Environment | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/environment/RSS feed for EnvironmentenTue, 25 Aug 2026 19:33:40 +0000Cast Your Vote for the Chunkiest Alpine Rodent During Colorado's First-Ever Fat Marmot Weekhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cast-your-vote-for-the-chunkiest-alpine-rodent-during-colorados-first-ever-fat-marmot-week-180989395/The inaugural competition puts eight yellow-bellied marmots head-to-head while shining a light on the science behind their seasonal weight gain and survival at high elevationsTue, 25 Aug 2026 19:33:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cast-your-vote-for-the-chunkiest-alpine-rodent-during-colorados-first-ever-fat-marmot-week-180989395/An 'Extremely Rare' Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Temporarily Took Up Residence Outside of Chicagohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-extremely-rare-half-male-half-female-bird-temporarily-took-up-residence-outside-of-chicago-180989377/The unusual-looking bobolink is what's called a bilateral gynandromorph. The bird behaved like a male, eventually wooing a mate and raising fledglingsFri, 21 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-extremely-rare-half-male-half-female-bird-temporarily-took-up-residence-outside-of-chicago-180989377/These Coral Reefs Off West Africa Were Long Presumed Dead. Scientists Just Found Them Alive and Teeming With Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-coral-reefs-off-west-africa-were-long-presumed-dead-scientists-just-found-them-alive-and-teeming-with-life-180989350/Fish surveys in the 1960s detected what experts thought was a dead coral reef barrier off the country of Benin. Decades later, researchers set off in small fishing boats to investigate it using sonar mapping, underwater drone surveys and stationary video recordersTue, 18 Aug 2026 14:34:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-coral-reefs-off-west-africa-were-long-presumed-dead-scientists-just-found-them-alive-and-teeming-with-life-180989350/Pumas Might Be Making Your Drive Home Safer. When the Predators Are Around, Deer Tend to Avoid Roads, Preventing Some Collisionshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pumas-might-be-making-your-drive-home-safer-when-the-predators-are-around-deer-tend-to-avoid-roads-preventing-some-collisions-180989314/In Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, the wild cats’ presence corresponded with a 67 percent drop in the likelihood of a deer-vehicle crash and a 76 percent overall decline in the number of wrecks during a five-year period, according to a new studyWed, 12 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pumas-might-be-making-your-drive-home-safer-when-the-predators-are-around-deer-tend-to-avoid-roads-preventing-some-collisions-180989314/Jackie the Bald Eagle, Who Captured Hearts Around the World Via Livestream, Has Died After Battling a Mysterious Illnesshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jackie-the-bald-eagle-who-captured-hearts-around-the-world-via-livestream-has-died-after-battling-a-mysterious-illness-180989310/A raptor center in California had been caring for the animal since mid-July, after she had an altercation with two young eagles. But she had probably been sick long before thenTue, 11 Aug 2026 18:37:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jackie-the-bald-eagle-who-captured-hearts-around-the-world-via-livestream-has-died-after-battling-a-mysterious-illness-180989310/Butterflies Around the World Are Moving to New Habitats, Largely Because of Climate Change, a Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/butterflies-around-the-world-are-moving-to-new-habitats-largely-because-of-climate-change-a-study-suggests-180989279/Researchers examined data on 1,758 butterfly species—about ten percent of all those known—from 105 countries and estimated that about one in ten global species has shifted its distribution rangeFri, 07 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/butterflies-around-the-world-are-moving-to-new-habitats-largely-because-of-climate-change-a-study-suggests-180989279/Sperm Whales Seem to Change Their Calls When Ships Are Near, Highlighting the Implications of Underwater Noise Pollutionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sperm-whales-seem-to-change-their-calls-when-ships-are-near-highlighting-the-implications-of-underwater-noise-pollution-180989257/Several of the huge cetaceans living in the eastern Caribbean Sea shortened the intervals between their clicks and used one click pattern more than another when vessels were around, according to a new studyThu, 06 Aug 2026 15:12:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sperm-whales-seem-to-change-their-calls-when-ships-are-near-highlighting-the-implications-of-underwater-noise-pollution-180989257/This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegradeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-high-schooler-invented-a-plant-based-plastic-that-removes-microplastics-from-the-environment-as-it-biodegrades-180989254/Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollutionThu, 06 Aug 2026 11:06:54 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-high-schooler-invented-a-plant-based-plastic-that-removes-microplastics-from-the-environment-as-it-biodegrades-180989254/Antarctic Interior Hits Minus 119.4 Degrees Fahrenheit, Earth's Lowest Recorded Temperature in More Than a Decadehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/antarctic-interior-hits-119-4-degrees-fahrenheit-earths-lowest-recorded-temperature-in-more-than-a-decade-180989231/The record-setting cold at the Concordia research station comes just weeks after another part of the southernmost continent experienced the opposite extreme, with winter temperatures climbing to unprecedented highsFri, 31 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/antarctic-interior-hits-119-4-degrees-fahrenheit-earths-lowest-recorded-temperature-in-more-than-a-decade-180989231/A Strange, Never-Before-Seen Cancer Seems to Be Spreading Among Catfish in a New England Lakehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-strange-never-before-seen-cancer-seems-to-be-spreading-among-catfish-in-a-new-england-lake-180989195/More than a decade ago, fishers and biologists noticed jet-black tumors on the skin of brown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog. Genetic testing hints that they are caused by the first contagious cancer ever documented in fishThu, 30 Jul 2026 18:40:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-strange-never-before-seen-cancer-seems-to-be-spreading-among-catfish-in-a-new-england-lake-180989195/This 1863 Massacre Was the Deadliest Slaughter of Native Americans in U.S. History. Now, the Shoshone Are Restoring the Site of the Attackhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1863-massacre-was-the-deadliest-slaughter-of-native-americans-in-us-history-now-the-shoshone-are-restoring-the-site-of-the-attack-180989200/Amid mounting tensions between white settlers and the Shoshone, Union soldiers killed an estimated 250 to 500 Shoshone. Today, the Indigenous nation is working to bring "nature back into balance"Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1863-massacre-was-the-deadliest-slaughter-of-native-americans-in-us-history-now-the-shoshone-are-restoring-the-site-of-the-attack-180989200/Poop From Southern Right Whales Reveals That the Animals Might Be More Resilient to Climate Change Than We Thoughthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poop-from-southern-right-whales-reveals-that-the-animals-might-be-more-resilient-to-climate-change-than-we-thought-180989131/Scientists long believed that these whales, which swim throughout the Southern Hemisphere, mainly feasted on krill and small crustaceans called copepods, which are disappearing from the warming ocean. A new study suggests that the cetaceans have a more varied, flexible dietMon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poop-from-southern-right-whales-reveals-that-the-animals-might-be-more-resilient-to-climate-change-than-we-thought-180989131/The Culprit Behind South Australia's Deadly Algal Bloom Might Be the Most Toxic Species Ever Tested, Scientists Sayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-culprit-behind-south-australias-deadly-algal-bloom-might-be-the-most-toxic-species-ever-tested-scientists-say-180989100/Karenia cristata, a rare type of microscopic algae that produces toxins that harm nerve cells, can be lethal at very low concentrationsFri, 10 Jul 2026 12:46:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-culprit-behind-south-australias-deadly-algal-bloom-might-be-the-most-toxic-species-ever-tested-scientists-say-180989100/Scientists Just Learned That This Bat Eats Birds Midflight. A Renaissance Painter May Have Known About It Hundreds of Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/Last fall, scientists reported the first known recordings of greater noctule bats hunting and feasting on songbirds during night flights. But a 17th-century artwork by Jan Brueghel the Elder seems to depict the species flying with feathered prey in its mouthThu, 09 Jul 2026 16:17:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-just-learned-that-this-bat-eats-birds-midflight-a-renaissance-painter-may-have-known-about-it-hundreds-of-years-ago-180989096/The Arctic Ocean May Have Passed a Crucial Tipping Point That Could Harm Food Webs and Worsen Climate Changehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-arctic-ocean-may-have-passed-a-crucial-tipping-point-that-could-harm-food-webs-and-worsen-climate-change-180989083/Sea ice loss seems to have triggered a decline in the nutrient nitrate, affecting the tiny organisms that form the foundations of marine food chains and absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new studyWed, 08 Jul 2026 15:36:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-arctic-ocean-may-have-passed-a-crucial-tipping-point-that-could-harm-food-webs-and-worsen-climate-change-180989083/How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into 'Carbon Negative' Fuel, Food and Construction Materialshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-shrimp-shells-are-being-turned-into-carbon-negative-fuel-food-and-construction-materials-180989061/Engineers in Singapore have developed a new, multistep chemical process that transforms organic waste into useful, sustainable productsMon, 06 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-shrimp-shells-are-being-turned-into-carbon-negative-fuel-food-and-construction-materials-180989061/Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-might-be-home-to-20-million-insect-speciesmore-than-three-times-as-many-as-previously-thought-a-study-suggests-180989062/Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be drastically underestimatedThu, 02 Jul 2026 15:30:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-might-be-home-to-20-million-insect-speciesmore-than-three-times-as-many-as-previously-thought-a-study-suggests-180989062/