State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Year: 2013

  • Splicing the Role of Genetics in Conservation

    Splicing the Role of Genetics in Conservation

    Genetics hold the secret to understanding evolutionary processes. They also hold the secret to how ecological and climatic factors influence the course of evolution. In fact, recent research—ranging in topics from butterfly speciation to the genetic diversity of immune systems in giant pandas—has found that genetics play a vital role in the outcome of conservation…

  • Research Questions in Urban Ecological Sustainability

    Research Questions in Urban Ecological Sustainability

    Despite having been regarded as a series of “externalities” by conventional systems of economic thinking, our natural environment is not merely a backdrop to human activities, but is the very base upon which all human systems are built. This reality is certainly not new to sustainability science, but it is easy to lose sight of…

  • ESP Program Partners with AmeriCorps

    ESP Program Partners with AmeriCorps

    This year, in order to draw top applicants, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program has developed a partnership with Americorps and AmeriCorps Alums to help their alumni achieve success in graduate school. Each year, more than 80,000 Americorps volunteers engage in in service at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups…

  • New Predictions of Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture

    New Predictions of Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture

    Developing countries are more likely to see a drop in agricultural productivity and increased food prices due to climate change, particularly in tropical regions, according to a set of new studies out this week.

  • Spring 2014 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    The Earth Institute, Columbia University is pleased to announce 7 research assistant opportunities for undergraduate students during the spring 2014 semester. Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on exciting research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of…

  • Training for Best Sustainable Practices in Extractive Industries

    Training for Best Sustainable Practices in Extractive Industries

    Large investments in extractive industries such as oil, gas and mining have the potential to be a springboard for development, but these investments often have been a source of corruption, social degradation, resource dependency and environmental catastrophe. How can resource-rich countries faced with this double-edged sword make informed decisions about how to effectively leverage these…

  • ESP Alum Focuses Career on Clean Energy Solutions

    ESP Alum Focuses Career on Clean Energy Solutions

    MPA in Environmental Science and Policy alumnus James Vener (‘07) entered the program with the intention of transitioning his career from environmental engineering to environmental policy, but was surprised to discover an interest in clean energy.

  • Explore the Arctic Ocean With ‘IceTracker’

    Explore the Arctic Ocean With ‘IceTracker’

    This week, we are launching a test of “IceTracker”—a tool that allows users to see the trajectories of Arctic sea ice forward or backward from any day between 1981 and 2012, as well as sea-ice speed, air temperature, water depth and the age of the sea ice.

  • Map Your Food

    Map Your Food

    Where does London get its fruit? Where are the “food swamps” in Los Angeles? Where do tomatoes from Spain wind up? Where are the composters in New York City? For lovers of geography, and of the sociology of food, “Food: an atlas” offers lots of informative and curious distraction.

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
  • Splicing the Role of Genetics in Conservation

    Splicing the Role of Genetics in Conservation

    Genetics hold the secret to understanding evolutionary processes. They also hold the secret to how ecological and climatic factors influence the course of evolution. In fact, recent research—ranging in topics from butterfly speciation to the genetic diversity of immune systems in giant pandas—has found that genetics play a vital role in the outcome of conservation…

  • Research Questions in Urban Ecological Sustainability

    Research Questions in Urban Ecological Sustainability

    Despite having been regarded as a series of “externalities” by conventional systems of economic thinking, our natural environment is not merely a backdrop to human activities, but is the very base upon which all human systems are built. This reality is certainly not new to sustainability science, but it is easy to lose sight of…

  • ESP Program Partners with AmeriCorps

    ESP Program Partners with AmeriCorps

    This year, in order to draw top applicants, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program has developed a partnership with Americorps and AmeriCorps Alums to help their alumni achieve success in graduate school. Each year, more than 80,000 Americorps volunteers engage in in service at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups…

  • New Predictions of Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture

    New Predictions of Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture

    Developing countries are more likely to see a drop in agricultural productivity and increased food prices due to climate change, particularly in tropical regions, according to a set of new studies out this week.

  • Spring 2014 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    The Earth Institute, Columbia University is pleased to announce 7 research assistant opportunities for undergraduate students during the spring 2014 semester. Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on exciting research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of…

  • Training for Best Sustainable Practices in Extractive Industries

    Training for Best Sustainable Practices in Extractive Industries

    Large investments in extractive industries such as oil, gas and mining have the potential to be a springboard for development, but these investments often have been a source of corruption, social degradation, resource dependency and environmental catastrophe. How can resource-rich countries faced with this double-edged sword make informed decisions about how to effectively leverage these…

  • ESP Alum Focuses Career on Clean Energy Solutions

    ESP Alum Focuses Career on Clean Energy Solutions

    MPA in Environmental Science and Policy alumnus James Vener (‘07) entered the program with the intention of transitioning his career from environmental engineering to environmental policy, but was surprised to discover an interest in clean energy.

  • Explore the Arctic Ocean With ‘IceTracker’

    Explore the Arctic Ocean With ‘IceTracker’

    This week, we are launching a test of “IceTracker”—a tool that allows users to see the trajectories of Arctic sea ice forward or backward from any day between 1981 and 2012, as well as sea-ice speed, air temperature, water depth and the age of the sea ice.

  • Map Your Food

    Map Your Food

    Where does London get its fruit? Where are the “food swamps” in Los Angeles? Where do tomatoes from Spain wind up? Where are the composters in New York City? For lovers of geography, and of the sociology of food, “Food: an atlas” offers lots of informative and curious distraction.