Sustainability at the Smithsonian

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

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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

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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Centering Relationships Between People and Place: A Critical Step Towards Improving Science's Contributions to Society

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National Museum of the American Indian

Connecting Community and Collections

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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Harnessing the Wisdom of Indigenous Communities for Marine Conservation

A swarm of yellow fish and silver fish with yellow tailfins swim around a coral reef

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Adult Fish Aren't Truly 'Protected' in Many Marine Protected Areas

Sustainability News From Smithsonian Magazine

A rendering of the 3D-printed rounded hotel rooms

SMART NEWS

Workers Just Started Building the World's First 3D-Printed Hotel in the Texas Desert

Kids cool down at an animal-themed splash pad at Zoo Miami. Mist stations also help visitors avoid overheating on sweltering days.

INNOVATION

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waves an Olympic flag on her return from the closing ceremony of the Paris games on August 12, 2024.

INNOVATION

Can a City Known for Its Freeways and Gridlock Deliver a Car-Free Olympics? Los Angeles Thinks So

Every pound saved in a car’s weight matters, reducing fuel consumption in gas-powered cars or extending the range of electric vehicles.

INNOVATION

Automakers Are Making New Steels for Stronger and Lighter Cars

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INNOVATION

Can the Noise in Sports Arenas Be Turned Into Electricity?

Climate Change News

A biologist holds a Bethany Beach firefly, found on a survey in 2019. The dwindling species is now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

SMART NEWS

This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

A sloth in its natural habitat in Costa Rica, where sloth populations have decreased in the past decade, according to Rebecca Cliffe, lead author of the research.

SMART NEWS

Amid Rising Temperatures, Sloths' Slowness May Put Their Survival at Risk

Three activists threw soup on two more van Gogh paintings hours after Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were sentenced to prison time.

SMART NEWS

Hours After the Protesters Who Threw Soup at a van Gogh Were Sentenced, Three More Activists Repeated the Stunt

Ning Zeng and other researchers discovered this 3,775-year-old preserved log while conducting a wood vaulting pilot project in Quebec, Canada.

SMART NEWS

This 3,775-Year-Old Log May Hold the Secret to a Low-Cost Climate Solution

A sea turtle swims in a coral reef in Hawaii. Ocean acidification, found to be on the brink of crossing a boundary into higher-risk territory, can affect coral skeleton formation.

SMART NEWS

Earth Is on the Brink of Breaching a Seventh of Nine 'Planetary Boundaries' That Support Life

The Hinemoana Halo Waka Moana Initiative recruited 12 crew members from the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga.

TRAVEL

An All-Female Crew Sailed 1,000 Miles in a Traditional Voyaging Canoe to Help Save Humpback Whales

A Bryde’s whale photographed in the Mariana Archipelago

SMART NEWS

Mysterious 'Mechanical-Sounding' Noise Near the Mariana Trench May Now Have an Explanation