Cities & society

U.S. tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm. Understanding why could help minimize future deaths from hazards fueled by climate change.

As power grids rely more on renewable energy sources like wind and solar, balancing energy supply and demand becomes more challenging. A new analysis shows how water systems, such as desalination plants and wastewater treatment facilities, could help enhance grid stability and create new revenue streams.

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment recently hosted a first-of-its-kind “boot camp” in which congressional staffers got a crash course from experts in climate, forestry, fire science, utilities, insurance, and other wildfire-related topics.

Soil-packed floors common in rural, low-income households in developing countries are breeding grounds for intestinal diseases. Stanford epidemiologists and engineers are developing a lower-emission concrete flooring that could improve families’ well-being with less environmental impact.

"I remember daycare trips to coastal parks, and for most of my childhood I fell asleep at night to a sound machine playing the sound of breaking waves. My parents are geologists who really enjoy nature, so we spent a lot of time outdoors. Most families have family portraits hanging on the walls, but we had vials of sand samples clustered along ours."

During the Stanford Sustainability Summit, business owners, government officials, and community leaders from around the world convened to share ideas and express enthusiasm to address sustainability challenges.

Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial options.

A new method for extracting lithium from briny water offers a more efficient, cost-effective, and environmental alternative to traditional lithium production. It could also help solve lithium supply chain issues.

In Brazil, climate and other human-made environmental changes threaten efforts to fight schistosomiasis, a widespread and debilitating parasitic disease. Stanford and Brazilian researchers have now developed models that can predict how disease risk will shift in response to environmental changes.

New Stanford program works to better understand connections between the environment and human health, and to pursue ecological solutions to public health challenges.

A new study reveals social factors that increase the risk of dying from air pollution and finds stark racial disparities.

Soaring water utility bills force many households to ration water use for essential needs while still falling behind on payments. Stanford scientists offer a new approach to measuring water affordability that could help utilities and government agencies identify and aid those most at risk.

Stanford researchers and others are assessing an innovative curriculum and infrastructure maintenance program that could provide a blueprint for more effective school-based sanitation and hygiene interventions.

Environmental law expert Deborah Sivas discusses the implications of the Supreme Court overturning the Chevron decision, which had established 40 years of precedent related to the independence of government agencies.

Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator grant, a multidisciplinary team is exploring policy options such as prescribed burning with the goal of reducing wildfire risk in California.