State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

education23

  • Composter Puts College Food Waste in Its Place

    Composter Puts College Food Waste in Its Place

    Columbia has welcomed a composting machine to campus, a first at a New York City university. Accepting food scraps, such as banana peels, coffee grounds and egg shells, the composter will provide a way to recycle the urban campus’s food waste while also serving as an educational tool.

  • Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series

    Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series

    The Earth Institute’s Columbia Climate Center presents “Managing Carbon on Land in the Context of Climate Change,” with Richard Houghton, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center as part of a new Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series.

  • Making Connections and Celebrating Literacy, City to City

    Making Connections and Celebrating Literacy, City to City

    Across sub-Saharan Africa, where MCI is working to help selected secondary cities attain the Millennium Development Goals, more than 150 million adults, or 38% of the adult population, lack basic literacy skills. Fortunately, a number of organizations are working hard to change this. LitWorld, a NY-based NGO dedicated to improving global literacy and a long-time…

  • Charismatic Megaflora: What do Old Trees Look Like?

    Charismatic Megaflora: What do Old Trees Look Like?

    Charismatic megaflora? What kind of a tree might that be? As with many things, one person’s charismatic megaflora is another person’s tree. For myself, a tree that would draw and hold my attention as a younger person/student is very different than my current definition of a charismatic tree.

  • Rivers and the Road

    Rivers and the Road

    We spent a day on the islands (chars) in the Brahmaputra River seeing the geology and talking to the residents. Then after an evening of feasting and dancing in our new Saris and lungis, we hit the road for the trip to the Sundarbans.

  • Class Trip – to Bangladesh

    Class Trip – to Bangladesh

    To help my students in a class on hazards of Bangladesh better understand the country, I am taking them there to experience Bangladesh for themselves.

  • Extraordinary Support for Unprecedented Global Challenges

    Extraordinary Support for Unprecedented Global Challenges

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report for fiscal year 2011 is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary support to unprecedented global challenges, many of which are outlined in this report. We have highlighted some of our innovative projects in research, policy, and education, as well as the partnerships…

  • Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

    Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

    Recently deciding to end the sale of bottled water on its campus, the University of Vermont joins a growing group colleges and universities attempting make more environmentally friendly decisions. Although largely student driven movements, these changes are not always met by acceptance and praise by everyone in the community.

  • The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    While the New Jersey bill failed, it is going to be discussed in New Jersey’s Senate Environment Committee on Monday, January 30, 2012. The discussion is not yet over regarding New Jersey’s public forests. The discussion about ecosystem productivity over time also continues in the forum of the Native Tree Society. Specifically, this post was picked…

Blue banner with NYC background: "Columbia Climate School Class Day 2025 -- Congratulations Graduates"
  • Composter Puts College Food Waste in Its Place

    Composter Puts College Food Waste in Its Place

    Columbia has welcomed a composting machine to campus, a first at a New York City university. Accepting food scraps, such as banana peels, coffee grounds and egg shells, the composter will provide a way to recycle the urban campus’s food waste while also serving as an educational tool.

  • Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series

    Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series

    The Earth Institute’s Columbia Climate Center presents “Managing Carbon on Land in the Context of Climate Change,” with Richard Houghton, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center as part of a new Carbon Management Distinguished Speaker Series.

  • Making Connections and Celebrating Literacy, City to City

    Making Connections and Celebrating Literacy, City to City

    Across sub-Saharan Africa, where MCI is working to help selected secondary cities attain the Millennium Development Goals, more than 150 million adults, or 38% of the adult population, lack basic literacy skills. Fortunately, a number of organizations are working hard to change this. LitWorld, a NY-based NGO dedicated to improving global literacy and a long-time…

  • Charismatic Megaflora: What do Old Trees Look Like?

    Charismatic Megaflora: What do Old Trees Look Like?

    Charismatic megaflora? What kind of a tree might that be? As with many things, one person’s charismatic megaflora is another person’s tree. For myself, a tree that would draw and hold my attention as a younger person/student is very different than my current definition of a charismatic tree.

  • Rivers and the Road

    Rivers and the Road

    We spent a day on the islands (chars) in the Brahmaputra River seeing the geology and talking to the residents. Then after an evening of feasting and dancing in our new Saris and lungis, we hit the road for the trip to the Sundarbans.

  • Class Trip – to Bangladesh

    Class Trip – to Bangladesh

    To help my students in a class on hazards of Bangladesh better understand the country, I am taking them there to experience Bangladesh for themselves.

  • Extraordinary Support for Unprecedented Global Challenges

    Extraordinary Support for Unprecedented Global Challenges

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report for fiscal year 2011 is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary support to unprecedented global challenges, many of which are outlined in this report. We have highlighted some of our innovative projects in research, policy, and education, as well as the partnerships…

  • Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

    Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

    Recently deciding to end the sale of bottled water on its campus, the University of Vermont joins a growing group colleges and universities attempting make more environmentally friendly decisions. Although largely student driven movements, these changes are not always met by acceptance and praise by everyone in the community.

  • The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

    While the New Jersey bill failed, it is going to be discussed in New Jersey’s Senate Environment Committee on Monday, January 30, 2012. The discussion is not yet over regarding New Jersey’s public forests. The discussion about ecosystem productivity over time also continues in the forum of the Native Tree Society. Specifically, this post was picked…