Sustainability stories from the greater USC community in Los Angeles, the media and other organizations.
Study: TV news coverage of severe weather can boost support for climate action across the political aisle
USC researchers show that even brief segments about extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and wildfires, can increase climate concern and policy support among Americans.
How Keck Medicine is greening our operating rooms
Earth Day is coming up in April. This is a good time to think about ways we can all be more sustainable, whether we are cutting back our plastic use, rethinking how we use energy or growing food in backyard gardens.
Powering LA28: Energy, Infrastructure & the Future of Los Angeles
During The Games Week at USC, leaders from LADWP, Southern California Edison, LA28 and the U.S. Green Building Council outlined how Los Angeles plans to supply reliable, low-carbon power and water to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
How does life begin — and could it exist outside of Earth?
A recent Dornsife Dialogues event explored the new research which is uncovering life in unexpected places.
Eaton fire sent a pollution wave across Los Angeles
A USC Dornsife-led study found that the Eaton fire’s daily carbon monoxide emissions far exceeded L.A. County’s average daily emissions from all human activity.
10 USC Dornsife alumni to watch in 2026
These accomplished alumni are changing everything from our diets to our understanding of ancient life on Earth.
Reimagining LA28 Olympics through Radical Reuse, Resilience, and Long-Term Legacy
Ten projects developed by USC School of Architecture students explored innovative models for hosting the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games through LA28: Radical Re-Use, Resilience and the “No-Build” Olympics, a vertical topic studio led by Gillian Shaffer Lutsko.
Advanced Design Studio, Earthseeding Altadena, Launches the Landscape Justice Initiative’s Next Project
For Associate Professor Alison Hirsch and her USC Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism (MLA+U) students, last semester’s advanced design studio — Earthseeding Altadena: Living Together “Between the Fires” — was just the beginning of a long-term engagement in Altadena’s recovery.
USC and LA Metro announce Winners of the Inaugural Shade Zones Design Competition
Surreal floral blooms, sails and delicate lattice work are among the winning student designs for the first annual Shade Zones Design Competition, a new annual program of ShadeLA that challenges teams to envision innovative shade and cooling solutions for Los Angeles.
No Brain, No Problem: What Robots Can Learn from Sea Stars
USC Kanso Bioinspired Motion Lab borrows a trick from nature’s toolkit that can be applied to optimize robot locomotion.
One of Earth’s most abundant organisms is surprisingly fragile
An evolutionary adaptation that allows one ocean bacteria to thrive could prove to be its Achilles’ heel as oceans change, new study reveals.
Get Ready for The Games Week: the Engineering Grand Challenge LA28
For faculty and students at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, LA28 is a true engineering grand challenge – one that requires a multi-year run-up to achieve gold.
Price professor brings big data insights to big cities
Associate Professor Geoff Boeing helps cities around the world measure their progress toward becoming healthier and more sustainable.
USC Astronautics PhD Student on the Emerging Area of Space Sustainability
At the 7th Summit for Space Sustainability in Paris, USC PhD student José Pedro Ferreira raised awareness of the potential impacts of space activities in the atmosphere and the need for emerging research to be reflected in global governance.
Closing the Gap in Water Reuse: USC Engineer Elected to National Academy
Professor Amy Childress recognized by the NAE for transforming wastewater into clean water and bridging academia with the real world.
Imagining a Desert Art Museum: Featuring Ten USC Architecture Student Projects
In a striking new feature on Dezeen School Shows, student work from the University of Southern California School of Architecture was published for its inventive proposals for an art museum set within the rugged landscape near Joshua Tree National Park — a remote yet culturally resonant corner of California’s high desert.
USC Annenberg announces inaugural class of Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellows
The USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication and Center for Health Journalism are pleased to announce the selection of 10 talented journalists who will be participating in the inaugural cohort of the Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellowship.
Traveling Fellowship Spotlight: Jenae Edwards ’27 Explores the Architecture of Sinking Cultures
Thanks to the Avi Gesundheit Traveling Fellowship through the USC School of Architecture’s Traveling Fellowships scholarship programs, Jenae Edwards is exploring the Pacific, not just as a destination, but as a living classroom for climate resilience.
How young Angelenos come to understand and shape their city
With immersive, hands-on learning, USC Dornsife’s Los Angeles Service Academy prepares the next generation of civic-minded leaders.
Adoption of electric vehicles tied to real-world reductions in air pollution, study finds
Using satellite data, Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers reported the first statistically significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide linked to zero-emissions vehicles.
Two essential coral species are now functionally extinct — but should we give up hope?
After a devastating marine heatwave hit the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in 2023, the populations of two essential reef-building corals are now too low to fulfill their ecological roles. However, coral researchers are not giving up hope yet.
PFAS exposure may limit improvements in blood sugar after bariatric surgery
Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC studied the relationship between PFAS exposure and changes in markers of type 2 diabetes in teens who underwent bariatric surgery, finding that the “forever chemicals” were linked to worse metabolic outcomes five years later.
Study links rising temperatures to reduced sleep in U.S. adults
Sleep length and quality suffer in hot weather, especially for those living on the West Coast, according to a new analysis from the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
‘Forever chemicals’ may increase liver disease risk in adolescents by as much as 3-fold
A research collaboration co-led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the University of Hawai’i found that higher levels of two common types of PFAS in the blood were linked to an increased risk of early onset of MASLD, formerly known as fatty liver disease.
How past extinctions can help us manage climate change today
How can extinctions that occurred millions of years ago help us plan for and manage the effects of climate change today?