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.


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)

Cornell partners with other schools to promote New York's solar energy industry

Cornell will join five other universities in providing research support to The Solar Energy Consortium. This research partnership between colleges and solar energy companies will help advance New York's solar industry. (Jan. 18, 2008)

Food for thought: Sage Chapel hosts talk series, Soup and Hope

On four consecutive Thursdays beginning Jan. 24, Sage Chapel invites the Cornell community is to bring a bowl, enjoy soup with hearty bread and listen to stories of hope from Ithaca community members.

Hands across Asia: Cornell students join Indian and Thai counterparts on international agriculture field trip

On New Year's Day, 29 Cornell students and eight faculty members left Ithaca for a three-week study tour of India and Thailand as part of Cornell's International Agriculture in the Developing Nations II class.