Special Report

Our Sustainable Future

A hub dedicated to the latest on how global change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are researching to build a more sustainable planet

Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty Images

Dairy farms like this one run by the Barstow family in Hadley, Massachusetts, make smart use of a substance cows produce in abundance.

How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money

Cacao growing on a tree at Zorzal Cacao, the first farm certified by Smithsonian's new Bird Friendly cocoa program.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Why Buying ‘Bird Friendly Cocoa’ Is a Sweet Deal

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WATCH

What Does It Mean to Live on a Sustainable Planet?

Sustainability at the Smithsonian

Black monkey perches in a tree staring directly at camera

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Eight Weird and Wondrous Discoveries From 2023

Kristen Goodhue

Underwater photo of a pink and gold coral reef in bright blue water, with small blue and yellow fish. A blurry reflection of the reef appears in the water at the top of the photo.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

New Study Reveals Large Holes In America’s Ocean Protection. Here’s How We Can Fix Them.

Kristen Goodhue

Joshua Tewksbury

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Why the World Needs a Standard Measure for Counting Carbon

Joshua Tewksbury

a collage of four images of educators; one is holding a blue crab, one is holding a bullfrog at night, one is taking a picture of an oyster basket, one is holding a crab with large plastic tweezers by the side of a river

Smithsonian Education

Educators from Across the Country Convene on the Chesapeake Bay with a Network of Fellow 'Earth Optimists'

Jennifer Brundage

Dr. Ruth Bennett holding Summer Tanager

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Drink Coffee, Eat Chocolate, Save Birds!

Your IMPACT | Your Smithsonian

Air, Land and Sea: New Tools for Resilience

Abigail Pocasangre , Elise Walter & Julia Ross

Four key actions

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The Key to Ocean Conservation May Lie with the Tropical Majority

Sustainability News From Smithsonian Magazine

Aerial view of construction work on the Maya Train on August 31, 2023

First Section of Mexico's Controversial Maya Train Opens

Margherita Bassi

See-through wood has a number of interesting properties that researchers hope to exploit.

The Surprising Possibilities of See-Through Wood

Jude Coleman, Knowable Magazine

Evolyn aims to launch a new rail service between London's St. Pancras International station and Paris' Gare du Nord station.

New High-Speed Rail Service Between London and Paris Is Coming in 2025

Could this innovation provide a solution to one of our era’s biggest scourges?

Scientists Have Created Synthetic Sponges That Soak Up Microplastics

Chris Baraniuk, Hakai Magazine

Consumer products made from carbon capture can't undo the damage we’ve done to our planet—but each of them exists thanks to innovations that could.

Little Luxuries Made With Captured Pollution Hint at Big Frontiers in Climate Science

Climate Change News

Protesters throw soup at the Mona Lisa's protective glass covering at the Louvre on January 28.

Climate Activists Throw Soup at the 'Mona Lisa'

For species that reproduce sexually, every offspring is a gamble. Each has slightly different genes, giving it the potential to be carrying helpful, adaptive traits.

Can Animals Evolve Fast Enough to Keep Up With Climate Change?

Brian Owens, Hakai

Emperor penguins are the largest penguins in the world, but they're at risk of disappearing because of human-caused climate change.

Scientists Discover Four New Emperor Penguin Colonies From Satellite Images of Antarctica

The 2023 Doomsday Clock on display before a Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists event on January 24, 2023. The Bulletin has been setting the clock since 1947 based on analysis of threats facing humans from technologies people have made.

Doomsday Clock Stays at 90 Seconds to Midnight Amid Climate Change, War and A.I.

Kelp cultivated in underwater forests could help curb climate change, both because of the carbon these forests capture and because products made from kelp can reduce carbon emissions.

Could Sinking Tons of Seaweed to the Ocean Floor Help Combat Climate Change?

Saima May Sidik, Eos

Bottom trawling is a polarizing fishing practice that involves dragging heavy nets and equipment across the seafloor.

Seabed Trawling May Be Spewing Huge Amounts of CO2 Into the Atmosphere

Researchers studied roughly 50 numbats over the course of a year.

As the Planet Warms, Australia's Numbats Are at Risk of Overheating