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.


Sweet service: Student aids Cameroon cocoa farmers

Timothy Smith ’14 is working with people in Cameroon to create an organic cocoa teaching and research farm to help cocoa growers escape poverty.

Engineering saves $15,000 in energy competition

The College of Engineering avoided $15,000 in energy costs through an energy-saving competition held last semester.

Atkinson Center requests proposals for 2014 grants

Make our small, pale blue planet a greener place: Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future announces the 2014 cycle for its Academic Venture Fund.

Waste not: Student aims to get more out of manure

Ph.D. student Leliah Krounb is studying how to turn human waste into soil nutrients in Kenya by using pyrolysis – thermal combustion in the absence of oxygen.

Hiring people with disabilities benefits 'green' industries

New research from the ILR School's Employment and Disability Institute finds that "green" industries benefit by hiring people with disabilities.

Big Apple's only hydroponic student lab showcased

National 4-H Council president and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo was hosted by Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City Jan. 27 in a tour of the Food and Finance High School's Hydroponics, Aquaculture, Aquaponics Learning Labs.

Study: Food hubs' support for local economy is mixed

A three-year study by Cornell researchers suggests that growth in local farm aggregation and distribution businesses may provide economic benefits to local communities, but that some other businesses may suffer.

Climate change's heat - not cold - is the real killer

Chill with impunity through this winter’s extreme cold – and brace for the next summer heat wave, when fiery temperatures and air pollution conspire to fill hospitals and morgues.

Thermostat setbacks over holiday lead to fiscal bonus

By turning down temperatures and unplugging electric devices over the holidays, the Cornell campus combined to save 1,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide from getting pumped into the atmosphere.