The gulf oil spill, talks of coral bleaching, overfishing and other current events have been recent reminders of the importance of the oceans in our lives. As is often the case in many other environmental and oceanic initiatives, Cornell­ians work tirelessly to solve them, despite its inland location. The strength of Shoals Marine Laboratory can, in part, be attributed to its renowned facility on Appeldore Is­land, Maine. The lab is operated jointly by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire and run by Prof. Willy Bemis ’76, ecology and evolutionary biology.

“I felt like a little boy enchanted and fearless seeing a green anaconda, 15-30 feet long passing near my legs.  I felt her rubbery skin as she slid through my hands and then clutched on tightly to her tail till she jerked strongly and moved away,” said Prof. Harry Greene, ecology and evolutionary biology.

It is illegal to transport some firewood across the state of New York. These regulations represent the response to invasive insect species, particularly the emerald ash borer, the hemlock woolly adelgid and the eastern longhorned beetle. One anonymous source characterized these species as “the holy trinity of invasive species” — a powerful trifecta of Asian insects capable of drastically altering the natural American landscape.

For an unconventional senior thesis, art student and Sun columnist Maggie Prendergast started a garden outside Tjaden Hall.

The largest country in the world by area, the Russian Federation, has frigid winters and moderate summers, in which temperatures rarely top 70 degrees. This July, record temperatures exceeded 105 degrees, hitting the nation with a high price - wildfires began on July 29 and spread to central and western Russia.

The top of the food chain – reserved for the animal kingdom’s most ferocious hunters and most lethal killers - offers residency to an unlikely new predator:  gulls.

Four years ago, a commercial beekeeper, who had trucked thousands of his honeybee colonies to winter in Florida, discovered that all the bees had disappeared. There were no skeletons, so to speak. The bees were just gone. Given the importance of bees in the pollination of apple trees, the local apple industry must confront this new mystery.

Afforestation is a rapidly growing phenomenon, contributing to seven percent of the world’s forestland. Sean Berthrong conducted research in the eucalyptus forests of the Rio de la Plata Grasslands, which stretch from northeastern Argentina across Uruguay to southern Brazil. 

Prof. James Lassoie, natural resources, embraces his role as a teacher, and his outreach to students spans the globe.