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.


Alumni-fueled startups pitch clean-energy solutions

This year’s 76West Clean Energy Competition featured three Cornellian-led startups that could potentially generate economic development in the Southern Tier with clean-energy technology.

TCAT gears up for passenger, driver safety; route changes

For local transit buses this fall, the road through the COVID-19 pandemic is paved with safety, as TCAT’s fall service schedule starts Aug. 30 and runs through Thanksgiving.

Cornell Atkinson awards $250K in COVID research grants

Since requesting proposals in April, the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability has awarded approximately $250,000 in rapid-response grants for COVID-19-related Cornell research.

Green practices can negate climate emissions on NY farms

New York agriculture has the capacity to mitigate its own greenhouse gas emissions, two Cornell researchers say in a state-funded report commissioned by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Higher-ed consortium partners on renewable energy

Cornell is among 21 higher-education institutions in New York submitting a collaborative request for proposals to purchase renewable electric energy from sources built over the next 2 ½ years in New York state.

Demographics data helps predict NY flood insurance claims

In flood-prone areas of the Hudson River valley in New York state, census areas with more white and affluent home owners tend to file a higher percentage of flood insurance claims than lower-income, minority residents, according to a new study. 

Molecular study could improve climate change modeling

A team of chemists, including Cornell’s Paul Houston, has unveiled the mechanics involved in the interplay between sunlight and molecules known as “roaming reactions,” which could improve climate change modeling.

$7.2M grant funds exploratory research into Earth Source Heat

Cornell has secured a U.S. Department of Energy grant, expected to total about $7.2 million, which will fund exploratory research to help verify the feasibility of using a novel geothermal energy system to heat its campus buildings.

Baltimore, Bullock’s orioles will retain separate identities

The debate is over: According to scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bullock’s and Baltimore orioles will remain separate species, despite hybridization where their ranges meet in the Great Plains.