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.


Geophysicist sprints to monitor quake aftershocks in Alaska

When an 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chignik, Alaska, on July 29, geophysicist Geoffrey Abers raced north with a group of collaborators to record its aftershocks.

Complex dynamics turn lake water green and brown

Scientists have mostly assumed that ecosystem relationships leading to these shifts are linear, but new research suggests something more complicated.

Gretchen Goldman '06 named to White House environmental policy office

Goldman began the job in July and will serve a one-year term while on sabbatical from the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she is the research director for the Center for Science and Democracy.

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Touted as clean, ‘blue’ hydrogen may be worse than gas or coal

‘Blue hydrogen – made by using methane in natural gas – is lauded a clean, Cornell and Stanford researchers believe it may harm the climate more than burning fossil fuel.

Metamaterials research challenges fundamental limits in photonics

Cornell researchers are proposing a new way to modulate both the absorptive and the refractive qualities of metamaterials in real time, and their findings open intriguing new opportunities.

Politicians in areas with most climate risk tweet about it least

Almost all U.S. politicians tweet about climate change based on party affiliation and the opinion of their constituents, not actual climate risk to the areas they represent, a new multidisciplinary study found.

Family values outweigh politics in U.S. Latinos’ climate beliefs

According to new research co-led by Jonathon Schuldt ’04, associate professor of communication, family values are a much stronger predictor of climate opinions and policy support than political views for U.S. Latinos.

Radio interview discusses progress of the Dryden Rail Trail

Todd Bittner, Director of Natural Areas, Cornell Botanic Gardens, and member of Dryden Rail Trail Task Force discussing how the Dryden Rail Trail "connects communities" in Tompkins County.

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Sustainability tips help staff take action

The Campus Sustainability Office and campus-wide Green Teams have launched a 'tip of the month' campaign to help staff identify easy ways to make the workplace more sustainable. 

Staff News

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