State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

sustainable development36

  • Breakthrough in Saving Lives in Rural Africa

    Breakthrough in Saving Lives in Rural Africa

    It’s mid-morning in the Tiby Millennium Village in Mali. Rokia, a community health worker, sits with a young mother in a spare courtyard of the household. Gently she asks the key questions.

  • Fast & Cheap: Shortcuts to Curb Global Warming

    Fast & Cheap: Shortcuts to Curb Global Warming

    Relatively cheap, simple steps using existing technologies could cut projected global warming by one degree Fahrenheit – a substantial amount — by focusing on sources of methane and soot, concludes a new study by an international team of scientists.

  • Interdisciplinary Studies Make for Holistic Solutions

    Having multiple interests is an asset in a world where complex problems necessitate holistic solutions from practitioners who can communicate with a multitude of stakeholders. “Interdisciplinary study is the way of the future because among different stakeholders, communication is key,” said student David Katz. Students from Columbia University’s Ph.D. program in Sustainable Development and the…

  • Enabling Change: Training Development Practitioners in Jordan

    Enabling Change: Training Development Practitioners in Jordan

    The citizens of Jordan, and elsewhere in the Middle East, must confront challenges of rapid population growth, climate change, poverty, inequality and environmental degradation. A new program run jointly by the Earth Institute and the Institute of Sustainable Development Practice in Amman is helping policymakers and others involved learn the techniques of sustainable development to…

  • From Development Practitioner to National Leader: Lessons from Garry Conille, Prime Minister of Haiti

    From Development Practitioner to National Leader: Lessons from Garry Conille, Prime Minister of Haiti

    Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille met with students and scientists of the Earth Institute to explore core issues of Haiti’s growth and development.

  • Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    For millennia, people have set fires to clear land for cultivation, pastures or hunting; so-called slash-and-burn agriculture is still common across much of tropical Africa, Asia and South America. It has been a useful strategy–but …

  • The Center for Career Education Speaks with Students

    The Center for Career Education Speaks with Students

    Here are four questions to ask yourself if you’re a student about to start searching for a post-graduate job or internship: What do you like to do? How do you like to work? What sort of environment do you best work in? What things will you most value in a job? Financial security, prestige, helping…

  • Earth Institute Receives Funds To Scale Up Effort To Reach Millennium Development Goals

    $15 Million for 5 years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

  • Students See Freshkills Park as Urban Redesign Project

    Students See Freshkills Park as Urban Redesign Project

    The first fall field trip took students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development outside of the city limits, through the Narrows and into Staten Island to learn about Freshkills Park, the place once known as the world’s largest landfill. Upon arriving at St. George ferry terminal on Sept. 24, students were greeted by Doug…

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Breakthrough in Saving Lives in Rural Africa

    Breakthrough in Saving Lives in Rural Africa

    It’s mid-morning in the Tiby Millennium Village in Mali. Rokia, a community health worker, sits with a young mother in a spare courtyard of the household. Gently she asks the key questions.

  • Fast & Cheap: Shortcuts to Curb Global Warming

    Fast & Cheap: Shortcuts to Curb Global Warming

    Relatively cheap, simple steps using existing technologies could cut projected global warming by one degree Fahrenheit – a substantial amount — by focusing on sources of methane and soot, concludes a new study by an international team of scientists.

  • Interdisciplinary Studies Make for Holistic Solutions

    Having multiple interests is an asset in a world where complex problems necessitate holistic solutions from practitioners who can communicate with a multitude of stakeholders. “Interdisciplinary study is the way of the future because among different stakeholders, communication is key,” said student David Katz. Students from Columbia University’s Ph.D. program in Sustainable Development and the…

  • Enabling Change: Training Development Practitioners in Jordan

    Enabling Change: Training Development Practitioners in Jordan

    The citizens of Jordan, and elsewhere in the Middle East, must confront challenges of rapid population growth, climate change, poverty, inequality and environmental degradation. A new program run jointly by the Earth Institute and the Institute of Sustainable Development Practice in Amman is helping policymakers and others involved learn the techniques of sustainable development to…

  • From Development Practitioner to National Leader: Lessons from Garry Conille, Prime Minister of Haiti

    From Development Practitioner to National Leader: Lessons from Garry Conille, Prime Minister of Haiti

    Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille met with students and scientists of the Earth Institute to explore core issues of Haiti’s growth and development.

  • Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    Farmers, Flames and Climate: Are We Entering an Age of ‘Mega-Fires’?

    For millennia, people have set fires to clear land for cultivation, pastures or hunting; so-called slash-and-burn agriculture is still common across much of tropical Africa, Asia and South America. It has been a useful strategy–but …

  • The Center for Career Education Speaks with Students

    The Center for Career Education Speaks with Students

    Here are four questions to ask yourself if you’re a student about to start searching for a post-graduate job or internship: What do you like to do? How do you like to work? What sort of environment do you best work in? What things will you most value in a job? Financial security, prestige, helping…

  • Earth Institute Receives Funds To Scale Up Effort To Reach Millennium Development Goals

    $15 Million for 5 years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

  • Students See Freshkills Park as Urban Redesign Project

    Students See Freshkills Park as Urban Redesign Project

    The first fall field trip took students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development outside of the city limits, through the Narrows and into Staten Island to learn about Freshkills Park, the place once known as the world’s largest landfill. Upon arriving at St. George ferry terminal on Sept. 24, students were greeted by Doug…