Media Relations Office

Drew Margolin, professor of communication at Cornell University, comments on news that two former Twitter employees were charged with spying for Saudi Arabia.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---

The 2019 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a Norway spruce from Florida, New York, will be cut down on Thursday and transported to New York City, arriving this Saturday, Nov. 9. Daniel Weitoish, an arborist at Cornell Botanic Gardens, says the Norway spruce is an excellent choice for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

New York City

---

Fall is rapidly approaching, and apple harvest season is here. Helping to shed some light on 2019’s apple harvest, Susan Brown, professor of horticulture and world-renowned apple breeder; Kerik Cox, professor of plant pathology who specializes in fungal and bacterial diseases of apples; Arthur Agnello, entomology professor who focuses on tree fruit pests and pest management, weigh in on this year’s crop and growing season.

Food & Agriculture

New York State

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---

As Dorian continues to make its way up the East Coast this week, agriculture producers are warned extreme weather and flooding could devastate crops. Two Cornell University experts – David Wolfe and Harold van Es – explain the impacts Dorian could have on crop harvest and the soil in the Southeast, as well as preventative measures farmers are taking to combat damage from these reoccurring destructive storms.

Food & Agriculture

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---

Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, assistant professor of applied economics and management and a fellow at Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Sarah Evanega, director of the Cornell Alliance for Science and professor of plant breeding and genetics, and Daryl Nydam, professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and director of Quality Milk Production Services, comment on an upcoming IPCC report that calls for urgent food systems reforms.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management

Food & Agriculture

Agriculture and Life Sciences

---

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, legislation that sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050, has been sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and could be signed as early as tomorrow.

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Law, Government & Public Policy

New York State

---

This week is New York state’s sixth annual Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW). Carrie Brown-Lima, director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute at Cornell University, is an expert in invasive species issues. She says hydrilla and the hemlock woolly adelgid are some of the most problematic invasive species in New York and by making efforts to help stop the spread of the species we can reduce damages they cause.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---

This week the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a proposed revision which could drastically change regulations for genetically-modified crops. Matthew R. Willmann is the director of the Plant Transformation Facility at Cornell University and has 25 years of plant science research experience, having studied plant transformation and genome editing to improve crop plants. He says the revision will lower costs, lead to a broader range of genetically-engineered plants, and reduce time for improved plants to reach growers which will allow agriculture to be more reactive in response to climate change and plant diseases.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

Law, Government & Public Policy

---

This week marks the start of honey bee swarm season in New York. As the spring weather gets warmer and flowers begin to bloom, bees and other pollinators are starting to emerge. Emma Mullen, Cornell University’s Senior Honey Bee Extension Associate, encourages people to be on the lookout for honey bee swarms and to report them, so beekeepers can give them the best chance for survival.  

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---

Scott McArt, a professor of entomology at Cornell University, comments on a new United Nations report, which says up to 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction due to human activity.

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

---