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.


Cornell joins consortium to foster Great Lakes research

A regional consortium that includes Cornell is collaborating to preserve the Great Lakes thanks to a five-year, $20 million grant from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cornell scientist tapped to preserve elm trees on the National Mall

A team of Cornell scientists, led by Nina Bassuk, professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science, is working to preserve the elms on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for generations to come.

BioBlitz highlights the species diversity of Ithaca region

Participants in the inaugural School of Integrative Plant Science BioBlitz discovered local biodiversity Sept 8-9.

Deer eating habits have lasting damage on forests

Eating habits of deer lower native plant diversity and abundance, while increasing the proportion of plant communities made up of non-native species, according to a new study.

New study reveals flower color, fragrance coordination

It’s possible to predict the fragrance of a flower by looking at its color, according to a study of species on the Greek island of Lesbos that included Cornell professor Robert Raguso.

Geologists to deploy seismometers along Alaskan Peninsula

Cornell is leading the largest single deployment of seismometers along the Alaskan Peninsula – a $4.5 million endeavor to solve long-standing mysteries about the region.

Gene Madsen, expert in environmental microbiology, dies at 64

Eugene L. Madsen, M.S. ’81, Ph.D. ’85, professor of microbiology, died Aug. 9 in Freeville, New York. He was 64.

Research: Climate impacts of land use are underestimated

A new Cornell-led study shows that deforestation and subsequent use of lands for agriculture or pasture, especially in tropical regions, contribute more to climate change than previously thought.

Study to explore how phosphorus cycles through the environment

A new grant to a researcher in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences aims to discover the ways phosphorus cycles in the environment.