State of the Planet

State of the Planet serves as the news platform for the Columbia Climate School, created by Columbia University to advance important research, offer cutting-edge education, and promote vital solutions that range from local communities to global challenges. The Climate School unites influential research centers and initiatives while delivering climate and sustainability education to cultivate future leaders dedicated to the health of our planet.

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Articles

Rocket Launches Are Proliferating. What Is This Doing to the Atmosphere?

1 month ago | news.climate.columbia.edu | Kevin Krajick

Every few days now, a giant rocket blasts a fiery trail through the atmosphere, lofting satellites into orbit, carrying out space missions or performing other tasks. Since 2017, both the number of launches and the size of their cargo loads have grown dramatically, with ever bigger rockets carrying ever larger numbers of satellites and other objects per launch. In 2016, a total of 221 objects were launched into space; in 2023, the number was 2,644.
Women in Science: Climate and Wildfire Researcher Caroline Juang

2 months ago | news.climate.columbia.edu | Adrienne Day

Caroline Juang uses satellite data, big datasets and statistical modeling to understand natural hazards in the context of modern climate. As a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, she is currently investigating how climate affects wildfires in the western United States—prescient in the face of the recent, catastrophic Los Angeles fires.
How Is Climate Change Affecting Your Valentine’s Day Chocolate?

2 months ago | news.climate.columbia.edu | Renee Cho

Each year, Americans spend more and more on Valentine’s Day for their loved ones. In 2023, they spent almost $26 billion, and this year, they are expected to spend upwards of $27.5 billion. Most of this is spent on candy, . In fact, Americans will eat about 58 million pounds of chocolate the week of Valentine’s Day. But cocoa production is declining and chocolate prices are rising.
Columbia Climate School Launches First M.S. in Climate Finance Program in the United States – State of the Planet

2 months ago | news.climate.columbia.edu

A new interdisciplinary degree will drive impactful solutions to the climate crisis through advanced financial tools and scientific knowledge.
A Climate Change Adaptation Expert Explains How To Reduce Fire Risk

2 months ago | news.climate.columbia.edu | Renee Cho

In light of the recent Los Angeles fires, a 2023 Columbia Climate School report on wildfire mitigation strategies provides valuable insight into what’s needed to reduce fire risk and how it might be done. According to the report, wildfires have always occurred naturally and play an important role in forest health. Fires burn off dead vegetation, release nutrients in organic matter, stimulate growth in some seeds, and kill pests.
7 Climate Experts on What We Can Still Do to Fight Climate Change

Jan 15, 2025 | news.climate.columbia.edu | Renee Cho

2024 is officially the hottest year on record. The ocean is heating faster than ever as glaciers lose ice and sea levels rise. And this past year, extreme weather and wildfires devastated communities and economies across the world. As we start the new year, we can’t allow ourselves to feel discouraged about fighting climate change. While bigger actions by the government are needed to really make a difference, there are many individual actions that can help.
A Disaster Expert Explains Why the L.A. Fires Have Been So Catastrophic – State of the Planet

Jan 10, 2025 | news.climate.columbia.edu | Renee Cho

Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, discusses why these fires have been so devastating and what can be done about wildfires going forward.
7 Questions for Columbia Climate School’s New Dean, Alexis Abramson

Jan 6, 2025 | news.climate.columbia.edu | Adrienne Day

Some of Alexis Abramson’s earliest memories were colored by the impact of industry on the environment—namely, the polluted Cuyahoga River, which famously caught on fire near her hometown when she was young. Being a good steward of the planet became ingrained in her identity and led Abramson to a career in engineering and sustainability, and now to her new role as dean of the Climate School.
High Heat Is Preferentially Killing the Young, Not the Old, New Research Finds

Dec 6, 2024 | news.climate.columbia.edu | Kevin Krajick

Many recent studies assume that elderly people are at particular risk of dying from extreme heat as the planet warms. A new study of mortality in Mexico turns this assumption on its head: it shows that 75% of heat-related deaths are occurring among people under 35―a large percentage of them ages 18 to 35, or the very group that one might expect to be most resistant to heat. “It’s a surprise.
Introducing the ‘Food Pod for Humanity’ Podcast

Dec 3, 2024 | news.climate.columbia.edu | Adrienne Day

How our food is grown, harvested, processed, marketed, sold, bought, consumed and discarded is increasingly threatened by climate change. Making matters worse, the world’s growing population and the need for everyone to have access to healthy and nutritious food put a major strain on the environment. Food is tightly woven into the economic, social, communal and cultural fabric of New York City.