The Earth Institute was established in 1995 to advance our understanding of Earth science and apply that knowledge to decisions made by governments and businesses around the world. A world leader in ...

Shahid Naeem and his team are unwavering when it comes to the need for preserving biodiversity; their motto is “Ecology with no apology.” The planet is facing its sixth mass extinction, which means ...

To view the original story with images on the IRI website, please click here. Millions of people in the tropics depend on coconuts for food, raw materials and livelihood. Coconuts are also a high ...

The Millennium Villages project offers a bold, innovative model for helping rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Millennium Villages themselves are proving that by ...

Landslides kill at least a thousand people each year but because they are often triggered by earthquakes or heavy rains, the danger remains poorly understood. Scientists know less about landslides ...

Peter Coleman, Co-Executive Director of the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity (AC4), created four short and engaging videos about intractable conflicts for AC4, an ...

Pedro Sanchez attributes the roots of his life’s work in soil sciences to the fact that he always liked to “play with dirt.” That boyhood pastime was nurtured by the fact that his family owned a ...

As a young undergraduate, Peter deMenocal once wandered the halls of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he met Charlie Hollister, a well-known and charismatic marine geologist. Charlie ...

The Earth Institute, which is now part of Columbia University’s Climate School, blends research in the physical and social sciences, education, and practical solutions to help guide the world onto a ...

Mark Cane has never been one to follow the status quo. After studying pure mathematics and what is now known as computer science at Harvard in the 60s, he took a hiatus from academia to work in New ...

Under the stewardship of the Earth Institute faculty, the Earth Institute moves beyond the usual academic boundaries to create a multidisciplinary approach to questions of Earth's sustainability.

Ruth DeFries examines human transformation of the landscape and its consequences for climate, biogeochemical cycling, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services that make our planet habitable. The ...