State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: impact stories4

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • By the Numbers: Air Quality and Pollution in New York City

    By the Numbers: Air Quality and Pollution in New York City

    New York City is known for many things, but having clean air isn’t one of them. Explore some of the issues and challenges the Big Apple faces in clearing NYC’s air through interactive maps and data.

  • The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Mailman School of Public Health will hold a two-day meeting to talk about how climate influences issues of public health, from heat waves to infectious diseases. The event will be livestreamed, and you also can follow it on Twitter at #healthclimate2016.

  • New Rules to Hold Mining Industry Accountable for Cleanups

    New Rules to Hold Mining Industry Accountable for Cleanups

    A federal court has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that mining companies provide financial assurance that they can pay for any harm to the environment from their operations.

  • Going Electric Adds up to a Good Idea for NYC Buses

    Going Electric Adds up to a Good Idea for NYC Buses

    New York City Transit is considering adding electric buses to its fleet. The purchase price of electric buses is higher than for diesel buses-, but using them would reduce harmful emissions. So is this a good idea?

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.

  • Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Over the past half-million years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean has seen five spikes in the amount of iron-laden dust blown in from the continents. In theory, those bursts should have turbo-charged the growth of carbon-capturing algae, but a new study shows that the excess iron had little to no effect.

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • By the Numbers: Air Quality and Pollution in New York City

    By the Numbers: Air Quality and Pollution in New York City

    New York City is known for many things, but having clean air isn’t one of them. Explore some of the issues and challenges the Big Apple faces in clearing NYC’s air through interactive maps and data.

  • The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    The Connection Between Climate and Public Health

    International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Mailman School of Public Health will hold a two-day meeting to talk about how climate influences issues of public health, from heat waves to infectious diseases. The event will be livestreamed, and you also can follow it on Twitter at #healthclimate2016.

  • New Rules to Hold Mining Industry Accountable for Cleanups

    New Rules to Hold Mining Industry Accountable for Cleanups

    A federal court has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that mining companies provide financial assurance that they can pay for any harm to the environment from their operations.

  • Going Electric Adds up to a Good Idea for NYC Buses

    Going Electric Adds up to a Good Idea for NYC Buses

    New York City Transit is considering adding electric buses to its fleet. The purchase price of electric buses is higher than for diesel buses-, but using them would reduce harmful emissions. So is this a good idea?

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.

  • Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Iron Fertilization Won’t Work in Equatorial Pacific, Study Suggests

    Over the past half-million years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean has seen five spikes in the amount of iron-laden dust blown in from the continents. In theory, those bursts should have turbo-charged the growth of carbon-capturing algae, but a new study shows that the excess iron had little to no effect.