In its efforts to land the 2012 Olympic Games, New York City has turned to Cornell University for help. To complete its application, the city has asked Cornell's Center for the Environment to put together a plan for conducting a global impact study and a team of prominent environmental, social and economic scientists from leading academic institutions to carry it out if New York gets the games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires that each city have an environmental impact study plan in place as part of its application process. If New York lands the games, Cornell has committed to conducting the extensive monitoring needed to assess the impact that the games would have at the local, state, national and even world levels. The study would last a decade and analyze almost 150 indicators -- before, during and after the games.

"In 1999, the IOC embraced the goal of sustainable development," says Mark Bain, director of the Center for the Environment. "This is a pioneering effort to look at the true consequences that the games would have on its host city. Thus, we formulated a plan that includes multiple institutions with interdisciplinary experts, not only to assess the influence of the Olympics on New York but also to create a comparable benchmark for all future games and to help bidding cities and future organizations identify potential legacies to maximize the Olympic Games' benefits."

Bain has formed a team that includes 10 experts, five from Cornell and five affiliated with Columbia University, New York University, the American Museum of Natural History and City University of New York.

The New York City proposal says that if chosen, "the games will spur the largest environmental transformation in New York history, creating more than 300 hectares (740 acres) of new or enhanced parkland, transforming polluted lakes and waterways into recreational centers, and leaving a legacy of new sustainable buildings and communities."

The IOC's decision will be announced July 6.

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