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

A clear blue river winds through a reedy wetland, reflecting the clouds overhead. A wooden boardwalk with rails overlooks the river on the right.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Hot, Fresh & Flooded: These Wetlands Spew Out the Most Methane

Kristen Goodhue

Imama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Between Pasture and Forest: The Crusade to Protect the Jaguar in Panama

Head and shoulders photo of Denise Breitburg, a woman with glasses and shoulder-length gray hair, with forested mountains in the background.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Wait, the Ocean Is Losing Oxygen? Q&A With Denise Breitburg

Mona Patterson

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Centering Relationships Between People and Place: A Critical Step Towards Improving Science's Contributions to Society

National Museum of the American Indian

Connecting Community and Collections

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Harnessing the Wisdom of Indigenous Communities for Marine Conservation

A swarm of yellow fish and silver fish with yellow tailfins swim around a coral reef

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Adult Fish Aren't Truly 'Protected' in Many Marine Protected Areas

Kristen Goodhue

Sustainability News From Smithsonian Magazine

Thirty-six homes—the world’s last topped with a traditional eelgrass roof—all sit here on Laeso.

Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

Anna Fiorentino

A rendering of the 3D-printed rounded hotel rooms

Workers Just Started Building the World's First 3D-Printed Hotel in the Texas Desert

Olatunji Osho-Williams

Kids cool down at an animal-themed splash pad at Zoo Miami. Mist stations also help visitors avoid overheating on sweltering days.

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Text by Julie Winokur
Photographs by Ed Kashi

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waves an Olympic flag on her return from the closing ceremony of the Paris games on August 12, 2024.

Can a City Known for Its Freeways and Gridlock Deliver a Car-Free Olympics? Los Angeles Thinks So

Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation

Every pound saved in a car’s weight matters, reducing fuel consumption in gas-powered cars or extending the range of electric vehicles.

Automakers Are Making New Steels for Stronger and Lighter Cars

John Johnson Jr., Knowable Magazine

Climate Change News

NASA’s Earth Information Center Hyperwall at the National Museum of Natural History opened to the public on October 8, 2024.

Immerse Yourself in the 'Hyperwall,' NASA's New Visual Showcase of a Changing Earth

View on the Stour Near Dedham, John Constable, 1822

How Artists, Writers and Scientists of the Past Documented Climate Change

Anne Wallentine

Thirty-six homes—the world’s last topped with a traditional eelgrass roof—all sit here on Laeso.

Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

Anna Fiorentino

A biologist holds a Bethany Beach firefly, found on a survey in 2019. The dwindling species is now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

Alexa Robles-Gil

A sloth in its natural habitat in Costa Rica, where sloth populations have decreased in the past decade, according to Rebecca Cliffe, lead author of the research.

Amid Rising Temperatures, Sloths' Slowness May Put Their Survival at Risk

Alexa Robles-Gil

Three activists threw soup on two more van Gogh paintings hours after Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were sentenced to prison time.

Hours After the Protesters Who Threw Soup at a van Gogh Were Sentenced, Three More Activists Repeated the Stunt

Ning Zeng and other researchers discovered this 3,775-year-old preserved log while conducting a wood vaulting pilot project in Quebec, Canada.

This 3,775-Year-Old Log May Hold the Secret to a Low-Cost Climate Solution

Margherita Bassi