snow Archives - State of the Planet

Global Review Assesses Hydropower’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

A new study analyzes the impacts of climate change and variations in water availability on the hydropower sector, a key source of cost-effective renewable energy for many countries around the world.

by |July 28, 2022
Skier stands on mountain in New Hampshire

Bipartisan Caucus Aims to Support Ski Industry Threatened by Climate Change

Led by a bipartisan team of U.S. representatives, the Ski and Snowboard Caucus brings awareness to an industry that is increasingly vulnerable to warming winters and fewer snow days.

by |March 31, 2022

Is the Ski Industry Self-Destructive?

The steps that resorts in Europe took to save their ski season caused COVID-19 to spread. This behavior is remarkably parallel to how they’ve been “adapting” to climate change.

by |July 8, 2020

Photo Essay: Living on the Ice in Juneau, Alaska

We’re developing a technique that uses ice-penetrating radar to measure how quickly snow turns to ice. To take our measurements, we needed to camp out in the Juneau icefields for a few weeks.

by |July 26, 2019

A Snowman’s Toils Under the Sun

One morning, a tiny snowman appears, seated on a bench near the corner of 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Let’s take a picture every time we go by. Maybe we will learn something.

by |March 12, 2019
A DSNY spreader is loaded with salt at one of the city's 42 salt sheds.

Cutting the Salt in Winter Road Maintenance

As the capital and environmental costs of road salt continue to mount, has the time come to ask whether we’re putting too much of it on our streets?

by |December 13, 2018
snowflake

‘X-Snow’ Project Needs Your Help To Unlock The Secrets of Snow

Citizen scientists can gather data to help uncover how snow is changing over time.

by |February 27, 2018

Managing Water in a Dry Land

Since 2010, the Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society along with UNESCO and their colleagues in Chile have been working with Elqui’s water authority to help them use seasonal forecasts as way to better allocate water and prepare for droughts.

by |June 17, 2013

Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

These record breaking amounts of snow have caused numerous concerns both economical and environmental and as snowfalls pile up cities run out of room to put the snow. One suggested solution was to dump the snow into waterways even though it became a mixture of many pollutants including, but not limited to, motor oil and trash.

by |February 11, 2011