Blog
Putting Residents First
February 2026
Exploring a new way of climate planning … letting community members guide the process from the start
From Plans to Action
January 2026
A look inside the crystal ball to see what 2026 holds in store for the Chief Sustainability Office.
High Tides Hit Home
December 2025
King Tides are a non-scientific term for the highest tides of the year, occurring when the gravitational pull from alignment of the Earth, moon, and sun align brings ocean water higher up our beaches and into low-lying neighborhoods. Here is a scene from Marina Beach, or Mother’s Beach, in Marina del Rey during a recent high-tide flooding event. Kick off 2026 by getting out and documenting high water during the next King Tide event, January 2 and 3.
OurCounty, Our Future
November 2025
The newly adopted OurCounty sustainability blueprint features 179 action items.
Fountain of Youth
October 2025
The Youth Climate Commission has become a well-spring of advice to local policymakers working to improve community resilience.
Eating Better
September 2025
The County is going on a diet to reduce food-based emissions at its facilities by 25% in the coming decade.
A Very ‘Cool’ Program
August 2025
Our innovative climate-resilience planning begins with hyper-local community
SUSTAINABILITY GAME PLAN
July 2025
The newly updated OurCounty sustainability plan will guide sustainability and climate resiliency efforts in greater L.A. for the next 20 years.
STREET SMART
June 2025
Giving up our car-centric way of life will save lives, money, and a lot of road rage.
Hotter Days Ahead? We’ll Be Ready For That.
May 2025
Our new Heat Action toolkit helps cities keep their cool.
Rebuilding With Resilience
April 2025
The County is helping neighborhoods ravaged by recent firestorms rebuild smartly, writes CSO Climate Resilience Officer Matthew Gonser.
A Walk in the Park
March 2025
Creating more open space in greater L.A. is a challenge. But we’re up for it.
Scaling the Summit
December 2024
The region’s 88 cities gather to share tips on how to build a more resilient L.A. County.
The Climate Guy
October 2024
Say aloha to Matthew Gonser, the County’s new Climate Resilience Officer.
Matthew Gonser has just been named Los Angeles County’s Climate Resilience Officer, working within the Chief Sustainability Office.
RISING TIDES: IS L.A. REALLY READY?
May 2024
How coastal cities can best protect themselves from sea-level rise
The ocean is moving in. But unlike most unwanted guests, sea level rise is here to stay.
Ebb and Flow
February 2024
Matthew King, a communications consultant for the Chief Sustainability Office, takes us on a guided tour of greater L.A.’s water future. In the coming weeks, we’ll take a detailed look at where our drinking water comes from and how we can secure more reliable, resilient supplies in the face of climate change.
Be a Tree Hugger
December 2023
Los Angeles’ Chief Sustainability Office is hard at work on its Urban Forestry Management Plan – a blueprint that will guide the planting of new trees and the protection of mature trees throughout the region. This month the CSO begins hosting 25 public workshops so residents can help shape plans to better manage trees in their communities. Concurrently, the City of Los Angeles will be conducting 25 workshops in its various neighborhoods.
Keeping Our Cool
January 2024
As temperatures soar, the Chief Sustainability Office has been tasked with putting together a comprehensive Heat Action Plan for the County.
If this summer’s record temperatures have taught us anything, it’s that hot weather is far more than an inconvenience: It’s a direct threat to our lives and livelihoods. The impacts to our economy are expansive, from business slowdowns to flight delays – but the impacts on health are particularly alarming.
PUTTING DOWN ROOTS
June 2023
Plans to equitably manage the tree canopy in greater L.A. are finally taking hold.
Having a healthy urban forest is an essential part of a healthy community. If spread equitably, a well-managed canopy cover can deliver healthier soils, biodiversity, habitats, shading from heat and greater community health and well-being.
Walk on the Wild Side
March 2023
L.A. is one of just 36 biodiversity hot-spots across the entire globe. Here’s what we’re doing to protect our special places.
Los Angeles County may be infamous for its sprawling maze of freeways and manicured lawns, but it’s also one of the most biologically diverse counties in the nation.
Putting a Fork In It
May 2023
To get a better handle on what all this plastic pollution means for L.A. County and how to reduce it, the County’s Board of Supervisors directed the Chief Sustainability Office last year to commission a data-driven analysis from UCLA researchers. The survey focused on the food-service sector, one of the biggest culprits when it comes to pollution.
Staying Power
December 2021
A new Board motion moves LA County closer to 100% renewable energy Nearly all residents and businesses in unincorporated L.A. County receive 50% of their energy from renewable sources as part of the County’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At its Dec. 7 meeting, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors doubled down on this…
FEELING THE HEAT: Who’s Most Vulnerable in L.A.
October 2021
This week the Chief Sustainability Office issued a data-rich study about which L.A. neighborhoods are most vulnerable to 5 severe climate hazards — both today and by 2050. Here, Alison Frazzini, a County sustainability advisor and lead manager on the Climate Vulnerability Assessment, offers her take on how the findings can help us become more…
Not your grandmother’s infrastructure
July 2021
Remember those hot days last Labor Day weekend? Who could forget! Those hot, hot days led to electricity service disruptions across the state right when we were relying on electricity to keep us cool. That meant inconvenience for some people and for others, some seriously dangerous conditions. Hot summers are nothing new in LA, but…
Reflecting on Black History
March 2021
While we only had 28 days to highlight a few of our favorite Black leaders, there are millions more Black people who care about and are working hard every single day to ensure that communities are safe, healthy, and protected from the disproportionate impact of air and water pollution, toxic contamination, and climate change.
Elevating Black History
February 2021
In 2020, many wondered if that vision could be possible as the country struggled through a pandemic and the simmering civil unrest due to centuries of unjust and racist policies that burden and kill low-income communities of color—especially Black communities.
L.A. County won’t be left in the dark
April 2020
L.A. County residents are not immune from energy disruptions. But the good news is that the state has enough energy to meet demand. It just needs to do a better job of managing the grid.
A Deep Dive on L.A.’s Water Future
March 2020
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water,” W.H Auden once wrote. Science tells us water makes up about roughly two-thirds of our bodies, about the same amount of Earth itself.
L.A. County to Take Big Bite Out of Plastic Pollution
February 2020
To get a better handle on what all this plastic pollution means for L.A. County and how to reduce it, the County’s Board of Supervisors directed the Chief Sustainability Office last year to commission a data-driven analysis from UCLA researchers. The survey focused on the food-service sector, one of the biggest culprits when it comes to pollution.
New Year’s Resolutions We Must Keep
January 2020
With the coming of the New Year, many of us vow to make a fresh start, turn a corner or renew a forgotten commitment. After an indulgent holiday season, we make resolutions to live more wisely – whether it’s cutting down on sweets or putting money into savings.