State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

coal mining

  • Life After Coal: The Decline and Rise of West Virginia Coal Country

    Life After Coal: The Decline and Rise of West Virginia Coal Country

    Areas formerly reliant on fossil fuel extraction can reinvent themselves and remain relevant in a decarbonizing economy. West Virginia shows that ignoring the need for that transition for too long results in unnecessary pain.

  • Will China Take the Green Mantle From the U.S.?

    Will China Take the Green Mantle From the U.S.?

    While President Trump has promised to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, China’s President Xi Jinxing has vowed to continue to tackle climate change and honor his country’s obligations. Will China become the global leader in combating climate change?

  • Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop removal mining, an environmentally devastating form of coal mining that involves blowing off the tops of mountains, has already leveled over 500 mountains and buried 1,200 miles of streams in the Appalachians.

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Life After Coal: The Decline and Rise of West Virginia Coal Country

    Life After Coal: The Decline and Rise of West Virginia Coal Country

    Areas formerly reliant on fossil fuel extraction can reinvent themselves and remain relevant in a decarbonizing economy. West Virginia shows that ignoring the need for that transition for too long results in unnecessary pain.

  • Will China Take the Green Mantle From the U.S.?

    Will China Take the Green Mantle From the U.S.?

    While President Trump has promised to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, China’s President Xi Jinxing has vowed to continue to tackle climate change and honor his country’s obligations. Will China become the global leader in combating climate change?

  • Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop Removal: Laying Waste to Streams and Forests

    Mountaintop removal mining, an environmentally devastating form of coal mining that involves blowing off the tops of mountains, has already leveled over 500 mountains and buried 1,200 miles of streams in the Appalachians.