Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Cornell is a global leader in sustainability and climate change research, teaching and engagement. Our campuses are living laboratories for developing, testing and implementing solutions that address these most challenging issues.


Alumna veterinarian volunteers for Haiti animal project

Vermont veterinarian Karen Anderson, a 1982 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, spent almost two weeks in Haiti last year helping to spread knowledge about caring for and treating animals. (Feb. 5, 2008)

Even with reduced emissions, upstate N.Y. could feel like D.C. by 2100, warns ecologist at global warming teach-in

Along with 1,600 other institutions around the United States, Cornell sponsored local events to address climate change on Jan 31. (Feb. 5, 2008)

CU students help celebrate a new chapter in Honduran town of Tamara -- the promise of clean, treated water

A dedication ceremony for a new water treatment plant in Tamara, Honduras, was attended by 18 Cornell engineering students who visited the country Jan. 4-20. (Feb. 4, 2008)

Acid rain is not only changing soil chemistry, it is affecting climate change, says Geological Survey scientist

Acid rain is not only changing soil chemistry, it is impacting climate change and depleting the soil of calcium, said a U.S. Geological Survey scientist, speaking on campus Jan. 25.

Students see firsthand how Asia is developing its first genetically engineered food crop

Cornell, Indian and Thai agricultural students toured greenhouses and field trials at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, where the pest-resistant eggplant that Cornell researchers helped develop is being tested.

What goes down the drain, from ibuprofen to soaps, gets turned out to pasture via toxic sludge, researchers warn

Toxic chemicals from households and industry persist in the environment because they end up in sewage sludge. Though pathogens are removed in treatment plants, there are no requirements for chemicals, which contaminate sludge. (Jan. 29, 2008)

CU donates a record 82 tons of produce to area food banks

In 2007, Cornell's Homer C. Thompson Research Farm in Freeville donated a record 178,000 pounds – or about 82 tons – of fresh produce, more than double what the research farm gave away in 2004, to three local food banks.

National Academy of Sciences honors Tom Eisner for 'extraordinary scientific achievement'

The National Academy of Sciences will present Professor Thomas Eisner, a world authority on animal behavior, ecology and evolution, with the 2008 John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science at an April ceremony.

Promoting local foods is paying off, CU research shows

Duncan Hilchey of Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute says northern New York is selling more food directly to consumers, but more needs to be done. (Jan. 22, 2008)