Although skyrocketing gas prices have made headlines and worried consumers recently, Cornell’s fuel-related projects have pushed ahead without notice as the school year eases into rhythm.

Rising fuel costs — while a major concern for the general public — are not the primary motive behind many of Cornell’s green initiatives designed to cut emissions and reduce fuel usage.

“It’s more of an environmental issue than a monetary one,” said Director of Transportation David Lieb ’89. “One of President Skorton’s major policies for the University is to be at the cutting edge of green technology.”

The age of the Jetsons is finally upon on us.

Yesterday evening, an international delegation of academics, engineers and policy makers gathered in the Johnson Museum to mark the commencement of the three-day Podcar City Conference — one devoted to further developing the use of Personal Rapid Transit. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) expressed his excitement concerning the convention by addressing the positive implications of the proposed alternative mode of transportationOpen up to the future: Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) speaks at the opening event of the Podcar City Conference at the Johnson Museum yesterday., which involved computer-programmed cars run on elevated guide-ways.

A few weeks following his graduation last spring, Carlos Rymer ’08 received an e-mail containing news. Rymer — whose legacy at Cornell reads like a laundry list of the University’s recent sustainability initiatives — had won the Sierra Club’s 2008 Joseph Barbosa Award.

Rymer was nominated for the award , which recognizes club members under 30 years old who have “a demonstrated record of service to the environment,” by Bonnie Tillery, who worked with Rymer at the local Sierra Club near his hometown in New Jersey. He will fly to San Francisco on Sept. 20 to be honored by the Sierra Club, where he will receive a $250 grant for his work.

When President David Skorton signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment last year, he joined administrators from other institutions in an effort to enact climate change action and strive to make Cornell a carbon neutral institution. As a result, some members of the Cornell Community were charged with the responsibility of overseeing the agreement.

President’s Climate Commitment Implementation Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Neutrality currently act as liaisons between researchers on sustainable energy and Skorton. Members of these committees include students, professors and University staff.

In deciding what colleges to apply to and ultimately attend, applicants may consider academic offerings, location, size, reputation, financial aid offerings and extracurricular opportunities. Another factor may soon come into play in light of The Princeton Review’s recent announcement that it will publish a “Green Rating” alongside ratings of selectivity, quality of life and financial aid in the 2009 edition of its annual college guides, which will be available mid-summer.

The green rating was designed to measure how effective a college’s environmental polices are in providing a better campus experience to students. The rating will also consider how successful colleges are in promoting learning opportunities and sustainable lifestyle choices.

“If you don’t recycle, ninjas might kill you,” read a t-shirt distributed by the Ecology House at yesterday’s Earth Day celebration. Student groups celebrated the day by spreading awareness and promoting action for social and environmental issues.

According to Rachel Cluett ’10, a member of the Sustainability Hub and one of the primary organizers of the event, Earth Day aims to “give student organizations a chance to talk about what they’re doing and to educate other students about what’s happening on-campus and in the community.”

Last Wednesday, the Ithaca Common Council voted in favor of a resolution urging federal and state officials to support a federal tax on carbon emissions. According to Sylvester Johnson ’71, a coordinator involved in drafting the resolution, the motion was the first mark of support for the initiative from local governments across the nation.

The Council voted 9-0-1 in favor of the resolution, which supports imposing a federal tax on carbon emissions as an alternative to implementing a national cap on carbon emissions.

The Sustainability Hub, an umbrella organization composed of several student groups, announced recently the formation of the Sustainable Investment Coalition. The Coalition will seek to promote the investment of the University’s endowment, approximately $5 billion, in companies that employ sustainable practices.