State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate50

  • New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

    New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

    An article in the New York Times has prompted debate over the effects of hydrofracking, a means of obtaining natural gas, on drinking water supplies.

  • Biodiversity and Health Extinction by Infection: Biodiversity makes a difference.

    Biodiversity and Health Extinction by Infection: Biodiversity makes a difference.

    Throughout the past several decades, countless species have been infected by non-native deadly diseases and ultimately crashed in numbers. A survey of important case studies highlight the importance of mitigating the virulence of the planet’s pathogens.

  • Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

  • How Plants Could Impact Global Warming

    How Plants Could Impact Global Warming

    Biodiversity influences climate at local, regional and global levels, yet most climate models do not take biodiversity into consideration because its variables and effects are too diverse and complex to compute.

  • Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

    Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

    These record breaking amounts of snow have caused numerous concerns both economical and environmental and as snowfalls pile up cities run out of room to put the snow. One suggested solution was to dump the snow into waterways even though it became a mixture of many pollutants including, but not limited to, motor oil and…

  • In the Arctic More Than Elsewhere, Things Are Heating Up

    In the Arctic More Than Elsewhere, Things Are Heating Up

    According to a new international study, water flowing into the Arctic Ocean from the North Atlantic is the warmest it has been in the past 2,000 years.

  • Moraines and spaghetti in the Transantarctic Mountains

    Moraines and spaghetti in the Transantarctic Mountains

    Our Antarctica Secret’s team starts collecting samples at their first remote field site at Mt Howe, Transantarctic Mountains, about 180 miles from the South Pole.

  • Michigan Case Demonstrates Growing Importance of Courts for Water Issues

    Michigan Case Demonstrates Growing Importance of Courts for Water Issues

    According to a recent report by Deutsche Bank, the number of US lawsuits related directly or indirectly to climate change rose by nearly 300% between 2009 and 2010. In addition to cases focused more broadly on climate change, there have also been a growing number of cases focused specifically on water regulations. Examples of the…

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

Columbia Climate School is bringing bold ideas, leading experts, and groundbreaking research to Climate Week NYC. Explore our events, stories, and updates as we help shape the conversation on climate action across New York City.

  • New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

    New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

    An article in the New York Times has prompted debate over the effects of hydrofracking, a means of obtaining natural gas, on drinking water supplies.

  • Biodiversity and Health Extinction by Infection: Biodiversity makes a difference.

    Biodiversity and Health Extinction by Infection: Biodiversity makes a difference.

    Throughout the past several decades, countless species have been infected by non-native deadly diseases and ultimately crashed in numbers. A survey of important case studies highlight the importance of mitigating the virulence of the planet’s pathogens.

  • Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

  • How Plants Could Impact Global Warming

    How Plants Could Impact Global Warming

    Biodiversity influences climate at local, regional and global levels, yet most climate models do not take biodiversity into consideration because its variables and effects are too diverse and complex to compute.

  • Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

    Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

    These record breaking amounts of snow have caused numerous concerns both economical and environmental and as snowfalls pile up cities run out of room to put the snow. One suggested solution was to dump the snow into waterways even though it became a mixture of many pollutants including, but not limited to, motor oil and…

  • In the Arctic More Than Elsewhere, Things Are Heating Up

    In the Arctic More Than Elsewhere, Things Are Heating Up

    According to a new international study, water flowing into the Arctic Ocean from the North Atlantic is the warmest it has been in the past 2,000 years.

  • Moraines and spaghetti in the Transantarctic Mountains

    Moraines and spaghetti in the Transantarctic Mountains

    Our Antarctica Secret’s team starts collecting samples at their first remote field site at Mt Howe, Transantarctic Mountains, about 180 miles from the South Pole.

  • Michigan Case Demonstrates Growing Importance of Courts for Water Issues

    Michigan Case Demonstrates Growing Importance of Courts for Water Issues

    According to a recent report by Deutsche Bank, the number of US lawsuits related directly or indirectly to climate change rose by nearly 300% between 2009 and 2010. In addition to cases focused more broadly on climate change, there have also been a growing number of cases focused specifically on water regulations. Examples of the…

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.