State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • MS Alums Identify Ways to Improve Sustainability Data Management

    MS Alums Identify Ways to Improve Sustainability Data Management

    Over the past few months, three 2014 graduates of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program Kristina Alnes, Charlotte Peyraud, and Christopher Economides along with current MSSM student Angeline Kong have been studying the U.S. market for sustainability and CSR data management solutions. The team—dubbed the ReScore Project Group— published their finding this week…

  • NYC, Gulf Coast Teens Talk About Life After Disaster

    NYC, Gulf Coast Teens Talk About Life After Disaster

    At the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, high school students in New York City posed questions about life during and after a catastrophe to a very particular group of experts – high school students in the Gulf Coast who had experienced the BP oil spill and had lived through as many as six hurricanes in…

  • Lessons From Germany: Can the US Succeed With Its Own Energiewende?

    Lessons From Germany: Can the US Succeed With Its Own Energiewende?

    Last month, M.S. in Sustainability Management alum Katrina Prutzman (’14) was selected to be a part of the Transatlantic Program for Young Technology Leaders organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce. As a member of this group, Katrina took part in a delegation trip to Germany in which attendees focused on the theme of…

  • Faculty Profile: Sara Tjossem

    Faculty Profile: Sara Tjossem

    For Sara Tjossem, a Senior Lecturer at the School of International and Public Affairs, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program is an exciting opportunity for her to engage with tomorrow’s environmental leaders. Tjossem says one of her favorite parts of the program is watching students form professional and personal connections they may not…

  • An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    At a panel discussion this week, Leon Billings and Thomas Jorling, two senior staff members who helped craft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other major environmental legislation in the 1970s, spoke about the bipartisan effort to pass that legislation, and the partisan divide that stymies Congress today.

  • MS Student Advocates for Sustainable Fashion

    MS Student Advocates for Sustainable Fashion

    After working in the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, current Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Ruth Penniston joined the program with the intention of helping to bridge the gap between scientists and the rest of the world. Recently, Ruth began an internship at a sustainable fashion company, Modavanti, where she…

  • MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    M.S. in Sustainability Management professor Ben Cook often tells his students that the past can provide critical lessons for how we manage sustainability challenges now and in the future. Thus, it is not surprising that Cook, whose research at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory focuses on drought, hydroclimate, and interactions between the land surface…

  • MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    The Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program now offers its first full-tuition grant, the Dean’s Environmental Science and Policy Fellowship. Apply by Nov. 1 for early admission.

  • MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    Alison Miller, a 2011 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, was recently named one of 2014 City & State’s top 40 under 40 Rising Stars. The media company, devoted to covering New York politics and policies, nominates 40 exceptional individuals each year who are leaving their mark on New York City.

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

  • MS Alums Identify Ways to Improve Sustainability Data Management

    MS Alums Identify Ways to Improve Sustainability Data Management

    Over the past few months, three 2014 graduates of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program Kristina Alnes, Charlotte Peyraud, and Christopher Economides along with current MSSM student Angeline Kong have been studying the U.S. market for sustainability and CSR data management solutions. The team—dubbed the ReScore Project Group— published their finding this week…

  • NYC, Gulf Coast Teens Talk About Life After Disaster

    NYC, Gulf Coast Teens Talk About Life After Disaster

    At the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, high school students in New York City posed questions about life during and after a catastrophe to a very particular group of experts – high school students in the Gulf Coast who had experienced the BP oil spill and had lived through as many as six hurricanes in…

  • Lessons From Germany: Can the US Succeed With Its Own Energiewende?

    Lessons From Germany: Can the US Succeed With Its Own Energiewende?

    Last month, M.S. in Sustainability Management alum Katrina Prutzman (’14) was selected to be a part of the Transatlantic Program for Young Technology Leaders organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce. As a member of this group, Katrina took part in a delegation trip to Germany in which attendees focused on the theme of…

  • Faculty Profile: Sara Tjossem

    Faculty Profile: Sara Tjossem

    For Sara Tjossem, a Senior Lecturer at the School of International and Public Affairs, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program is an exciting opportunity for her to engage with tomorrow’s environmental leaders. Tjossem says one of her favorite parts of the program is watching students form professional and personal connections they may not…

  • An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law

    At a panel discussion this week, Leon Billings and Thomas Jorling, two senior staff members who helped craft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other major environmental legislation in the 1970s, spoke about the bipartisan effort to pass that legislation, and the partisan divide that stymies Congress today.

  • MS Student Advocates for Sustainable Fashion

    MS Student Advocates for Sustainable Fashion

    After working in the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, current Master of Science in Sustainability Management student Ruth Penniston joined the program with the intention of helping to bridge the gap between scientists and the rest of the world. Recently, Ruth began an internship at a sustainable fashion company, Modavanti, where she…

  • MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    MS Professor Looks to Past for Future Drought Mitigation

    M.S. in Sustainability Management professor Ben Cook often tells his students that the past can provide critical lessons for how we manage sustainability challenges now and in the future. Thus, it is not surprising that Cook, whose research at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory focuses on drought, hydroclimate, and interactions between the land surface…

  • MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    MPA Program Announces Full Fellowship Opportunity—Apply Now

    The Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program now offers its first full-tuition grant, the Dean’s Environmental Science and Policy Fellowship. Apply by Nov. 1 for early admission.

  • MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    MPA Alum Named to City and State’s 40 Under 40

    Alison Miller, a 2011 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, was recently named one of 2014 City & State’s top 40 under 40 Rising Stars. The media company, devoted to covering New York politics and policies, nominates 40 exceptional individuals each year who are leaving their mark on New York City.