State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

education23

  • 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.

  • Tree Rings and Teachable Moments

    Tree Rings and Teachable Moments

    Nicole Davi, a postdoctoral scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, thinks tree rings are an ideal way to motivate students to collect and analyze data as well as to learn about climate change.

  • Glenn Denning’s Road to Bali, and the Earth Institute

    Glenn Denning’s Road to Bali, and the Earth Institute

    Glenn Denning grew up in Brisbane, Australia, loved the outdoors and hated the idea of working in an office. And, he really didn’t have any urge to go to other countries. Then he happened to overhear a conversation in a hallway between two students. That bit of serendipity sent him on a road to a…

  • Next, Imbabura

    Next, Imbabura

    Today was a much longer climb up Imbabura, passing through more páramo until reaching our first Polylepis trees. Conveniently, they were marked by a little wooden sign. These are the trees that I hope to sample next week on Chimborazo.

  • Preparing for Chimborazo

    Preparing for Chimborazo

    I am staying with a friend’s family in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, and tomorrow will meet up with my climbing partner, Pablo Puruncajas, to prepare for our expedition. I am here to collect tree ring samples and put up a weather station on Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest peak, to provide climate data about this region, which…

  • The Missing Piece in Sustainable Peace

    The Missing Piece in Sustainable Peace

    We know very little about what “peace” is (and what it isn’t), the conditions that promote it, the motives that drive people to work for it, how to measure it, and how to build a climate and infrastructure that sustains it. Why? Because we don’t study peace. We study war, violence, aggression and conflict—and peace…

  • The US Jobs Challenge and Its Future

    The US Jobs Challenge and Its Future

    Collaboration between government and the private sector will be essential to substantially increasing job opportunities. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% in September 2012 – its lowest level since January 2009.

  • Theater Group to Perform “Climate Cabaret” at Lamont Open House

    Theater Group to Perform “Climate Cabaret” at Lamont Open House

    “Field Trip: A Climate Cabaret,” at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Open House on Oct. 6, will use song and dance to focus on the research of prominent female scientists.

  • Practicum Introduces Students to Earth Institute Research

    Each fall the Earth Institute offers a unique insight into the cutting-edge research of institute centers and units and the policy implications of that research in the Earth Institute Practicum. The practicum provides an opportunity to learn about issues in sustainable development, sustainability management and environmental science from faculty and researchers in these areas.

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.

  • 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.

  • Tree Rings and Teachable Moments

    Tree Rings and Teachable Moments

    Nicole Davi, a postdoctoral scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, thinks tree rings are an ideal way to motivate students to collect and analyze data as well as to learn about climate change.

  • Glenn Denning’s Road to Bali, and the Earth Institute

    Glenn Denning’s Road to Bali, and the Earth Institute

    Glenn Denning grew up in Brisbane, Australia, loved the outdoors and hated the idea of working in an office. And, he really didn’t have any urge to go to other countries. Then he happened to overhear a conversation in a hallway between two students. That bit of serendipity sent him on a road to a…

  • Next, Imbabura

    Next, Imbabura

    Today was a much longer climb up Imbabura, passing through more páramo until reaching our first Polylepis trees. Conveniently, they were marked by a little wooden sign. These are the trees that I hope to sample next week on Chimborazo.

  • Preparing for Chimborazo

    Preparing for Chimborazo

    I am staying with a friend’s family in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, and tomorrow will meet up with my climbing partner, Pablo Puruncajas, to prepare for our expedition. I am here to collect tree ring samples and put up a weather station on Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest peak, to provide climate data about this region, which…

  • The Missing Piece in Sustainable Peace

    The Missing Piece in Sustainable Peace

    We know very little about what “peace” is (and what it isn’t), the conditions that promote it, the motives that drive people to work for it, how to measure it, and how to build a climate and infrastructure that sustains it. Why? Because we don’t study peace. We study war, violence, aggression and conflict—and peace…

  • The US Jobs Challenge and Its Future

    The US Jobs Challenge and Its Future

    Collaboration between government and the private sector will be essential to substantially increasing job opportunities. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% in September 2012 – its lowest level since January 2009.

  • Theater Group to Perform “Climate Cabaret” at Lamont Open House

    Theater Group to Perform “Climate Cabaret” at Lamont Open House

    “Field Trip: A Climate Cabaret,” at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Open House on Oct. 6, will use song and dance to focus on the research of prominent female scientists.

  • Practicum Introduces Students to Earth Institute Research

    Each fall the Earth Institute offers a unique insight into the cutting-edge research of institute centers and units and the policy implications of that research in the Earth Institute Practicum. The practicum provides an opportunity to learn about issues in sustainable development, sustainability management and environmental science from faculty and researchers in these areas.