State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

sustainable development33

  • China Burns up the Clean Energy Race

    China Burns up the Clean Energy Race

    Although China dominates in the race to be the leading global manufacturer of clean renewable energy, they are not necessarily doing the most for the environment. China, consistently pushing the clean energy market towards an economic future, was expected to be a leading developing country in negotiations at Rio+20. Meanwhile, the United States, without a…

  • Investigating Impacts of Increased Fertilizer Use in Africa

    Investigating Impacts of Increased Fertilizer Use in Africa

    The rains came late this year in Kenya. I was there for several months in the winter and spring to conduct research for a post-doctoral fellowship, examining the consequences of increases in fertilizer use on soil fertility, maize yields, nitrogen gas emissions and nitrogen leaching losses.

  • A Celebration of Sustainability Innovation

    A Celebration of Sustainability Innovation

    The 2012 Equator Prizes were awarded to 25 local initiatives from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Nicaragua, Swaziland and Brazil and elsewhere, for work by local groups toward the advancement of sustainable development solutions.

  • Education for Sustainable Citizenship

    Education for Sustainable Citizenship

    UNESCO Director General Irena Bokova said sustainable development cannot be achieved by political agreements, financial incentives or technological solutions alone. There must be a fundamental change in the ways individuals think and act.

  • Water Risks for Industry in India – New Report from Columbia Water Center

    Water Risks for Industry in India – New Report from Columbia Water Center

    Companies globally are increasingly focused on the emerging risk of water scarcity, and so are their investors. The combination of rising populations, rapid economic growth in developing countries, and climate variability is triggering enormous water availability challenges around the world. We are at a critical juncture where the crises of food, energy and water, commodity…

  • Goals for Rio: A Path to Sustainability

    Goals for Rio: A Path to Sustainability

    In an article published in The Lancet, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs outlines his own ideas for sustainable development goals, and how how these goals can build on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN’s set of targets that aim to reduce extreme poverty and boost social well-being in many other ways by 2015.

  • For Rio+20, a Call to Preserve Biodiversity

    For Rio+20, a Call to Preserve Biodiversity

    An estimated 9 million species of living things inhabit the Earth. But those species are disappearing at an alarming rate, and this loss of biodiversity appears to be a major driver of environmental changes that can affect the biological and chemical processes that humans rely on.

  • Bryant Awards Honorary Degree to Sachs

    Bryant Awards Honorary Degree to Sachs

    By graduating with an education that has one foot in the business world and another foot in the liberal arts, Bryant students have learned that “business and society walk hand in hand,” Sachs told the graduates.

  • New Grants to Extend Reach of Africa’s Green Revolution

    New Grants to Extend Reach of Africa’s Green Revolution

    Two new programs in Ethiopia and Tanzania will adapt modern technology such as an innovative “lab-in-a-box,” smartphones and web-based communications, along with training for agricultural extension workers, to broaden the reach of Africa’s “Green Revolution.”

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!

  • China Burns up the Clean Energy Race

    China Burns up the Clean Energy Race

    Although China dominates in the race to be the leading global manufacturer of clean renewable energy, they are not necessarily doing the most for the environment. China, consistently pushing the clean energy market towards an economic future, was expected to be a leading developing country in negotiations at Rio+20. Meanwhile, the United States, without a…

  • Investigating Impacts of Increased Fertilizer Use in Africa

    Investigating Impacts of Increased Fertilizer Use in Africa

    The rains came late this year in Kenya. I was there for several months in the winter and spring to conduct research for a post-doctoral fellowship, examining the consequences of increases in fertilizer use on soil fertility, maize yields, nitrogen gas emissions and nitrogen leaching losses.

  • A Celebration of Sustainability Innovation

    A Celebration of Sustainability Innovation

    The 2012 Equator Prizes were awarded to 25 local initiatives from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Nicaragua, Swaziland and Brazil and elsewhere, for work by local groups toward the advancement of sustainable development solutions.

  • Education for Sustainable Citizenship

    Education for Sustainable Citizenship

    UNESCO Director General Irena Bokova said sustainable development cannot be achieved by political agreements, financial incentives or technological solutions alone. There must be a fundamental change in the ways individuals think and act.

  • Water Risks for Industry in India – New Report from Columbia Water Center

    Water Risks for Industry in India – New Report from Columbia Water Center

    Companies globally are increasingly focused on the emerging risk of water scarcity, and so are their investors. The combination of rising populations, rapid economic growth in developing countries, and climate variability is triggering enormous water availability challenges around the world. We are at a critical juncture where the crises of food, energy and water, commodity…

  • Goals for Rio: A Path to Sustainability

    Goals for Rio: A Path to Sustainability

    In an article published in The Lancet, Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs outlines his own ideas for sustainable development goals, and how how these goals can build on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN’s set of targets that aim to reduce extreme poverty and boost social well-being in many other ways by 2015.

  • For Rio+20, a Call to Preserve Biodiversity

    For Rio+20, a Call to Preserve Biodiversity

    An estimated 9 million species of living things inhabit the Earth. But those species are disappearing at an alarming rate, and this loss of biodiversity appears to be a major driver of environmental changes that can affect the biological and chemical processes that humans rely on.

  • Bryant Awards Honorary Degree to Sachs

    Bryant Awards Honorary Degree to Sachs

    By graduating with an education that has one foot in the business world and another foot in the liberal arts, Bryant students have learned that “business and society walk hand in hand,” Sachs told the graduates.

  • New Grants to Extend Reach of Africa’s Green Revolution

    New Grants to Extend Reach of Africa’s Green Revolution

    Two new programs in Ethiopia and Tanzania will adapt modern technology such as an innovative “lab-in-a-box,” smartphones and web-based communications, along with training for agricultural extension workers, to broaden the reach of Africa’s “Green Revolution.”