Cornell Expert Quotes | Cornell Chronicle

Cornell Expert Quotes

Cornellians weigh in on current events in the news

"As Trump showed, even negative buzz is good, especially for front runners, because it can suck attention away from challengers (remember during GOP debate when he talked about his ‘hands’)."

Drew Margolin

Associate Professor

Topic	Name	Date
Lab of Ornithology , Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Agriculture and Life Sciences	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology	02/25/21
	“Industry represents the largest source of human-caused mortality for migratory birds and kills up to 1 billion birds per year. The number of birds killed would have increased under the Trump administration’s rule.” Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Scientists call for migratory bird protections, end of Trump rule (02/25/21)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Lab of Ornithology	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology	08/13/20
	“The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is inconsistent with the best-available science, including a federal scientific report in which EPA scientists synthesized more than 1,200 peer-reviewed studies and input from 49 experts and the EPA’s Science Advisory Board." Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Scientists issue rebuke of new EPA rule that compromises U.S. waters (08/13/20)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Lab of Ornithology , Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology	07/16/20
	"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed rule both undermines its organizational mission to protect birds and falls short of its stated aim to provide regulatory certainty for industry.” Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: New U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule undermines mission to protect birds (07/16/20)
	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
	Media: Media Relations, Media Relations Office mediarelations@cornell.edu (607) 255 - 2059
Energy, Environment & Sustainability	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology	01/23/20
	“Under the new rule, over half of wetlands and almost one-fifth of streams nationwide – including almost 40% of streams in the Arid West – will no longer be protected under the Clean Water Act. The rule is not consistent with the science and it contradicts previous interpretations of the CWA that have received bipartisan support since the act was first signed into law by President Nixon." Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Trump pollution control cuts ‘not consistent with science,’ will cost Americans (01/23/20)
Law and Policy , Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future , Energy, Environment & Sustainability	Amanda Rodewald Professor; Senior Director of Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology	09/13/19
	“With so many threats to the quality and quantity of our nation’s water resources, this rollback moves us in the wrong direction and eliminates protection from half of wetlands and one-fifth of streams in the U.S.” Media: Rachel Rhodes rer252@cornell.edu 202-434-8036 Related Tip Sheet: WOTUS rollback threatens half of US wetlands, fifth of streams (09/13/19)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Law and Policy , Lab of Ornithology	John Fitzpatrick Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology	09/10/19
	"Anything that we can do to reduce the risk of oil spills along our embattled coastlines (Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico) will be vital for protecting highly vulnerable species, so banning offshore drilling would be of enormous value." Media: Rachel Rhodes rer252@cornell.edu 202-434-8036 Related Tip Sheet: Offshore drilling ban would protect vulnerable marine, bird species (09/10/19)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Law and Policy , Lab of Ornithology	Aaron Rice Research associate at the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology	09/10/19
	"Oil and gas exploration and extraction introduce a number of different impacts to marine ecosystems, from the sounds generated by seismic air guns to physical modification of the seafloor associated with drilling operations. Prohibition of further oil and gas operations in these areas prevent the introduction of yet another stressor in an already noisy ocean." Media: Rachel Rhodes rer252@cornell.edu 202-434-8036 Related Tip Sheet: Offshore drilling ban would protect vulnerable marine, bird species (09/10/19)
Lab of Ornithology , Energy, Environment & Sustainability	John Fitzpatrick Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology	12/06/18
	Fitzpatrick says: “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said its decision three years ago not to list sage-grouse as endangered was made based on the best available science. "That evidence led to the designation 10 million acres of habitat in Sagebrush Focal Areas that were deemed to be crucial to the species’ survival, and to keeping it from becoming endangered. It also designated no surface occupancy buffers near leks that are critical zones of reproduction. “Today’s announcement is not based on any new science that changes the picture of what biologists regard as absolutely necessary to keep sage-grouse off the Endangered Species list. The flexibility to roll back science-based protections for sage-grouse habitats and leks is the flexibility to set back the sage-grouse population. “The beauty of the 2015 Sage-Grouse Plans were their comprehensive, landscape-scale strategy. The proposed revisions break that strategy up into bits, rendering individual sage-grouse breeding areas vulnerable to the influence of short-term gain for development. “The 2015 Sage-Grouse Plans were a hard-earned compromise after a decade of cooperative conservation work and unprecedented coalitions among state and federal agencies, conservationists, energy companies, and private ranchers. The Department of Interior is disregarding its own best available science at the peril of reopening a contentious debate that will serve nobody’s best interests.” Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Trump administration chooses oil exploration at expense of sage grouse (12/06/18)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Lab of Ornithology	Aaron Rice Research associate at the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology	11/30/18
	Rice says: “Sound is a critical aspect of the life history of many, if not most, marine organisms, and sounds from the proposed seismic surveys could have profound effects on their behavior and ecology. Sounds generated by these seismic surveys will propagate hundreds to potentially thousands of miles underwater. They fall within the key hearing ranges of many marine species. “The proposed survey area coincides with the habitat of many whale and fish species, all of which could be impacted by this survey. The proposed survey area overlaps with the critical habitat of the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, and these sounds may further threaten the survivorship of the entire species. “The rationale of the IHA is not based on the best available science, and there have been many recent studies which highlight the further potential harm of seismic surveys to marine life.” Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Seismic tests in Atlantic threaten ‘entire species’ of endangered Right Whale (11/30/18)

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