State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

engineering

  • Trends in Early 21st Century Spaceflight

    Trends in Early 21st Century Spaceflight

    This multimedia essay explores some of the trends shaping the contemporary aerospace industry.

  • Alumni Spotlight: Centering Humans in Asia’s Energy Transition

    Alumni Spotlight: Centering Humans in Asia’s Energy Transition

    MPA-ESP graduate Srishti Mahajan discusses how the program helped advance not only her career but her understanding of human dynamics.

  • Nick Frearson Designs Devices for Earth’s Most Extreme Environments

    Nick Frearson Designs Devices for Earth’s Most Extreme Environments

    An engineer at Lamont-Doherty, Frearson builds instruments that help scientists collect vital data in Antarctica, the deep sea, and at the top of volcanoes.

  • Toward Resilient Cities and Landscapes

    Toward Resilient Cities and Landscapes

    The Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at GSAPP is dedicated to helping communities thrive in an age of climate uncertainty. Missed the launch event? Watch it here.

  • Klaus Lackner Takes Step Toward Workable Carbon Capture Technology

    Klaus Lackner Takes Step Toward Workable Carbon Capture Technology

    Klaus Lackner’s approach to slowing global warming is to scrub carbon dioxide from the air—literally.

  • Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving sustainable water sustainability in Brazil’s semi-arid northeast will involve more than just building pipes, pumps and water towers: it will require significant changes in the ways water is monitored, distributed and used throughout the region.

  • Cities at a Turning Point

    Scientists warn that many cities around the world may soon face big climate-change challenges: rising seas; shrinking water supplies; killer summer heat waves; rises in water-borne diseases as temperatures go up and sewers are swamped. No one is predicting that, say, London or Miami will simply drop beneath the waves–but these and other cities will probably have to be redesigned if…

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Trends in Early 21st Century Spaceflight

    Trends in Early 21st Century Spaceflight

    This multimedia essay explores some of the trends shaping the contemporary aerospace industry.

  • Alumni Spotlight: Centering Humans in Asia’s Energy Transition

    Alumni Spotlight: Centering Humans in Asia’s Energy Transition

    MPA-ESP graduate Srishti Mahajan discusses how the program helped advance not only her career but her understanding of human dynamics.

  • Nick Frearson Designs Devices for Earth’s Most Extreme Environments

    Nick Frearson Designs Devices for Earth’s Most Extreme Environments

    An engineer at Lamont-Doherty, Frearson builds instruments that help scientists collect vital data in Antarctica, the deep sea, and at the top of volcanoes.

  • Toward Resilient Cities and Landscapes

    Toward Resilient Cities and Landscapes

    The Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at GSAPP is dedicated to helping communities thrive in an age of climate uncertainty. Missed the launch event? Watch it here.

  • Klaus Lackner Takes Step Toward Workable Carbon Capture Technology

    Klaus Lackner Takes Step Toward Workable Carbon Capture Technology

    Klaus Lackner’s approach to slowing global warming is to scrub carbon dioxide from the air—literally.

  • Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving Water Sustainability in Ceará, Brazil

    Achieving sustainable water sustainability in Brazil’s semi-arid northeast will involve more than just building pipes, pumps and water towers: it will require significant changes in the ways water is monitored, distributed and used throughout the region.

  • Cities at a Turning Point

    Scientists warn that many cities around the world may soon face big climate-change challenges: rising seas; shrinking water supplies; killer summer heat waves; rises in water-borne diseases as temperatures go up and sewers are swamped. No one is predicting that, say, London or Miami will simply drop beneath the waves–but these and other cities will probably have to be redesigned if…