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.


Keeping electricity affordable on wireless charging highways

Efficient pricing will be crucial to minimize energy costs for private operators who provide on-the-highway wireless charging for electric cars – and for consumers who will use this service.

Embracing the audacity of ambition: Future planners explore challenging climate questions facing the field

Students participating in this year's City and Regional Planning fall field trip to sites across New York City considered the many ways climate change impacts urban environments — physically, economically, socially, and environmentally — as well as disparities in resources dedicated to adaptation in different parts of the city.

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Cornell, DEC team up for green Hudson Valley land planning

Through a long partnership between Cornell and the DEC, communities in the Hudson watershed have received training, tools and assistance to advance conservation land-use planning and policy.

Library events highlight open access research

Library celebrates Open Access Week with talks, panels

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Drilling ends and data analysis begins for borehole observatory

The Cornell University Borehole Observatory provides a platform to directly study the temperature, permeability and other characteristics of the rock deep beneath the Ithaca campus – factors that will help the university determine whether to move forward with a proposed plan to warm the Ithaca campus with Earth Source Heat.

Birds report finds losses in all habitats, except wetlands

The 2022 State of the Birds Report reveals that birds are declining overall in every habitat, except wetlands – a finding that could provide a viable strategy for improving outcomes for all birds.

Entrepreneurs find home as Activate Fellows at Praxis Center

Two Cornell graduates, CEOs of Praxis clients REEgen and Soctera, benefit from the vibrant innovation ecosystem at Cornell and Activate’s immersive fellowship program for science entrepreneurs.

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Onshore algae farms could feed the world sustainably

Growing algae onshore could close a projected gap in society’s future nutritional demands while also improving environmental sustainability.

Environmental DNA tech makes reviews faster, cheaper

David Lodge, the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of Cornell Atkinson, urges federal agencies to expand adoption of environmental DNA technologies, which enable faster, cheaper, more accurate environmental reviews.

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