Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smithsonian Science

Sara Cognuck (center) shows the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action.

Nature & Nurture: How Costa Rica's Environmentalism Shaped Sara Cognuck Into a Climate Leader

A childhood rooted in Costa Rica's resplendent nature has given Sara Cognuck a life full of passion for saving our planet – and showing others that they can also be part of the solution.

Sophia Kianni is the founder of Climate Cardinals, a member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, and hosts her own podcast.

Meet Sophia Kianni: Young Climate Change Changemaker

Sophia Kianni is a college freshman who already is making big strides in the world. While visiting family in Iran, Sophia witnessed first hand the gap in knowledge about climate change due to information being solely in English and differences in media coverage. Last year, she founded Climate Cardinals, a nonprofit that through the work of global volunteers translates climate science and research in an effort to break down language barriers. Kianni’s involvement does not stop there as she is also a member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and hosts her own podcast on the intersection of fashion and sustainability.

Meet Sruthi, a National Geographic Young Explorer and aspiring eco-journalist.

Meet Sruthi Gurudev: Aspiring Eco-Journalist and Ocean Conservationist

Sruthi Gurudev’s love for the ocean has led her to pursue a career in saving it. From serving as a Global Goal ambassador in her community to becoming a National Geographic Young Explorer, Sruthi’s commitment to the sea and the planet has helped her find a path into conservation. She is currently heading up an exciting project in the form of an e-magazine called “An Hour in the Deep,” which uses eco-journalism to promote youth engagement and innovation in ocean conservation.

© Cristina Mittermeier

Framing Hope Through A Photographer's Lens

Following the 2020 Earth Optimism Digital Summit, photographer Cristina Mittermeier tells us how she is able to portray optimism in her images.

Catch Bill's 90-minute special on Saturday April 25, 2020 on CNN.

Bill Weir's Road to Optimism

CNN's Climate Correspondent Bill Weir talks finding optimism in a contentious climate.

Scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (including Nick Pyenson, left) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute collect a fossil dolphin from the Caribbean coast of Panama. The fossil is encased in a white plaster jacket, and recovered as the tide rushed in. © Aaron O'Dea / Smithsonian Institution

Digging Into the Past to Find Optimism for the Future

We know that story of what will happen in the coming decades and centuries... what's different about where we're going has to do with the rate of these changes and the biodiversity at hand.

Good news is out there – if you look for it. For instance, just this month scientists announced that we are on our way to recovering oceans by 2050.

Here’s How to Find Optimism in This Moment of Fear and Uncertainty

Earth Optimism Summit will now stream online starting this Earth Day for everyone to tune in and be inspired

Dr. Ellen Stofan is John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Photo by Jim Preston, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Finding Optimism For The Earth Among The Stars

Q+A with Dr. Ellen Stofan

Purnima Devi Barman is a member of Women in Nature Network (WINN) and is the honorary director of WINN India. Photo by Carla Rhodes.

Building An All-Women Army for Conservation In India

Earth Optimism Speaker Interview with Purnima Devi Barman.

Steven Canty and Cristhian Perez of the Centro de Estudios Marinos of Honduras in the field. (Mayra Nuñez/Centro de Estudios Marinos)

Mangroves of Mesoamerica Will Start Getting Report Cards

The health of coral reefs in Central America is graded every two years and issued a report card. As of next year, two other coastal ecosystems that coral reefs heavily depend upon —mangrove forests and seagrass beds— will also start getting scores. This will help strengthen the everyday management strategies of these habitats, crucial to the livelihoods of over 2 million people.

Matt Ogburn, Charles Bangley, and SERC intern Michelle Edwards (L to R) surgically implant an acoustic transmitter into a juvenile Bull Shark. Credit: Jay Fleming/SERC

Marine Migrations, Key to Climate Change Predictions and Conservation Efforts

By tracking rays, sharks and river herring, the Fish and Invertebrate Ecology lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is working to figure out how marine migration data could help predict marine species' responses to climate change and aid in the conservation of endangered ones.

Categories
Archive

Page 2 of 2