State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate matters17

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/27

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/27

    Warming Brings Unwelcome Change to Alaska Villages, Anchorage Daily News, Mar. 27 The changing climate is leading to health concerns in some Alaskan villages. In the Chukchi Sea village of Kivalina, beavers have colonized the Wulik River, the main source of fresh water for the Inupiat Eskimo villagers. This is a concern as beaver feces…

  • Earth Hour: Making it Count

    Earth Hour: Making it Count

    The past Saturday 26 of March, people in 131 countries switched off their lights for an hour at 8:30pm local time to celebrate Earth Hour as a way to express their concern about the planet. Major iconic buildings and landmarks went dark, including the Empire State Building in NYC, the Beijing National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest),…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/20

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/20

    USDA Funds Research on Crops and Climate Change, Businessweek, Mar. 21 The federal government is investing $60 million in three major studies on the effects of climate change on crops and forests. This adaptation strategy is meant to help farmers and foresters maintain their supply of food and timber, while experiencing shifting weather patterns. The…

  • Climate Change to Exacerbate Rising Food Prices

    Climate Change to Exacerbate Rising Food Prices

    Despite all human provisions to maintain a steady and even increasing food supply, post-Green-Revolution agriculture remains heavily dependent on seasonal weather. Just in the past few years, weather extremes caused significant jumps in food prices, causing social, economic, and political disturbances in both developing and developed countries. Between 2006 and 2008, world average prices rose…

  • La Niña Subsiding, Atlantic Climate Phenomenon Forming

    La Niña Subsiding, Atlantic Climate Phenomenon Forming

    A return to near normal conditions in the Pacific doesn’t mean there aren’t other interesting climatic phenomenon afoot.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/13

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/13

    Untapped crop data from Africa predicts corn peril if temperatures rise, EurekAlert, Mar. 13 Stanford agricultural scientist David Lobell and researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center have found that data from 20,000 experimental crop trials in sub-Saharan Africa show a clear negative effect of warming on corn production. Their research indicates that even…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/06

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/06

    NASA Reels From Climate Science Setbacks, AFP, Mar. 6 NASA’s $424 million Glory satellite, meant to monitor aerosols and solar radiation, crashed into the Pacific last week. Climate scientists were relying on the satellite data to fill critical information gaps. The accident comes at an inopportune time, as Congress is in the process of determining…

  • Video: Climate and Public Health

    Video: Climate and Public Health

    Climate and public-health communities are learning to speak each other’s language to improve decision making. Watch our short video to learn more.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/27

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/27

    Fact-Free Science, New York Times, Feb. 25 President Obama, advocating science as the means to a better future, requested increases in his budget proposal for scientific research and education, especially for developing alternative energy. According to research completed by the Center for American Progress, a majority of Republicans in Congress do not consider climate change…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/27

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/27

    Warming Brings Unwelcome Change to Alaska Villages, Anchorage Daily News, Mar. 27 The changing climate is leading to health concerns in some Alaskan villages. In the Chukchi Sea village of Kivalina, beavers have colonized the Wulik River, the main source of fresh water for the Inupiat Eskimo villagers. This is a concern as beaver feces…

  • Earth Hour: Making it Count

    Earth Hour: Making it Count

    The past Saturday 26 of March, people in 131 countries switched off their lights for an hour at 8:30pm local time to celebrate Earth Hour as a way to express their concern about the planet. Major iconic buildings and landmarks went dark, including the Empire State Building in NYC, the Beijing National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest),…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/20

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/20

    USDA Funds Research on Crops and Climate Change, Businessweek, Mar. 21 The federal government is investing $60 million in three major studies on the effects of climate change on crops and forests. This adaptation strategy is meant to help farmers and foresters maintain their supply of food and timber, while experiencing shifting weather patterns. The…

  • Climate Change to Exacerbate Rising Food Prices

    Climate Change to Exacerbate Rising Food Prices

    Despite all human provisions to maintain a steady and even increasing food supply, post-Green-Revolution agriculture remains heavily dependent on seasonal weather. Just in the past few years, weather extremes caused significant jumps in food prices, causing social, economic, and political disturbances in both developing and developed countries. Between 2006 and 2008, world average prices rose…

  • La Niña Subsiding, Atlantic Climate Phenomenon Forming

    La Niña Subsiding, Atlantic Climate Phenomenon Forming

    A return to near normal conditions in the Pacific doesn’t mean there aren’t other interesting climatic phenomenon afoot.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/13

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/13

    Untapped crop data from Africa predicts corn peril if temperatures rise, EurekAlert, Mar. 13 Stanford agricultural scientist David Lobell and researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center have found that data from 20,000 experimental crop trials in sub-Saharan Africa show a clear negative effect of warming on corn production. Their research indicates that even…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/06

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 3/06

    NASA Reels From Climate Science Setbacks, AFP, Mar. 6 NASA’s $424 million Glory satellite, meant to monitor aerosols and solar radiation, crashed into the Pacific last week. Climate scientists were relying on the satellite data to fill critical information gaps. The accident comes at an inopportune time, as Congress is in the process of determining…

  • Video: Climate and Public Health

    Video: Climate and Public Health

    Climate and public-health communities are learning to speak each other’s language to improve decision making. Watch our short video to learn more.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/27

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/27

    Fact-Free Science, New York Times, Feb. 25 President Obama, advocating science as the means to a better future, requested increases in his budget proposal for scientific research and education, especially for developing alternative energy. According to research completed by the Center for American Progress, a majority of Republicans in Congress do not consider climate change…