The beach. There’s a lot wrapped up in those two words. To some, beaches are associated with the joys of a yearly vacation, but for others they can evoke a scary memory of being caught in a rip current. In... The post The Rip Current Survival Guide Rob Brander first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

Climate change is one of the largest threats for humanity and has already had a significant impact globally and locally. It is perhaps the most defining issue of our time. It will ultimately test how communities, cities, and countries around... The post A Systems Thinking Approach to Teaching About Climate Change Cassie Xu and Radhika Iyengar first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

Affluent farmers and wealthy groups of investors have continued to destroy extensive tracts of tropical forests in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America over these past forty years. The ongoing loss of these old growth forests has intensified the biodiversity... The post The Power of the Shuar: How a Small Group of Indigenous People Protected Large Forests Thomas K. Rudel first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

Earth’s ancient climate reveals a history of extreme transformations—from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a “snowball earth” in which glaciers reached the equator. In The Story of Earth’s Climate in 25 Discoveries, Donald R.... The post Five Fascinating Facts About Earth’s Ancient Climate Donald R. Prothero first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

After a three-decade-long career in the rock ’n’ roll industry—during which he edited the heavy metal magazine Hit Parader, produced two music-oriented TV shows, and created Titanium Records—Andy Secher turned his attention towards another paramount interest: those strange, long-gone marine... The post Q&A: Andy Secher on The Trilobite Collector’s Guide first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

The rocks studied by geologists are often described in a standardized code that delimits the words employed, right down to the choice of color, grain size and fabric among other physical attributes. The code is a product of the International... The post Sighting of a Cambrian Island from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon Markes E. Johnson first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

Island time includes the normal passage of life functions for a local biota in response to the daily rhythms of sun, moon, and tides as well as to the disruptions caused by big storms or other perturbances under extreme El... The post A First Wetting with the Coming El Niño in the Galápagos IslandsMarkes E. Johnson first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

The idea of a world inhabited by several human species feels more like science fiction than science fact because there is only one human species—Homo sapiens—alive. Yet for the bulk of our evolutionary history, multiple human species did coexist, with... The post Why Neandertals Were Not Intellectually Inferior to Cro-Magnon Trenton Holliday first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

For more than twenty years, Lisa M. P. Munoz has interviewed hundreds of different scientists about their work in psychology, neuroscience, the geosciences, biotechnology, and immunology, among other disciplines. Time and time again, she heard about the unique struggles facing women... The post Q&A: Giving Voice and Data to the Gender Gap in Science Lisa M. P. Munoz first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more

When I was an engineering student at Cornell University, one of my first assignments in a science communications class was to analyze scientists in films to better understand public perception of science. Jurassic Park, Contact, Armageddon, Back to the Future—there... The post How On-Screen Women Scientists Can Reduce Sexism in ScienceLisa M. P. Munoz first appeared on Columbia University Press Blog ..read more