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Anthropocene

An aerial view of the lower portion of the Colorado River shows the leading edge of the water pulse flow on May 12, before it connected with the sea.

Anthropocene

The Colorado River Delta Turned Green After a Historic Water Pulse

The experimental flow briefly restored the ancient waterway and may have created new habitat for birds

A fossilized leaf from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum sits in the Wyoming snow.

Anthropocene

Ancient Earth Warmed Dramatically After a One-Two Carbon Punch

A period of intense warming 55 million years ago is an even better case study for modern climate change than previously suspected

G. Wayne Clough

Anthropocene

Why Engineering Will Be Vital in a Changing Climate

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough offers personal insights on the realities of climate change and the best ways for society to adapt

The world's favorite edible bird.

Anthropocene

Chinese Chickens May Have Been Domesticated 10,000 Years Ago

Bones found in ancient farming sites are lending insight into the origins of our favorite fowl

Hunting and gathering, Metro sapien-style, in Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market.

Anthropocene

Humans Are Becoming City-Dwelling “Metro Sapiens”

To achieve sustainability, the human species needs to embrace its urban side, argues public health researcher Jason Vargo

The dense metropolis of Tokyo sparkles like an urban playground at night.

Anthropocene

Are Megacities Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Climate Change?

Like the people who call them home, cities have the potential for good and bad when it comes to adapting to a warming world

An algae bloom off the coast of Maryland. Such blooms help create low-oxygen areas called dead zones as the algae respire or decompose.

Anthropocene

Ocean Dead Zones Are Getting Worse Globally Due to Climate Change

Warmer waters and other factors will cause nearly all areas of low oxygen to grow by the end of the century

Moon jellies (Aurelia aurita) drift in dark waters at the Sunshine International Aquarium in Tokyo.

Anthropocene

Big Moon Jelly Blooms Tied to New Dock Construction

A floating pier installed off Japan led to a four-fold increase in baby jellies, offering a solid link between structures and blooms

Crop irrigation in arid regions, such as California’s San Joaquin Valley, can lead to overly salty soils.

Anthropocene

Earth’s Soil Is Getting Too Salty for Crops to Grow

Buildup of salts on irrigated land has already degraded an area the size of France and is causing $27.3 billion annually in lost crops

John Kress takes the stage at the Smithsonian symposium "Living in the Anthropocene".

Anthropocene

From Pandemics to Pandas, Get the Scoop on Hot Topics Discussed at the Smithsonian’s Anthropocene Event

At the National Museum of Natural History, leading minds met to discuss the impact of climate change on, well, everything

From left to right, panelists Eric Hollinger, Rachel Kyte, Cori Wegener and Melissa Songer discuss ideas for living in the Anthropocene.

Anthropocene

To Live in the Anthropocene, People Need Grounded Hope

A Smithsonian symposium about human impacts on Earth looked past warnings of global doom to discuss the necessary balance of achievable solutions

National Museum of Natural History.

Anthropocene

Watch the Smithsonian’s Age of Humans Symposium

Held at the National Museum of Natural History, this event features speeches and panelists discussing a new age: the Anthropocene

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Age of Humans

See How Humans Have Reshaped the Globe With This Interactive Atlas

Zoomable maps reveal the scope of humanity’s influence on Earth—and the innovations aiming to create a more sustainable future

Our fundamentally human social, ecological, and behavioral adaptations have, over time, ratcheted up our adaptability.

Anthropocene

The Moral Dilemma We Face in the Age of Humans

Humans are proficient problem solvers—but so far that trait has come at a cost. Can our species remain resilient without destroying the world?

Fireworks over Beijing during 2013's Lantern Festival

To Limit Pollution, The Chinese Are Faced With Giving Up an Ancient Tradition

For the Chinese, who invented both gun powder and fireworks, foregoing old traditions may clean up the air—just a bit

Sealskin clothing, shown here on Aaju Peter, is waterproof, durable, and warm.

To Survive Climate Change, We Should Be More Like the Eskimos

Arctic Studies Center director Bill Fitzhugh says that studying northern cultures can help people adapt to climate change

"Rapid and long-lasting climate change is a topic of growing concern as the world looks to the future," says the Smithsonian Institution's official climate change statement.

Age of Humans

The Smithsonian Institution Announces an Official Climate Change Statement

The bold assessment acknowledges that the global climate is warming because of human activities

The Aral Sea as of August 19, 2014. The black outline shows the lake's extent in 1960.

Trending Today

The Aral Sea Is Pretty Much Gone

The fourth largest lake in the world is less than a tenth of its former size

"We are limited to one vessel, with nowhere else to go."

Anthropocene

A New Way for Stewardship of Mother Earth: Indigeneity

Smithsonian geographer Doug Herman proposes a return to sustainable solutions, based on the path laid by Indigenous peoples for millennia

Anthropocene

A Poem Dedicated to Earth in the Age of Humans

National Portrait Gallery historian David Ward writes a new ode for the Anthropocene

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