State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

conservation8

  • Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

    Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

    “This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Wildlife: The Other High-Value Resource

    Wildlife: The Other High-Value Resource

    As wildlife trafficking has become more lucrative, widespread and organized over the past few years, the definition of high-value natural resources should be modified to include the commercial values of wildlife and its products.

  • Aquanauts Take on New York Water Issues

    Aquanauts Take on New York Water Issues

    Working with engineering PhD candidate Rob Elliott, we imagined a green roof and blue roof system that would serve as a space for environmental education and student wellness, the culmination of a semester spent examining and taking action on stormwater management issues in New York City.

  • Graduate Applies Skills Towards Wildlife Conservation

    Graduate Applies Skills Towards Wildlife Conservation

    Who needs to take a break when you are out to help save the planet? This was the mindset of Isabel Ricker, who graduated from the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development in May 2012. After securing a prestigious summer internship at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Isabel has landed a full-time internship with…

  • Reflections on an Ecological Study Abroad Experience

    Reflections on an Ecological Study Abroad Experience

    “Everything is so alive in the forest. After a nice summer rain it teems with insects, birds and the famous coquis, Puerto Rico’s native frogs. The song of the coquis take a little getting used to, but they soon lull you to sleep in the humid nights,” says Jennifer Mendez, a student in the first…

  • New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation provides executive training in environmental sustainability through science, policy, and economics; we invite you to learn from our leading experts and practitioners to become an effective environmental leader and decision-maker.

  • A Forest Reserve Is Not an Island

    A Forest Reserve Is Not an Island

    Biologist Marina Cords has been studying monkey social behavior in western Kenya’s protected Kakamega Forest since 1979. Her work has led to insights about how primates manage conflicts, mate and carry out other social functions closely related to human behavior.

  • Scientists Discover New Species of Monkey

    Scientists Discover New Species of Monkey

    In a gigantic and remote rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a team of scientists have discovered a new species of Old World monkey known as the “Lesula.”

  • Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

    Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

    “This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Wildlife: The Other High-Value Resource

    Wildlife: The Other High-Value Resource

    As wildlife trafficking has become more lucrative, widespread and organized over the past few years, the definition of high-value natural resources should be modified to include the commercial values of wildlife and its products.

  • Aquanauts Take on New York Water Issues

    Aquanauts Take on New York Water Issues

    Working with engineering PhD candidate Rob Elliott, we imagined a green roof and blue roof system that would serve as a space for environmental education and student wellness, the culmination of a semester spent examining and taking action on stormwater management issues in New York City.

  • Graduate Applies Skills Towards Wildlife Conservation

    Graduate Applies Skills Towards Wildlife Conservation

    Who needs to take a break when you are out to help save the planet? This was the mindset of Isabel Ricker, who graduated from the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development in May 2012. After securing a prestigious summer internship at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Isabel has landed a full-time internship with…

  • Reflections on an Ecological Study Abroad Experience

    Reflections on an Ecological Study Abroad Experience

    “Everything is so alive in the forest. After a nice summer rain it teems with insects, birds and the famous coquis, Puerto Rico’s native frogs. The song of the coquis take a little getting used to, but they soon lull you to sleep in the humid nights,” says Jennifer Mendez, a student in the first…

  • New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation provides executive training in environmental sustainability through science, policy, and economics; we invite you to learn from our leading experts and practitioners to become an effective environmental leader and decision-maker.

  • A Forest Reserve Is Not an Island

    A Forest Reserve Is Not an Island

    Biologist Marina Cords has been studying monkey social behavior in western Kenya’s protected Kakamega Forest since 1979. Her work has led to insights about how primates manage conflicts, mate and carry out other social functions closely related to human behavior.

  • Scientists Discover New Species of Monkey

    Scientists Discover New Species of Monkey

    In a gigantic and remote rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a team of scientists have discovered a new species of Old World monkey known as the “Lesula.”