Science / Our Planet

Drought + Spark = Australia Burning

February 10, 2009

A Melting Antarctica Could Bring an Underwater Smithsonian

Some unknown day in the future, ongoing climate change virtually assures the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will melt away

February 9, 2009

Volcano Obsession — UPDATED 03-23-09

February 5, 2009

Pondering the EcoFont

Like any workplace, I get my share of internal junk mail. Workshops, vacancy announcements, blood drives and Weight Watchers sign-ups

February 4, 2009

A Link Between Dams and Earthquakes?

The earth is big, and so are the tectonic plates—it doesn’t seem possible that anything humans could do to the earth would have an effect on those plates

February 3, 2009

Go to the Galápagos, See What Charles Darwin Saw

A senior editor visited the Galapagos - here’s what she saw

February 2, 2009

Steering Ships Through a Treacherous Waterway

Braving storms with high seas a group of elite ship pilots steers tankers and freighters through the Columbia River

February 2009

Don’t Drink the Water

The AP reported earlier this week that the Indian pharmaceutical industry is spewing a drug soup into the waters of a town near Hyderabad

January 28, 2009

Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 4 of 4)

On this blog, several of the staff of Smithsonian magazine have been debating who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin

January 27, 2009

Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 3 of 4)

We asked: Who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin? T.A. Frail took up the fight for Lincoln, and Laura Helmuth argued for Darwin

January 26, 2009

Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 2 of 4)

Recently, someone here at Smithsonian asked: Who was more important, Abraham Lincoln or Charles Darwin?

January 23, 2009

Picture of the Week—Snowy Peaks

The recent cold spell is getting a lot of attention, but we should all remember that it could be worse

January 23, 2009

Lincoln vs. Darwin (Part 1 of 4)

Next month we celebrate an odd double anniversary—the 200th anniversaries of the births of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin

January 22, 2009

What We Missed While Watching the Inauguration

January 21, 2009

A Welcome to the Obama Administration’s Scientist Appointees

Last month, then president-elect Obama devoted one of his weekly addresses to science

January 20, 2009

An Antarctic Scientist’s Advice for Surviving the Cold

Sure, it’s zero degrees outside. But you can handle it

January 19, 2009

Meet the Elements

There are 118 elements in the periodic table, from hydrogen to ununoctium

January 12, 2009

Could Science Education Be a Victim of the Recession?

January 5, 2009

Mining the Mountains

Explosives and machines are destroying Appalachian peaks to obtain coal. In a West Virginia town, residents and the industry fight over a mountain’s fate

January 2009

Eight Great Science Stories From the Magazine in 2008

The week before the new year is a time for reflection, right? And so I though I would share my favorite stories from the magazine

December 29, 2008