
Sustainability: Human Factors
An Ecosystem of Innovation
Effective technology already exists to shape a new energy economy, cultivate healthier communities, and protect vulnerable ecosystems. We are limited today not by innovation, but by human choices. The challenge is to figure out how we as a society can implement what is available more quickly, equitably, and at scale.
Through our school-wide initiative, USC Dornsife grapples with complex questions related to the human dimensions of sustainability — the economics, politics, and mindsets that continue to stand in the way of making critical progress during this short window of opportunity.

Human Factors in the News
$1 million FireAid grant boosts USC Dornsife researchers’ wildfire soil testing program
The new funding will expand USC Dornsife’s soil testing campaign in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires — screening for a wider range of contaminants, speeding up lab results and increasing community outreach.
USC technology may reduce shipping emissions by half
New research shows how a shipboard system using limestone and seawater could cut maritime CO2 emissions by 50%.
Wildfires, falling EV interest and transit doubts test L.A. ahead of the 2028 Olympics
The latest USC Dornsife LABarometer survey finds Angelenos grappling with climate stress, doubting transit readiness for the Olympics and losing interest in electric vehicles.
Why forests aren’t coming back after gold mining in the Amazon
While gold mining’s environmental toll is well known, a team led by USC Dornsife researchers has uncovered a hidden culprit behind the Amazon rainforest’s slow recovery: water loss caused by reshaped terrain.
Even weak tropical cyclones raise infant mortality in poorer countries, USC-led research finds
A new study finds that even storms below hurricane strength significantly increase infant deaths in low- and middle-income countries, and not just for the reasons experts expected.
Using environmental science to affect policy management: Karla Heidelberg
The USC Sea Grant director brings more than 25 years of experience as a scientist, educator and leader in ocean research, education, policy and public engagement.
‘Greening’ the operating room: Arash Motamed
As the medical director of sustainability at Keck Medicine of USC, Associate Professor Arash Motamed, a Dornsife alumnus, is working to reduce the harmful effects of clinical operations on the environment.
Q&A with Andrew Lakoff: Why planetary health is the first step to a sustainable future
An expert on how societies prepare for and respond to emergencies — from pandemics to climate change — USC’s Andrew Lakoff explores how our well-being depends on the health of Earth’s ecosystems.
Working on a problematic plastic: Megan Fieser
Megan Fieser, the Gabilan Assistant Professor of Chemistry at USC Dornsife, is working to resolve the vexing problem of plastic accumulating in our environment.
Wildfires hit L.A.’s housing-insecure residents hardest, USC Dornsife survey finds
From displacement to respiratory illness, Angelenos without stable housing suffered disproportionately — and most residents support smarter rebuilding.
$15M gift from alumnus fuels sustainable energy research at USC Dornsife’s Loker Institute
The USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute will use endowment funds established by chemists and entrepreneurs Massoud Arvanaghi ’82 and Ferial K. Arvanaghi to drive research aimed at building a more sustainable future and a healthier environment.
‘Solar canals’: A bright solution for California’s water and energy needs?
Organized by USC Dornsife’s Public Exchange, the USC-led California Solar Canal Initiative could transform major portions of the state’s 4,000 miles of canals into a powerful source of clean energy and water conservation.
How changing L.A.’s tree rules could cool more neighborhoods
A new USC Dornsife study finds that outdated guidelines are limiting tree growth — especially in lower-income neighborhoods — and offers a path forward.
Free lead soil testing by USC Dornsife researchers helps L.A. residents after wildfires
Anyone affected by the L.A. fires can drop off or mail in soil samples for testing as part of Public Exchange’s community-focused project to assess post-fire lead contamination.

USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability
Providing leadership for the Sustainability: Human Factors initiative, the USC Wrigley Institute has expanded its mission to connect USC Dornsife’s natural science researchers more deeply with our academic strength across the social sciences and humanities. Students engage through a wide range of research and internship opportunities, as well as a residential college hosted at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island.

The Blue Economy
It doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. We can use ocean resources to spur economic growth and improve livelihoods without harming marine ecosystems. With longstanding strength in marine biology, Earth sciences, chemistry, and related fields, USC Dornsife is positioned to lead innovation focused on the blue economy.
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USC Sea Grant Program
Kelp Aquaculture for Sustainability

The Green Economy
USC’s environmental economists help society devise new “rules of the game” to spark green economic growth and adapt to the effects of climate change, while shining light on the vast opportunities to create new wealth, stable governments, and equitable communities.

Sustainable Cities
What will it take to make urban environments greener, more affordable, more equitable, and healthier for everyone? At USC, spatial scientists, sociologists, urban planners, and policy experts help decision makers navigate competing tensions to shape a future where growing urban communities can thrive in an ecologically meaningful way.
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Spatial Sciences Institute
Middle East Studies

Community Engagement with Environmental Challenges
Success in building a sustainable society requires that all people can realize their highest potential without interruption by environmental challenges. Experts at USC Dornsife explore new ways to reduce the distribution of environmental damages on different communities, helping to ensure that everyone thrives together.
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Equity Research Institute
Precarious Ecologies

Accelerating Policy
Sustainability issues do not appear in shades of red or blue. As a national leader in practical politics and public policy, USC Dornsife provides an intellectual environment in which policymakers, business leaders, and academic researchers can work together to break through political roadblocks that stall the adoption of sustainability solutions.
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Climate Forward
Security and Political Economy Lab (SPEC)
USC Wrigley Institute Center for Social Transformation

Public Exchange
To meet the growing demand for research related to climate resilience and “green” initiatives, Public Exchange recently launched a climate and sustainability practice that helps policymakers and organizations access academic expertise needed to move the needle.
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USC Urban Trees Initiative
Climate Change Terminology
Climate Forward
The signature USC Dornsife Climate Forward conference is an annual event that explores politically realistic solutions to address the challenges associated with a changing climate. The 2025 conference focused on finding practical solutions to climate change and identifying the political obstacles to implementing those changes.
Garret Graves on Being Hopeful, Coming Together
Garret Graves Former U.S. Representative (R-LA)Barbara Boxer on States Taking the Lead
Barbara Boxer Former U.S. Senator (D-CA)Joe Árvai on Advice to Students
Joe Árvai Director, USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and SustainabilityEquity Research Institute
Under the leadership of Distinguished Professor Manuel Pastor, ERI uses data analysis to power social change with an emphasis on the impacts of climate change, air pollution, and urban heat zones on communities of color. Among ERI’s projects, researchers use geographic information systems to visualize and analyze demographic and economic shifts that inform state policy and “Green Zone” initiatives.

The West On Fire
At the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, a team led by Professor William Deverell places western wildfire in historical context and broadens public awareness of the region’s relationship with fire. Pulling together ecologists, Indigenous fire practitioners, U.S. Forest Service personnel, Earth scientists, economists, political scientists, journalists, and many others, The West on Fire initiative is a timely opportunity to develop new ways of thinking about fire in the region.

Dornsife Dialogues: Engineering Earth’s Future
The Dornsife Dialogues online series and podcast brings together leading scholars and distinguished alumni from USC to share research-based findings and fresh insight on timely topics — including several events focused on the human factors of sustainability.
Recent Sustainability Events
Climate Solutions: Engineering Earth’s Future
As climate change intensifies across the planet, attention is turning toward technologies that offer novel ways to decarbonize our economy and our atmosphere. Yet, these solutions are not without their critics, who warn about unforeseen environmental and social repercussions.
How to Sustainably Cool a Warming World
As Earth’s temperature rises due to the effects of climate change, cooling the air in our lived environments is increasingly crucial. So, how do we meet the growing demand for cooling in a manner that is sustainable, energy-efficient, and accessible to all?
Nuclear Energy: Should it Power Our Cities?
A growing number of political leaders and environmentalists support a renewed investment in nuclear power. Should it be a part of the clean energy strategy?
L.A.’s Troubled History With Water
What lessons can we learn from more than 100 years ago, when L.A.’s water was an even more hotly contested commodity than it is today?
Going Remote: Can the Flexible Work Economy Improve Lives and Cities?
Learn how remote work is likely to affect workers’ quality of life, the profitability of firms, and the economic geography of cities and suburbs.
The West Burns: The Past, Present, and Future of the American West
Understand the history of fire in the West, including Indigenous fire practices and fire’s many environmental legacies, which is crucial to determining a more sustainable path forward.