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 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

Starting a Summer of Sustainability

Sarah Grace Wheedleton

Even tiny organisms can have a large effect.

Meet Some Small Creatures That Have Big Impacts on Our Ecosystems

Sarah Grace Wheedleton

5 Creative Approaches to Science and Sustainability

Sarah Grace Wheedleton

Sustainability News From Smithsonian 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

A train in Austria displays an ad for the Klimaticket.

Austria Offers Free Rail Travel in Exchange for Getting a Tattoo

Christopher Parker

House Between Forest and Field in Dutchess County, New York, was designed by nARCHITECTS, the winner of this year's National Design Award for architecture.

Meet the Innovative Winners of This Year's National Design Awards

Teresa Nowakowski

Climate Change News

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

Text by Cheryl Katz
Photographs by Morgan Heim

An iceberg breaks off the Knox Coast in the Australian Antarctic Territory in 2008. The moving iceberg scientists are now tracking broke off from Antarctica in 1986.

The World's Largest Iceberg Is Drifting Three Miles Into the Ocean Each Day

Why can't machines process CO2 the way trees do?

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Why Can't Machines Process CO2 Like Trees? And More Questions From Our Readers

Smithsonian magazine

A stall worker carries a bag of ice on Copacabana Beach during a heatwave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2023.

Earth Headed for Nearly Three-Degree Temperature Hike—Well Above Paris Agreement Level

Margaret Osborne

The number of African elephants, which are endangered, has been declining in recent years due to factors including habitat loss and poaching. A new study identifies a bacterium that could also continue to pose a threat to the elephants.

Bacteria to Blame for Elephant Deaths in Zimbabwe

The aftermath of a multi-vehicle pileup on I-55 on Oct. 23, 2023 that occured because "super fog" lowered visibility.

Dense 'Super Fog' Causes Deadly Car Crashes in Louisiana

Margaret Osborne

By 2030, coal production is projected to rise to 460 percent above what’s consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Fossil Fuel Production on Track to Increase Despite Climate Promises, Report Finds

Margaret Osborne