Panel on farming in unpredictable weather kicks off N.Y. Ag Society forum [Cornell Chronicle 1/9/2013] – With 2012 going down as the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States, it was fitting that a Cornell-led panel titled “Farming Through Unpredictability” kicked off the 181st New York State Agricultural Society forum Jan. 9 in Liverpool, N.Y. Michael Hoffmann, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, explored climate change issues and responses with farmers including Jennifer Crist, whose family operates the 600-acre Crist Brothers Orchards in the Hudson Valley. The family has invested in higher elevation sites and wind machines that pull warmer air down to the orchard to prevent frost damage to buds in spring. And they are also experimenting with sun protectants and considering overhead irrigation to cool their orchard on the warmest days.
New climate change minor covers science and solutions [Cornell Chronicle 1/9/2013] – A new climate change minor gives undergraduates the opportunity to explore climate change from varied disciplinary perspectives, while getting a firm grounding in the basic physical, ecological and social science of the planetary crisis. “I’m excited that we now can offer a minor like this to all of our students,” said David Wolfe (right), chair of the Atkinson Center Climate Change Focus Group and professor in the Department of Horticulture. “Having some depth of understanding about climate change issues will make them effective leaders in whatever career track they follow after Cornell.”