State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

public health4

  • High Levels of Lead Contaminate Many Backyards in Brooklyn Neighborhood

    High Levels of Lead Contaminate Many Backyards in Brooklyn Neighborhood

    An ongoing study finds that 92 percent of private yards in Greenpoint may have unsafe levels of lead in their soil.

  • Leader of the World Health Organization Praises Columbia’s New Public Health Program

    Leader of the World Health Organization Praises Columbia’s New Public Health Program

    Tedros Adhanom called the new Global Health Security and Diplomacy program ‘a gift’ in the fight against complex global health problems.

  • Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    The onset of flu season each year comes as no surprise. But what is surprising is that we don’t know exactly how the flu spreads. Jeffrey Shaman is working on that.

  • Track Mosquitoes with your Smartphone

    Track Mosquitoes with your Smartphone

    Using crowd-sourced data, the Bitebytes app can educate the public on mosquitoes, the diseases they transmit, and mosquito habitat control, while allowing cities to target key areas to help control the potential for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

  • A Small Senate Victory Maintains Methane Regulation

    A Small Senate Victory Maintains Methane Regulation

    While I see little hope of modernizing the environmental regulatory structure under the current regime, last week provided some hope that the U.S. Senate won’t allow our environmental laws to be dismantled.

  • With a Little Software Magic, Students Create Pollution Solutions

    With a Little Software Magic, Students Create Pollution Solutions

    Undergraduate sustainability students explored innovative software and 3D printing to create a set of possible solutions to help Singapore cope with a big problem: haze and air pollution drifting over the city state from burning forests in neighboring Indonesia.

  • Earth Institute Spring 2017 Internships

    This spring, The Earth Institute is offering students opportunities to work as interns within various departments and research centers at the institute. All full-time Columbia and Barnard students are eligible to apply.

  • The World Trade Center Disaster And Our Toxic World

    The World Trade Center Disaster And Our Toxic World

    In a dangerous world we must be vigilant in the face of evil, but we must also do our best to reduce self-inflicted wounds. We can do a better job of detoxifying our technology, and of helping those who are victims of attacks and disasters. We owe it to our children and the planet they…

  • Climate Change and the Complexity of Science

    Climate Change and the Complexity of Science

    The diplomatic debate about phasing out HFCs has been underway for seven years, but the technology of refrigerant coolants appears to have finally caught up with the need for replacement technology. Once replacement technology is available, diplomacy becomes possible.

  • High Levels of Lead Contaminate Many Backyards in Brooklyn Neighborhood

    High Levels of Lead Contaminate Many Backyards in Brooklyn Neighborhood

    An ongoing study finds that 92 percent of private yards in Greenpoint may have unsafe levels of lead in their soil.

  • Leader of the World Health Organization Praises Columbia’s New Public Health Program

    Leader of the World Health Organization Praises Columbia’s New Public Health Program

    Tedros Adhanom called the new Global Health Security and Diplomacy program ‘a gift’ in the fight against complex global health problems.

  • Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    The onset of flu season each year comes as no surprise. But what is surprising is that we don’t know exactly how the flu spreads. Jeffrey Shaman is working on that.

  • Track Mosquitoes with your Smartphone

    Track Mosquitoes with your Smartphone

    Using crowd-sourced data, the Bitebytes app can educate the public on mosquitoes, the diseases they transmit, and mosquito habitat control, while allowing cities to target key areas to help control the potential for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

  • A Small Senate Victory Maintains Methane Regulation

    A Small Senate Victory Maintains Methane Regulation

    While I see little hope of modernizing the environmental regulatory structure under the current regime, last week provided some hope that the U.S. Senate won’t allow our environmental laws to be dismantled.

  • With a Little Software Magic, Students Create Pollution Solutions

    With a Little Software Magic, Students Create Pollution Solutions

    Undergraduate sustainability students explored innovative software and 3D printing to create a set of possible solutions to help Singapore cope with a big problem: haze and air pollution drifting over the city state from burning forests in neighboring Indonesia.

  • Earth Institute Spring 2017 Internships

    This spring, The Earth Institute is offering students opportunities to work as interns within various departments and research centers at the institute. All full-time Columbia and Barnard students are eligible to apply.

  • The World Trade Center Disaster And Our Toxic World

    The World Trade Center Disaster And Our Toxic World

    In a dangerous world we must be vigilant in the face of evil, but we must also do our best to reduce self-inflicted wounds. We can do a better job of detoxifying our technology, and of helping those who are victims of attacks and disasters. We owe it to our children and the planet they…

  • Climate Change and the Complexity of Science

    Climate Change and the Complexity of Science

    The diplomatic debate about phasing out HFCs has been underway for seven years, but the technology of refrigerant coolants appears to have finally caught up with the need for replacement technology. Once replacement technology is available, diplomacy becomes possible.