State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Sustainability38

  • Tensiometers in Punjab

    Tensiometers in Punjab

    So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with…

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Panel on New York’s Future After Sandy

    Panel on New York’s Future After Sandy

    In a live webcast this afternoon from Hunter College, Earth Institute scientists Cynthia Rosenzweig and Klaus Jacob will join a panel on “Hurricane Sandy and Challenges to the NY Metropolitan Region.”

  • The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    Though driverless cars sound like something out of the “The Jetsons,” they are just one of many innovations already under way in the realm of personal transportation.

  • New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation provides executive training in environmental sustainability through science, policy, and economics; we invite you to learn from our leading experts and practitioners to become an effective environmental leader and decision-maker.

  • Courses in Conservation & Sustainability

    Courses in Conservation & Sustainability

    Are you interested in cultivating the skills necessary to implement environmental change? Do you want to learn more about conservation and environmental sustainability, including ecosystem services and function?

  • What’s Holding Water Conservation Back in Rockland County?

    What’s Holding Water Conservation Back in Rockland County?

    Rockland County’s main water provider, United Water NY, wants to build a treatment plant on the Hudson River that would deliver more freshwater to Rockland taps. As the project awaits state approval, a new debate on water consumption has emerged. Should people be encouraged, or even required, to use less? And if so, how?

  • Is Green Travel Possible?

    Is Green Travel Possible?

    Imagine if each of the 4.3 million daily commuters on the New York City subway took an international flight. Now think of each of those people on flights spewing jet fuel emissions, guzzling canned soda from plastic airline cups and water from plastic bottles, tossing hotel toiletries into non-recycling bins, blasting hotel air conditioners, and…

  • Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    With the incidence of extreme weather on the increase, concern about global warming is also growing. This concern needs to be turned into action—whether local, regional or national. Here are a dozen ways to take action.

Rainforest and Columbia campus collage banner with text "UN COP30, Belem, Brazil, Nov 10-21, 2025"

During COP30—the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference taking place November 10–21 in Belém, Brazil—experts from Columbia Climate School and Columbia University will be contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • Tensiometers in Punjab

    Tensiometers in Punjab

    So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with…

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Panel on New York’s Future After Sandy

    Panel on New York’s Future After Sandy

    In a live webcast this afternoon from Hunter College, Earth Institute scientists Cynthia Rosenzweig and Klaus Jacob will join a panel on “Hurricane Sandy and Challenges to the NY Metropolitan Region.”

  • The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    The Future of Transportation: More Safety, Savings and Sustainability

    Though driverless cars sound like something out of the “The Jetsons,” they are just one of many innovations already under way in the realm of personal transportation.

  • New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    New Courses in Conservation, Sustainability

    The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation provides executive training in environmental sustainability through science, policy, and economics; we invite you to learn from our leading experts and practitioners to become an effective environmental leader and decision-maker.

  • Courses in Conservation & Sustainability

    Courses in Conservation & Sustainability

    Are you interested in cultivating the skills necessary to implement environmental change? Do you want to learn more about conservation and environmental sustainability, including ecosystem services and function?

  • What’s Holding Water Conservation Back in Rockland County?

    What’s Holding Water Conservation Back in Rockland County?

    Rockland County’s main water provider, United Water NY, wants to build a treatment plant on the Hudson River that would deliver more freshwater to Rockland taps. As the project awaits state approval, a new debate on water consumption has emerged. Should people be encouraged, or even required, to use less? And if so, how?

  • Is Green Travel Possible?

    Is Green Travel Possible?

    Imagine if each of the 4.3 million daily commuters on the New York City subway took an international flight. Now think of each of those people on flights spewing jet fuel emissions, guzzling canned soda from plastic airline cups and water from plastic bottles, tossing hotel toiletries into non-recycling bins, blasting hotel air conditioners, and…

  • Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    Turning Concern into Action: 12 Ways to Combat Climate Change

    With the incidence of extreme weather on the increase, concern about global warming is also growing. This concern needs to be turned into action—whether local, regional or national. Here are a dozen ways to take action.