The Essentials

Thanks to the first annual New York Youth Institute, held Sept. 19 by Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ International Programs and the World Food Prize, a high school student in the New Visions in Life Sciences program at Cornell and her mentor at Cornell, Michele Sutton, have just returned the Global Youth Institute, Oct. 15-17, in Des Moines, Iowa, where they hobnobbed with Nobel and World Food Prize laureates and more than 600 global leaders from 65 countries.

The event was the World Food Prize’s annual international symposium. Zoe Anderson, a senior at Trumansburg High School, was selected from 26 high school students that attended the New York Youth Institute, which was designed to develop student leaders in the global fight against hunger.

At the Global Youth Institute, Anderson served as one of 120 delegates (and one of four from New York) from around the world and with Sutton, attended the World Food Prize Award ceremony, the Borlaug Dialogue and listened to Bill Gates deliver his first major address on agriculture and announce $120 million in grants to help the world’s poorest farmers.

“This was a life-changing experience [for Anderson],” said Sutton, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a high school student to share her own ideas about such complex issues with those leaders in a position to solve them. I think Zoe has returned inspired to change the world. … If it weren’t for Cornell, Francine Jasper [who organized the New York Youth Institute] and her International programs department, it wouldn’t have happened.”

- Susan S. Lang

“See tomorrow today” at the Finger Lakes Bioneers conference, Oct. 16-18 at Ithaca College. The conference includes a bevy of distinguished speakers from Cornell.

The mission of the Finger Lakes Bioneers is to “co-create a shared future based upon sustainability and social justice,” according to the organization’s Web site. The local conference will draw upon many of Cornell’s most prominent social and scientific innovators, including:

- Larry Walker, professor of biological and environmental engineering and director of the Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence;

- Susan Christopherson, professor of city and regional planning; and

- Kenneth Clarke, director of Cornell United Religious Work.

Hosted by Sustainable Tompkins, the conference is the first “Beaming Bioneers” site in New York state. For more on the national organization: www.bioneers.org.

For more on the Finger Lakes chapter and to buy tickets: www.wemakeourfuture.org

- Anne Ju

WVBR 93.5 FM radio’s “Sunday Forum” features a discussion on sustainability March 15 at 6 p.m. streamed live on WVBR.com. The program will discuss what drives sustainability, how Cornell is handling this issue, new initiatives and research on the horizon and what role students play in making the world more sustainable.

Guests will include Frank DiSalvo, director of the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future; Dean Koyanagi, Cornell sustainability coordinator; Todd Cowen, Cornell professor of civil and environmental engineering; David Lieb, assistant director for public information for Cornell Transportation; Edward R. Wilson, Cornell manager for central utility plants; and Katherine McEachern, Cornell student activist and former leader of KyotoNOW!

More than 10,000 youth leaders from across the country, including Cornell students, converged on Washington, D.C., to demand action on climate change, energy policy and the economy during Power Shift 2009, Feb. 27 to March 2. “We are building a new youth movement to solve our climate crisis and lift millions out of poverty,” says Fil Eden ’10, president of the Kyoto NOW! “Students here at Cornell and across central New York are realizing that this is our moment to push for bold action,” said Dominic Frongillo ’05. “We have the opportunity to revitalize our economy and tackle the biggest environmental challenge in history. All we need is political will, and we’re providing it.” Visit powershift09.org.

Holiday lighting can add more than $100 dollars to your electric bill in less than 30 days. You can be festive and energy efficient by replacing standard holiday lighting with LED (light emitting diodes), compact fluorescent light bulbs and mini-lights. They will provide the same level of holiday cheer at a significantly lower cost. Information about holiday lighting and other energy-saving tips for your home and business can be found by visiting the New York Energy $mart Web site or call 1-877-NY-SMART.