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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
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How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money
These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity
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Why Buying ‘Bird Friendly Cocoa’ Is a Sweet Deal
The Smithsonian launches a new certification for chocolate lovers looking to help their feathery friends
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Sustainability at the Smithsonian
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Sustainability News From Smithsonian Magazine
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Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution
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How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into ‘Carbon Negative’ Fuel, Food and Construction Materials
Engineers in Singapore have developed a new, multistep chemical process that transforms organic waste into useful, sustainable products
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The original plan for Hammarby Sjöstad was for an eco-village aimed at attracting the Olympics. They never came, but the locals moved in and, with upgrades, hope to be carbon neutral by 2030
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Dataland’s immersive exhibitions, generated with artificial intelligence, will debut to the public on June 20, with an inaugural show about rainforests trained on millions of images of nature
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Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Steeped in history, the seafood joints are evolving to keep up with a global clientele and tightening environmental regulations
Climate Change News
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One of the World’s Largest Chinstrap Penguin Colonies Is Shrinking Fast
Zavodovski Island, a remote, uninhabited volcanic island between South America and Antarctica, lost 63 percent of its chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025, according to a new study
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“Wetland” is the latest installation of a high-tech traveling exhibition designed by Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen. It recreates the overlooked ecosystem with the help of folklore, soundscapes and video game software
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September’s Ozone Hole Was the Biggest It Has Been in 25 Years
The size of the hole in the stratosphere’s ozone layer fluctuates every year, but last month’s, measuring 10.6 million square miles, was especially large
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Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, and the last time one passed by without an intense cyclone was more than 100 years ago. While the ongoing “super” El Niño seems to be suppressing storms in the Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean is being overactive
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Archaeologists discovered 48 prehistoric arrows during a recent three-week expedition in the mountains of Jotunheimen
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Most of the frozen water has vanished because glaciers have been flowing faster into the ocean, rather than because of surface melting of ice sheets, according to a new study. Researchers estimate the ice loss has raised the global sea level by more than one inch
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The predicted number, which includes deaths since June, likely represents an underestimate of total deaths. The heat could linger beyond February, and the climate swing could bring about other life-threatening conditions, including flooding, wildfire and infectious diseases