State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

conservation16

  • Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    It occurred to me while reading noted historian Douglas Brinkley’s new book The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom 1879-1960 that some things don’t seem to change. Brinkley’s book chronicles the efforts of the Federal government to save wild Alaska from the extraction industries, mining, timber and fisheries primarily. The notion over one hundred years…

  • 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.

  • Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future: A Symposium Celebrating the Diversity of Life on Earth

    Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future: A Symposium Celebrating the Diversity of Life on Earth

    On March 1st, 2011, CERC will host Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future, a day-long symposium that brings together leaders in biodiversity research, conservation, and education to present on the extraordinary diversity of the natural world and its role in securing a sustainable future. The day’s panels will discuss the range of efforts to study, conserve,…

  • Racing to Save the Planet: Conservation Efforts in the Gulf Region

    Racing to Save the Planet: Conservation Efforts in the Gulf Region

    The April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana continues to pour thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. The spill—which is being heralded as the worst oil disaster in US history—is quickly encroaching upon the habitats of hundreds of species in the Gulf…

  • Urbanization, Deforestation, Reforestation

    2009 was noted as the first year that more people lived in urban spaces than in rural areas.  The hope that a majority urban population would slow the clearing of tropical forests — our most effective carbon sinks — seems, however, to have been misplaced. The idea was simple: if more people moved into forested…

Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

  • Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    It occurred to me while reading noted historian Douglas Brinkley’s new book The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom 1879-1960 that some things don’t seem to change. Brinkley’s book chronicles the efforts of the Federal government to save wild Alaska from the extraction industries, mining, timber and fisheries primarily. The notion over one hundred years…

  • 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.

  • Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future: A Symposium Celebrating the Diversity of Life on Earth

    Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future: A Symposium Celebrating the Diversity of Life on Earth

    On March 1st, 2011, CERC will host Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future, a day-long symposium that brings together leaders in biodiversity research, conservation, and education to present on the extraordinary diversity of the natural world and its role in securing a sustainable future. The day’s panels will discuss the range of efforts to study, conserve,…

  • Racing to Save the Planet: Conservation Efforts in the Gulf Region

    Racing to Save the Planet: Conservation Efforts in the Gulf Region

    The April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana continues to pour thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. The spill—which is being heralded as the worst oil disaster in US history—is quickly encroaching upon the habitats of hundreds of species in the Gulf…

  • Urbanization, Deforestation, Reforestation

    2009 was noted as the first year that more people lived in urban spaces than in rural areas.  The hope that a majority urban population would slow the clearing of tropical forests — our most effective carbon sinks — seems, however, to have been misplaced. The idea was simple: if more people moved into forested…