State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

water matters

Water Matters, the blog of the Columbia Water Center, focuses on the assessment, understanding and resolution of the potentially global crisis of freshwater scarcity.

  • A Disaster Expert Explains Why the Texas Floods Were So Devastating

    A Disaster Expert Explains Why the Texas Floods Were So Devastating

    A warning system, which might involve integrating older technology like weather radios with new AI products and local knowledge, is key to preventing future loss of life.

  • How AI Is Revolutionizing the Recycling Industry

    How AI Is Revolutionizing the Recycling Industry

    Modern waste facilities are incorporating AI into their systems, using robots guided by AI vision systems and machine learning algorithms, high resolution cameras, hyperspectral imaging, near-infrared sensors and predictive analytics.

  • Leveraging the Power of Open Source Data To Map the World’s Oceans

    Leveraging the Power of Open Source Data To Map the World’s Oceans

    In honor of World Oceans Day, marine geophysicist Vicki Ferrini discusses the current state of ocean research, and the important role international collaboration plays in this field.

  • Science for the Planet: Tackling the Invisible Threat of Nanoplastics

    Science for the Planet: Tackling the Invisible Threat of Nanoplastics

    Beizhan Yan, an environmental geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has come up with new methods to detect and analyze tiny plastic particles to better understand their impact on human and environmental health.

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • World Water Film Festival Makes a Splash at Columbia Climate School

    World Water Film Festival Makes a Splash at Columbia Climate School

    The event featured films and speakers from around the world who spotlighted humanity’s essential relationship with water and how it continues to evolve in our changing climate.

  • Strategies for Safe Drinking Water: Ensuring Lead-Free Taps for All

    Strategies for Safe Drinking Water: Ensuring Lead-Free Taps for All

    On World Water Day, Columbia researchers explore the best options for replacing America’s aging pipes.

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • A Disaster Expert Explains Why the Texas Floods Were So Devastating

    A Disaster Expert Explains Why the Texas Floods Were So Devastating

    A warning system, which might involve integrating older technology like weather radios with new AI products and local knowledge, is key to preventing future loss of life.

  • How AI Is Revolutionizing the Recycling Industry

    How AI Is Revolutionizing the Recycling Industry

    Modern waste facilities are incorporating AI into their systems, using robots guided by AI vision systems and machine learning algorithms, high resolution cameras, hyperspectral imaging, near-infrared sensors and predictive analytics.

  • Leveraging the Power of Open Source Data To Map the World’s Oceans

    Leveraging the Power of Open Source Data To Map the World’s Oceans

    In honor of World Oceans Day, marine geophysicist Vicki Ferrini discusses the current state of ocean research, and the important role international collaboration plays in this field.

  • Science for the Planet: Tackling the Invisible Threat of Nanoplastics

    Science for the Planet: Tackling the Invisible Threat of Nanoplastics

    Beizhan Yan, an environmental geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has come up with new methods to detect and analyze tiny plastic particles to better understand their impact on human and environmental health.

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • World Water Film Festival Makes a Splash at Columbia Climate School

    World Water Film Festival Makes a Splash at Columbia Climate School

    The event featured films and speakers from around the world who spotlighted humanity’s essential relationship with water and how it continues to evolve in our changing climate.

  • Strategies for Safe Drinking Water: Ensuring Lead-Free Taps for All

    Strategies for Safe Drinking Water: Ensuring Lead-Free Taps for All

    On World Water Day, Columbia researchers explore the best options for replacing America’s aging pipes.