State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

New York City25

  • DRBC Gives Tentative Go Ahead to Fracking in PA — New York Skips the Meeting

    DRBC Gives Tentative Go Ahead to Fracking in PA — New York Skips the Meeting

    According to the Delaware River Basin Commission, over 15 million people—about five percent of the nation’s population—rely on the Delaware River Basin for “drinking, agricultural, and industrial use.” New York City alone gets half its water from reservoirs located on tributaries of the Delaware. It’s no understatement, then, to suggest that the commission—a regional body…

  • Beat the Heat, but with Bottled Water?

    Beat the Heat, but with Bottled Water?

    As temperatures in the Northeast finally begin to ease, we can assess the first heat wave of summer 2010. Here in New York, there was remarkably little drama. Through Herculean efforts, ConEd was able to avoid any serious blackouts or brownouts, and thankfully, there were no health emergencies. Neither were there any major heat-induced public…

  • Jamaica Bay, a refuge for wildlife in New York City, gets protection

    Jamaica Bay, a refuge for wildlife in New York City, gets protection

    The good news is that the migratory birds and resident marine life of Jamaica Bay may be getting a reprieve. In February, Mayor Bloomberg, the State Environmental Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced an agreement that would improve water quality and preserve the wetlands of Jamaica Bay. The Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan…

  • Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Columbia Water Center, The Asia Society and The Economist are cosponsoring the event Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis, Wednesday July 14, 2010, 6:30pm at the Asia Society.

  • 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 Bottled Water Risk: ‘Tapped’ Awareness Event (photos)

    On April 21, the Tapped Truck visited the Columbia University campus, as part of an event organized by Teacher’s College Program in Social Studies and the Go Green Committee.  The truck pulled up on 120th Street and began exchanging plastic water bottles for Klean Kanteen eco-friendly aluminum ones. The line formed quickly, and the first…

  • Tapped: Earth Week Water Documentary/Give Away/Town Hall at Teacher’s College

    The documentary film Tapped will be screened on Wednesday, April 21, sponsored by the Program in Social Studies and the Teacher’s College Go Green Committee. But it won’t just be a film showing – it’s a whole event designed to entertain, inspire and mobilize students and the public around drinking water. Look at your hand.…

  • New York City Water Summit (photos)

    About 150 people attended the first New York City Water Summit on April 9th, which was organized by Professors William Becker and Kartik Chandran of the Columbia University Dept. of Earth and Environmental Engineering. The morning sessions dealt with drinking water issues, while the afternoon sessions concentrated on wastewater treatment.  The event had a focus…

  • Run for Water with CWC in Earth Week event

    Students and non-students alike are invited to join the Columbia Water Center in a run to raise awareness and funds for clean water, at the Dow Live Earth Run For Water on April 18.

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • DRBC Gives Tentative Go Ahead to Fracking in PA — New York Skips the Meeting

    DRBC Gives Tentative Go Ahead to Fracking in PA — New York Skips the Meeting

    According to the Delaware River Basin Commission, over 15 million people—about five percent of the nation’s population—rely on the Delaware River Basin for “drinking, agricultural, and industrial use.” New York City alone gets half its water from reservoirs located on tributaries of the Delaware. It’s no understatement, then, to suggest that the commission—a regional body…

  • Beat the Heat, but with Bottled Water?

    Beat the Heat, but with Bottled Water?

    As temperatures in the Northeast finally begin to ease, we can assess the first heat wave of summer 2010. Here in New York, there was remarkably little drama. Through Herculean efforts, ConEd was able to avoid any serious blackouts or brownouts, and thankfully, there were no health emergencies. Neither were there any major heat-induced public…

  • Jamaica Bay, a refuge for wildlife in New York City, gets protection

    Jamaica Bay, a refuge for wildlife in New York City, gets protection

    The good news is that the migratory birds and resident marine life of Jamaica Bay may be getting a reprieve. In February, Mayor Bloomberg, the State Environmental Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced an agreement that would improve water quality and preserve the wetlands of Jamaica Bay. The Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan…

  • Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Event: Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis

    Columbia Water Center, The Asia Society and The Economist are cosponsoring the event Himalayan Glaciers and Asia’s Looming Water Crisis, Wednesday July 14, 2010, 6:30pm at the Asia Society.

  • 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 Bottled Water Risk: ‘Tapped’ Awareness Event (photos)

    On April 21, the Tapped Truck visited the Columbia University campus, as part of an event organized by Teacher’s College Program in Social Studies and the Go Green Committee.  The truck pulled up on 120th Street and began exchanging plastic water bottles for Klean Kanteen eco-friendly aluminum ones. The line formed quickly, and the first…

  • Tapped: Earth Week Water Documentary/Give Away/Town Hall at Teacher’s College

    The documentary film Tapped will be screened on Wednesday, April 21, sponsored by the Program in Social Studies and the Teacher’s College Go Green Committee. But it won’t just be a film showing – it’s a whole event designed to entertain, inspire and mobilize students and the public around drinking water. Look at your hand.…

  • New York City Water Summit (photos)

    About 150 people attended the first New York City Water Summit on April 9th, which was organized by Professors William Becker and Kartik Chandran of the Columbia University Dept. of Earth and Environmental Engineering. The morning sessions dealt with drinking water issues, while the afternoon sessions concentrated on wastewater treatment.  The event had a focus…

  • Run for Water with CWC in Earth Week event

    Students and non-students alike are invited to join the Columbia Water Center in a run to raise awareness and funds for clean water, at the Dow Live Earth Run For Water on April 18.