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.


Analysis reveals signs of life in ‘zombie’ volcano

Researchers identified a likely source of activity in a “zombie” volcano that appeared to be dormant for more than 250,000 years: molten rock releasing gas that pushes against the volcano’s upper crust.

With sustainable practices, New York dairy farms lower emissions

In collaboration with farmers, researchers found that emission intensities from New York state dairy farms were lower per gallon of milk than national estimates and among the lowest reported across continents. 

With new tool, birds can help track – and save – wild bees

A new publicly available tool uses data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird program to track and estimate the diversity of wild bees across the eastern and central U.S. - with implications for conservation and agriculture.

Mayflies accumulate more mercury when selenium is added to polluted water

Researchers found that at low levels of mercury, selenium additions did seem to help mayfly larva from accumulating mercury. But at high mercury levels – the condition in which environmental remediation is most needed – selenium actually made mercury accumulation worse.

Trading some corn-ethanol land for solar offers ‘tremendous opportunity’

In the U.S., strategically converting a small fraction of land used to grow corn for ethanol to solar facilities could vastly increase energy production per hectare, as well as provide ecological benefits and financial resiliency for farmers.

Students help city of Ithaca earn LEED Gold certification

A Cornell University Sustainable Design student team worked with an array of municipal departments to assemble the extensive data needed to demonstrate that the city of Ithaca met the stringent requirements for LEED certification.

Earth Day research: Powering the future with clean energy

New SC Johnson College research shows primary contributors to recent clean energy patents are existing inventors rather than newcomers.

Around Cornell

Growth across fields: Scientific collaboration tackles farming challenges

A new study, published in Global Change Biology, presents five case studies that demonstrate how deep collaboration can transform crop monitoring, fertilizer use and water management to tackle the most significant challenges facing farming: water status, fertilizer systems and phosphorus recovery.

Around Cornell

Cornell Atkinson at 15: celebrating science, fostering hope

The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability’s 15th-anniversary conference addressed past successes and future efforts to support climate and sustainability.