State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

globalization2

  • Interdependence, Sustainability, and a Sense of Place

    Interdependence, Sustainability, and a Sense of Place

    As important as global economic and cultural forces may be, I see the push for distinctive identity and a sense of place ensuring that communities and nation states will maintain their power in a more globally interconnected world. Part of it is expressed in Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) local politics that resists development…

  • Moving the Global Economy Toward Sustainability

    Using something finite and dumping it into a hole in the ground is less efficient and more costly than a system build on photosynthesis, renewable resources, and reuse of finite resources. In other words, an organization managed according to the principles of sustainability should be able to outcompete the organization sticking to the old, polluting…

  • Education and Sustainability

    o many different types of skills are needed to transition to the renewable economy, some element of our educational process should be devoted to identifying what children like to do and what they are good at. Those may not be the same thing, and it is important for people to identify the useful skills they…

  • Electoral Politics and Environmental Sustainability

    The political consensus for sustainability that could emerge might be based on increased funding for the science of renewable energy, battery technology, energy efficiency and smart grids. It could also include incentives for private sector investment to commercialize new energy technologies, and tax expenditures that make it easier for consumers to adopt these new technologies.

  • Volkswagen’s Shame and Challenge to Sustainability Management

    Let’s remember that America is part of a global economy, and if we are not aggressive about sustainability we may find ourselves left behind and noncompetitive in the new businesses that emerge in renewable energy and recycled materials.

  • The Centrality of Sustainability

    The most powerful political argument for protecting the planet is that to retain what we have, we must gradually change how we deliver the goods and services that people enjoy. The argument that people must give up what they enjoy does not win elections.

  • Webcast With Jeffrey Sachs

    Tomorrow, Sept. 14 at 10am (EST), Jeff Sachs is participating in a webcast on “Globalization in the Era of Environmental Crisis.” The discussion is part of the Raul Prebisch lecture series and organized by the UN Commission on Trade and Development. Should be very interesting considering the current financial crisis and as a run-up to…

  • Interdependence, Sustainability, and a Sense of Place

    Interdependence, Sustainability, and a Sense of Place

    As important as global economic and cultural forces may be, I see the push for distinctive identity and a sense of place ensuring that communities and nation states will maintain their power in a more globally interconnected world. Part of it is expressed in Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) local politics that resists development…

  • Moving the Global Economy Toward Sustainability

    Using something finite and dumping it into a hole in the ground is less efficient and more costly than a system build on photosynthesis, renewable resources, and reuse of finite resources. In other words, an organization managed according to the principles of sustainability should be able to outcompete the organization sticking to the old, polluting…

  • Education and Sustainability

    o many different types of skills are needed to transition to the renewable economy, some element of our educational process should be devoted to identifying what children like to do and what they are good at. Those may not be the same thing, and it is important for people to identify the useful skills they…

  • Electoral Politics and Environmental Sustainability

    The political consensus for sustainability that could emerge might be based on increased funding for the science of renewable energy, battery technology, energy efficiency and smart grids. It could also include incentives for private sector investment to commercialize new energy technologies, and tax expenditures that make it easier for consumers to adopt these new technologies.

  • Volkswagen’s Shame and Challenge to Sustainability Management

    Let’s remember that America is part of a global economy, and if we are not aggressive about sustainability we may find ourselves left behind and noncompetitive in the new businesses that emerge in renewable energy and recycled materials.

  • The Centrality of Sustainability

    The most powerful political argument for protecting the planet is that to retain what we have, we must gradually change how we deliver the goods and services that people enjoy. The argument that people must give up what they enjoy does not win elections.

  • Webcast With Jeffrey Sachs

    Tomorrow, Sept. 14 at 10am (EST), Jeff Sachs is participating in a webcast on “Globalization in the Era of Environmental Crisis.” The discussion is part of the Raul Prebisch lecture series and organized by the UN Commission on Trade and Development. Should be very interesting considering the current financial crisis and as a run-up to…