State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate science19

  • ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    We’re talking to experts around the Earth Institute about what they’re working on, what they would like people to know about it, and what inspired them to go into their field.

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.

  • James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute and former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is being honored with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Denying the science of global warming is absurd, but accepting the science of climate change does not require decision-makers to accept the policy prescriptions of climate scientists.

  • Spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of this burgeoning field.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Forecasting for the In-Between

    Forecasting for the In-Between

    We can do a good job forecasting the weather for a week or two, and we can settle on what the climate is likely to do season to season, a month to a year into the future. But what about in-between?

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    We’re talking to experts around the Earth Institute about what they’re working on, what they would like people to know about it, and what inspired them to go into their field.

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.

  • James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute and former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is being honored with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Denying the science of global warming is absurd, but accepting the science of climate change does not require decision-makers to accept the policy prescriptions of climate scientists.

  • Spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of this burgeoning field.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Forecasting for the In-Between

    Forecasting for the In-Between

    We can do a good job forecasting the weather for a week or two, and we can settle on what the climate is likely to do season to season, a month to a year into the future. But what about in-between?