State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate policy24

  • How, what, & where CCS on 4/21

    Okay, so you agree that CCS is part of a balanced climate stabilization portfolio. (Right? If not, sorry – I’ve been meaning to write that post for awhile.) Now what? How do we possibly store all of that gas safely, permanently, and legally? On April 21, the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is co-sponsoring, with…

  • Operational Coconut Yield Predictions

    The Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRI) has sustained an improved prediction scheme for national coconut production for the last four years. Coconuts are an important source of food and raw materials and also provide income to millions in the tropics. Coconuts are the most important food crop after rice in Sri Lanka and …

  • Climate Change and the right to water

    The Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, ended this past Sunday, March 22.  Held every three years, the Forum is organized by the World Water Council, an international multi-stakeholder platform designed to facilitate international cooperation on the management and use of water in an environmentally sustainable way.  The Forum ended with the Istanbul Ministerial…

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…

  • Giving new meaning to the word “hybrid”

    Last week, we learned that the Obama EPA will conclude that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant as defined by the Clean Air Act (CAA).  But a so-called endangerment finding on CO2 won’t lead to comprehensive CAA regulation, as I argued a few posts ago. Rather, the Obama administration will use the CAA as a…

  • Emissions standards to get Californicated

    Less than a week into his presidency, Barack Obama is poised to take his first step on the long road to averting climate catastrophe. The Times reports that Obama will allow California to raise automobile emissions standards for greenhouse gases above the national level. (OK, technically Obama has only ordered the EPA to review California’s…

  • Orange you glad we counted the carbon?

    There’s an article in today’s New York Times about PepsiCo’s effort to calculate the carbon footprint of its products, starting with Tropicana orange juice. A half-gallon of Tropicana represents the equivalent of 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This is roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a 5-mile drive to the grocery…

  • A Quick Guide to Obama’s Climate Picks, Part 1

    There’s been a lot of buzz lately (for example, here and here) about President-Elect Obama’s picks for key science and environment positions, many of who are advocates for a robust response to climate change. Who are these people and what will each of them be responsible for in the new administration? In part one of…

  • Around the world: Canada, Part II

    First off,  I apologize for the inexcusably long time between posts.  From now on I hope to post at least once a week (still not good enough, I know).  This is Part II of our look at the climate change reduction efforts (or lack thereof) of Canada, our fascinating yet sometimes forgotten neighbor to the…

  • How, what, & where CCS on 4/21

    Okay, so you agree that CCS is part of a balanced climate stabilization portfolio. (Right? If not, sorry – I’ve been meaning to write that post for awhile.) Now what? How do we possibly store all of that gas safely, permanently, and legally? On April 21, the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is co-sponsoring, with…

  • Operational Coconut Yield Predictions

    The Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRI) has sustained an improved prediction scheme for national coconut production for the last four years. Coconuts are an important source of food and raw materials and also provide income to millions in the tropics. Coconuts are the most important food crop after rice in Sri Lanka and …

  • Climate Change and the right to water

    The Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, ended this past Sunday, March 22.  Held every three years, the Forum is organized by the World Water Council, an international multi-stakeholder platform designed to facilitate international cooperation on the management and use of water in an environmentally sustainable way.  The Forum ended with the Istanbul Ministerial…

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…

  • Giving new meaning to the word “hybrid”

    Last week, we learned that the Obama EPA will conclude that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant as defined by the Clean Air Act (CAA).  But a so-called endangerment finding on CO2 won’t lead to comprehensive CAA regulation, as I argued a few posts ago. Rather, the Obama administration will use the CAA as a…

  • Emissions standards to get Californicated

    Less than a week into his presidency, Barack Obama is poised to take his first step on the long road to averting climate catastrophe. The Times reports that Obama will allow California to raise automobile emissions standards for greenhouse gases above the national level. (OK, technically Obama has only ordered the EPA to review California’s…

  • Orange you glad we counted the carbon?

    There’s an article in today’s New York Times about PepsiCo’s effort to calculate the carbon footprint of its products, starting with Tropicana orange juice. A half-gallon of Tropicana represents the equivalent of 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This is roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a 5-mile drive to the grocery…

  • A Quick Guide to Obama’s Climate Picks, Part 1

    There’s been a lot of buzz lately (for example, here and here) about President-Elect Obama’s picks for key science and environment positions, many of who are advocates for a robust response to climate change. Who are these people and what will each of them be responsible for in the new administration? In part one of…

  • Around the world: Canada, Part II

    First off,  I apologize for the inexcusably long time between posts.  From now on I hope to post at least once a week (still not good enough, I know).  This is Part II of our look at the climate change reduction efforts (or lack thereof) of Canada, our fascinating yet sometimes forgotten neighbor to the…