State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: Ben Orlove2

Ben Orlove Avatar

  • Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    In the last week, calving events at Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes released masses of ice from a glacier on Mount Pucaranra, showing the weakness of the existing infrastructure designed to protect the region from floods.

  • The Candidates Agree: America’s Aging Infrastructure Needs a Fix

    The Candidates Agree: America’s Aging Infrastructure Needs a Fix

    Once infrastructure decisions are made, they are locked in place, often for decades, sometimes for centuries. Recognizing this fact, there is an urgency to think in new ways, rather than simply stick with established practices and systems.

  • Melting Glaciers Help Spur a Message on Climate

    Melting Glaciers Help Spur a Message on Climate

    On Oct. 5, several small mountain countries with glaciers—Austria, Bolivia, and Nepal—undertook an important step in advancing global action on climate change. They helped the Paris Climate Agreement reach the threshold to enter into force and become legally binding.

  • How Climate Influences Wolf Recovery in California

    How Climate Influences Wolf Recovery in California

    Some evidence suggests that the glaciers on Mt. Shasta might have something to do with the location of a newly-spotted wolf pack in northern California.

  • Getting a Whiff of Climate Change

    Getting a Whiff of Climate Change

    Monday was the day when millions of people in New York and New Jersey learned what climate change smells like, or at least what one of its aromas is.

  • What Anthropologists Can Do About Climate

    What Anthropologists Can Do About Climate

    How can the full range of the social sciences be brought into research on climate change and the search for solutions? The roles of economics and political science seem crucial, since pricing mechanisms and policies are needed to promote mitigation and to support adaptation. Psychology explores the ways to make this problem, often seen as…

  • Two Climate and Society Students Chosen as Finalists for Prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship

    Two Climate and Society students have been chosen as finalists for the prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF). The PMF program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and was established in 1977. The program brings graduate students from a wide variety of academic disciplines to the Federal service. Megan Fleming is a…

  • Columbia University’s Master of Arts program in Climate and Society

    There is still time to apply to Columbia University’s Master of Arts program in Climate and Society (C&S). The need for professionals who understand the links between climate and society is acute, and grows ever more so as human activity alters the global atmosphere. The 12-month Columbia M.A. in Climate and Society will give you…

  • Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru

    In the last week, calving events at Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes released masses of ice from a glacier on Mount Pucaranra, showing the weakness of the existing infrastructure designed to protect the region from floods.

  • The Candidates Agree: America’s Aging Infrastructure Needs a Fix

    The Candidates Agree: America’s Aging Infrastructure Needs a Fix

    Once infrastructure decisions are made, they are locked in place, often for decades, sometimes for centuries. Recognizing this fact, there is an urgency to think in new ways, rather than simply stick with established practices and systems.

  • Melting Glaciers Help Spur a Message on Climate

    Melting Glaciers Help Spur a Message on Climate

    On Oct. 5, several small mountain countries with glaciers—Austria, Bolivia, and Nepal—undertook an important step in advancing global action on climate change. They helped the Paris Climate Agreement reach the threshold to enter into force and become legally binding.

  • How Climate Influences Wolf Recovery in California

    How Climate Influences Wolf Recovery in California

    Some evidence suggests that the glaciers on Mt. Shasta might have something to do with the location of a newly-spotted wolf pack in northern California.

  • Getting a Whiff of Climate Change

    Getting a Whiff of Climate Change

    Monday was the day when millions of people in New York and New Jersey learned what climate change smells like, or at least what one of its aromas is.

  • What Anthropologists Can Do About Climate

    What Anthropologists Can Do About Climate

    How can the full range of the social sciences be brought into research on climate change and the search for solutions? The roles of economics and political science seem crucial, since pricing mechanisms and policies are needed to promote mitigation and to support adaptation. Psychology explores the ways to make this problem, often seen as…

  • Two Climate and Society Students Chosen as Finalists for Prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship

    Two Climate and Society students have been chosen as finalists for the prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF). The PMF program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and was established in 1977. The program brings graduate students from a wide variety of academic disciplines to the Federal service. Megan Fleming is a…

  • Columbia University’s Master of Arts program in Climate and Society

    There is still time to apply to Columbia University’s Master of Arts program in Climate and Society (C&S). The need for professionals who understand the links between climate and society is acute, and grows ever more so as human activity alters the global atmosphere. The 12-month Columbia M.A. in Climate and Society will give you…