State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

In the News3

  • Asian Carp, Aquatic Interlopers Threaten the Great Lakes

    While the nation and the world morns the destruction of marine habitat and the deaths of an untold number of animals, birds, fish, and tiny organisms in the Gulf of Mexico, another battle is being waged, one in which people are desperately trying to find a way to eliminate one type of fish in an…

  • Water, Another Crisis for Iraq

    In a place like Iraq, our attention is on the big issues, and we might forget that life also goes on for regular people. They need to grow crops and wash dishes and make tea. For many people in the country, those mundane things can be every bit as big an issue. If you don’t…

  • Obama’s Oil Speech: What Wasn’t Said

    I was eagerly anticipating President Obama’s speech last night and very much hoping it would mark a true turning point in the administration’s handling of the crisis. However, like many others, I was sorely disappointed. While the speech used plenty of combative terms (“battle plan”, “siege”) it was completely absent of specifics, both for responding…

  • The Implications of Snowcover on Climate: A Conversation with Stefan Sobolowski (Part 1)

    Stefan Sobolowski says he has always had a passion for water, weather and climate—a passion he attributes to lifetime of skiing, hiking, snowboarding, and playing in oceans. Here, Stefan discusses his research on the effects of continental snowcover on climate and why one cold winter in the United States doesn’t mean that there is no…

  • The Importance of Wetlands

    As we continue to see ever-more disturbing images on the shores of Louisiana from the gulf oil spill, it’s worth thinking again about the immense ecological importance of wetlands and why they must be protected. Oil from the leak has already filtered up from the beaches into Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, killing wildlife there. Ironically, last…

  • Your friendly neighborhood Sinkhole: a sign of things to come?

    Your old infrastructure is going to eat you alive. Well, maybe not you, exactly, but it is eating some people alive. I’m talking about the astounding sinkhole that formed in Guatemala City over the weekend.

  • The Water Conflict in Ecuador

    Over the last year, the government has been working on passing a new water bill, the Hydraulic Resources Law, which would, as I understand it, allow the concessions to stand, codify privatization of water rights and centralize decision-making at the state level, possibly further excluding traditional local water-management structures from the process. In the last…

  • The Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

    255 prominent scientists from all over the United States published an open letter in today’s Science Magazine, in defense of science, scientists and the scientific process in the face of vocal and aggressive climate change skeptics. In case you don’t subscribe to Science Magazine, it’s worthwhile reproducing the letter here.

  • T. Boone Pickens vs. Texas Water Conservation Board

    T Boone Pickens, well known for his strong opinions on renewable energy, is hoping that selling water to thirsty cities will be as commercially profitable as he’s found oil to be, and has been investing heavily in purchasing water rights. He opposes a public groundwater management plan that interferes with that.

  • Asian Carp, Aquatic Interlopers Threaten the Great Lakes

    While the nation and the world morns the destruction of marine habitat and the deaths of an untold number of animals, birds, fish, and tiny organisms in the Gulf of Mexico, another battle is being waged, one in which people are desperately trying to find a way to eliminate one type of fish in an…

  • Water, Another Crisis for Iraq

    In a place like Iraq, our attention is on the big issues, and we might forget that life also goes on for regular people. They need to grow crops and wash dishes and make tea. For many people in the country, those mundane things can be every bit as big an issue. If you don’t…

  • Obama’s Oil Speech: What Wasn’t Said

    I was eagerly anticipating President Obama’s speech last night and very much hoping it would mark a true turning point in the administration’s handling of the crisis. However, like many others, I was sorely disappointed. While the speech used plenty of combative terms (“battle plan”, “siege”) it was completely absent of specifics, both for responding…

  • The Implications of Snowcover on Climate: A Conversation with Stefan Sobolowski (Part 1)

    Stefan Sobolowski says he has always had a passion for water, weather and climate—a passion he attributes to lifetime of skiing, hiking, snowboarding, and playing in oceans. Here, Stefan discusses his research on the effects of continental snowcover on climate and why one cold winter in the United States doesn’t mean that there is no…

  • The Importance of Wetlands

    As we continue to see ever-more disturbing images on the shores of Louisiana from the gulf oil spill, it’s worth thinking again about the immense ecological importance of wetlands and why they must be protected. Oil from the leak has already filtered up from the beaches into Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, killing wildlife there. Ironically, last…

  • Your friendly neighborhood Sinkhole: a sign of things to come?

    Your old infrastructure is going to eat you alive. Well, maybe not you, exactly, but it is eating some people alive. I’m talking about the astounding sinkhole that formed in Guatemala City over the weekend.

  • The Water Conflict in Ecuador

    Over the last year, the government has been working on passing a new water bill, the Hydraulic Resources Law, which would, as I understand it, allow the concessions to stand, codify privatization of water rights and centralize decision-making at the state level, possibly further excluding traditional local water-management structures from the process. In the last…

  • The Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

    255 prominent scientists from all over the United States published an open letter in today’s Science Magazine, in defense of science, scientists and the scientific process in the face of vocal and aggressive climate change skeptics. In case you don’t subscribe to Science Magazine, it’s worthwhile reproducing the letter here.

  • T. Boone Pickens vs. Texas Water Conservation Board

    T Boone Pickens, well known for his strong opinions on renewable energy, is hoping that selling water to thirsty cities will be as commercially profitable as he’s found oil to be, and has been investing heavily in purchasing water rights. He opposes a public groundwater management plan that interferes with that.