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Climate and Society
Humankind is both driver of and responder to climate in its pursuit of well-being. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases affect the heat balance of the earth and the direct exploitation of natural resources has significant impact on climate. Conversely, changing patterns of precipitation, temperature extremes, increased frequency of storms, and rising sea level determine the limits of societal development. While the dynamic interaction between humans and climate is not new, the scale of the interaction has reached unprecedented proportions. Climate change adds to and actively interacts with a variety of other environmental problems that have been caused by overusing natural resources. For example, population increases lead to a panoply of problems, including water stress, deforestation, air pollution, and soil mismanagement and erosion. In combination with climate change, these stressors directly impact society in many ways, including food production, floods and droughts, and disease and its spread.
To meet this challenge, The Earth Institute has formed the Columbia Climate Center, which seeks to integrate the many climate-related activities and research efforts at Columbia. The center integrates studies in the natural and physical sciences, engineering, socioeconomics and political science to improve humankind’s capacity to understand, predict, and respond to climate variability and change.
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