helped climate communicators distinguish and better attune…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/03

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/03

    Glaciers in Chile ‘melt at fastest rate in 350 years,’ BBC, Apr. 3 According to new research by the Universities of Aberystwyth, Exeter, and Stockholm, mountain glaciers of the Patagonian icefield are melting and causing sea level rise at the fastest rate in the past 350 years.  Using remote-sensing technology, the scientists were able to…

  • A Flood at Home More Motivational Than a Flood of Information

    A Flood at Home More Motivational Than a Flood of Information

    Is it necessary for your house to be flooded for you to feel personally threatened by climate change? Maybe not – but according to a March behavior study, a soggy basement will probably make you more inclined to take action to mitigate climate change. Despite the consensus within the scientific community that immediate action is…

  • How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    People understand that weather can affect certain markets — especially energy prices and other commodities — but its impact on portfolios more broadly might surprise. Just last week, a new study was released that estimated $485 billion of annual weather-related economic impact in the United States alone. Another calculated the effect at nearly 10 times that amount…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/24

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/24

    Carbon emissions ‘hidden’ in imported goods revealed, BBC, Apr. 25 Two recent studies present that the amount of carbon dioxide emissions “hidden” in imported goods is increasing. These emissions are not currently included in national estimates. “There is a degree of delusion about emissions cuts in developed nations. They are not really cuts at all…

  • ‘One Yard Line’ For Cape Wind?

    ‘One Yard Line’ For Cape Wind?

    Jim Gordon, the developer of Cape Wind, recently spoke at Columbia University about his experience working to get the first offshore wind farm in the US built.

  • La Niña Still Hanging On

    La Niña Still Hanging On

    IRI’s latest climate briefing shows a weak La Niña still hanging around. The big question is what will happen next?

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/17

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/17

    Young Climate Activists Push Obama, Vow to Create More Local Awareness, NY Times, Apr. 18 This past weekend, around 10,000 young climate change activists gathered in Washington, D.C for the third Power Shift. While previous Power Shifts held educational workshops on climate science and technology specifics, this year’s event focused on training young activists in…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/10

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/10

    Fewer penguins survive warming Antarctic climate, Reuters, Apr. 11 A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that in Antarctica, only 10 percent of juvenile chinstrap and Adelies penguins now survive the first independent trip they take from their winter habitat back to their colonies, know as the penguin’s “transition…

  • Communicating with the Six Americas of Climate Change

    Communicating with the Six Americas of Climate Change

    The 2009 study by the Yale Project on Climate Change and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, “Global Warming’s Six Americas: An Audience Segmentation Analysis,” classified Americans based on their views on climate change into six groups (Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, Dismissive). This report helped climate communicators distinguish and better attune…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/03

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 4/03

    Glaciers in Chile ‘melt at fastest rate in 350 years,’ BBC, Apr. 3 According to new research by the Universities of Aberystwyth, Exeter, and Stockholm, mountain glaciers of the Patagonian icefield are melting and causing sea level rise at the fastest rate in the past 350 years.  Using remote-sensing technology, the scientists were able to…

  • A Flood at Home More Motivational Than a Flood of Information

    A Flood at Home More Motivational Than a Flood of Information

    Is it necessary for your house to be flooded for you to feel personally threatened by climate change? Maybe not – but according to a March behavior study, a soggy basement will probably make you more inclined to take action to mitigate climate change. Despite the consensus within the scientific community that immediate action is…