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

WATCH

What Does It Mean to Live on a Sustainable Planet?

Sustainability at the Smithsonian

Debris is heaped on the banks of a river.

Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery

After Hurricane Helene, Survivors Have Been in a Race Against Time to Protect Family Heirlooms, Photographs and Keepsakes

Nick Lehr, The Conversation

Two young people surrounded by greenery. One person has their hand outstretched towards a leafy bush in front of them.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Environmental Justice Academy Educates and Inspires Youth for Innovative Change

Amber Mims

Candid photo of Elena Terry smiling holding a white dish full of colorful beans, peppers, and corn tilted away from her.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

How Chef Elena Terry Revisited Heritage Seeds to Cultivate Hope

Meredith Herndon

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Ten Fascinating Facts About the Arapaima, the Largest Freshwater Fish in South America

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

Sustainability News From Smithsonian Magazine

BlueGreen Water Technologies treats a harmful algal bloom in Doctors Lake in Clay County, Florida.

How Cleaning Up Harmful Algal Blooms Could Help Fight Climate Change

These four lightbulbs augured a future with nuclear power.

On This Day in 1951, Four Illuminated Lightbulbs in Idaho Were Evidence of the First Time a Nuclear Power Plant Generated Electricity

The plant-based egg substitutes available today are less than perfect. Food scientists are working hard to improve them — and, maybe, make them better tasting and more nutritious than the real thing.

Scientists Are Trying to Crack the Recipe for the Perfect Plant-Based Eggs

Bob Holmes, Knowable Magazine

In Ecuador, a glass frog from a new species identified in 2022, Hyalinobatrachium nouns, hangs from the underside of a leaf, seen from below.

The Andes’ Translucent Glass Frogs Need to Be Seen to Be Saved

A selection of the bounty from Isabella Dalla Ragione’s orchard, including apples, pears, plums, almonds, hazelnuts and grapes.

Meet the Italian 'Fruit Detective' Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table

By Mark Schapiro
Photographs by Simona Ghizzoni

Climate Change News

BlueGreen Water Technologies treats a harmful algal bloom in Doctors Lake in Clay County, Florida.

How Cleaning Up Harmful Algal Blooms Could Help Fight Climate Change

The Douglas C-54D Skymaster vanished during a routine transit flight from Anchorage to Great Falls, Montana, on January 26, 1950.

The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board

Francine Uenuma

None

How to Use Renaissance Paintings to Improve the Farming of Tomorrow

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order. He signed dozens of executive orders on his first day in office, undoing many of his predecessor’s policies.

President Trump Orders the U.S. to Exit the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Agreement on His First Day in Office

The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recorded the highest annual jump in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since its records began in 1958.

Hawaiian Observatory Clocks Highest Annual Jump in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Since Its Records Began 67 Years Ago

A view of the Palisades fire on January 9. The strong Santa Ana winds that fueled much of the L.A. wildfires’ destruction are expected to relax for a few days.

L.A. Fire-Fueling Winds Slow Down, Offering a Short Reprieve. What Are the Santa Ana Winds, and Why Do They Fan the Flames?

Experts are concerned that artifacts and bootprints on the moon might be affected by lunar landing missions, space tourism and space junk.

The Moon Makes the List of the World's Most Endangered Cultural Heritage Sites in 2025