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.


In Peruvian Amazon, a celebration of birds takes flight

Two Lab of Ornithology staff members created a science project on birds with community leaders, teachers and students in the Peruvian Amazon. The result? A flowering of community interest beyond anything they could have imagined.

Study identifies spread of bee disease via flowers

One in 11 flowers carries disease-causing parasites known to contribute to bee declines, according to a Cornell study that identifies how flowers act as hubs for transmitting diseases to bees and other pollinators.

USDA funds study of dairy cattle’s environmental footprint

A new open-source computer model being developed by a Cornell-led interdisciplinary team will simulate production and quantify the environmental effects of management decisions made on dairy farms.

$10B needed to avert COVID-19 hunger crisis, experts say

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, $10 billion is urgently needed to prevent millions more people becoming food insecure, according to a new report by Cornell and international partners.

Listeria protein provides a CRISPR ‘kill switch’

A single protein derived from a common strain of bacteria found in the soil will offer scientists a more precise way to edit RNA, according to new Cornell food science research.

Climate change forces farmers to pick low yields or instability

Some farmers will be facing a difficult conundrum amid climate change, according to a new study by researchers from Cornell and Washington State universities: either increasingly experience revenue volatility, or choose a more predictable decrease in crop yields.

Cornell Atkinson awards $1.1M to innovative projects

Cornell Atkinson has awarded seven Academic Venture Fund seed grants, totaling $1.1 million, for projects that engage faculty from eight Cornell colleges and 16 academic departments.

Cornell earns STARS platinum sustainability rating

Cornell has earned a platinum sustainability rating – the top status – from an international group that tracks environmental stewardship for over 1,000 college campuses.

Cornell social scientists honored for rural community impact

For their work addressing causes and consequences of demographic change in rural America, a team of Cornell sociologists and other rural scholars have earned the Excellence in Multistate Research Award.