Articles tagged as Environment | Smithsonian Magazine

One Step Closer to Turning Plastics Into Fuel

Researchers in California and China have discovered a new method for breaking polyethylene into liquid fuel and solid wax

July 5, 2016

Statue in front yard, Chalmette neighborhood

Age of Humans

Plastic is Forever: The Art of Mass Consumption

For International Bag Free Day, an intimate look at American mass consumption through the eyes of photographer Chris Jordan

July 1, 2016

Police detain activists who are trying to protect forests from the construction of a Moscow-St. Petersburg highway in April 2011.

At least 185 environmental activists were murdered in 2015, according to a new report

June 23, 2016

Hal Rumel, Red Canyon, near Entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, ca. 1940

How Photography Shaped America’s National Parks

Jamie M. Allen explores how conservation and consumerism have impacted America’s natural heritage

June 22, 2016

Finally...an excuse to buy more cookie butter.

The retailer just agreed to a pricey settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency

June 21, 2016

A pair of nilgai, Asia's largest species of antelope.

The cull will include a range of animals deemed troublesome to people—including rhesus monkeys and wild boar in some places

June 17, 2016

The Amazon Basin just got a little bit safer.

Earth’s largest tropical rainforest just got a slew of new allies

June 16, 2016

Observations for the study were taken from the Mauna Loa Observatory atop one of Hawaii Island's five volcanoes.

New Research

Earth’s Carbon Dioxide Levels Surpass Long-Feared Milestone

Say goodbye to 400 ppm—and hello to Earth’s new atmospheric reality

June 14, 2016

Alewives returning to spawn in Wynants Kill

Cool Finds

Herring Spawn in Hudson River Tributary for the First Time in 85 Years

River herring are spawning in Wynants Kill tributary after one of the many dams along the Hudson was removed

June 14, 2016

Fleet Farming turns yards into "farmlettes."

A Band of Biking Farmers in Florida Reinvents Sharecropping

Fleet Farming transforms lawns into farms to create a new local food system

May 20, 2016

Cool Finds

Brewery Introduces Edible, Biodegradable Six-Pack Rings

Saltwater Brewery’s new packaging is made of beer byproducts and can be eaten by sea life

May 19, 2016

Boulder brain coral is usually common in Florida's coral reefs.

New Research

Between Bleaching and Boats, Florida’s Coral Reefs Are Struggling to Survive

The reefs are crumbling in acidifying waters and buried from dredging, according to new reports

May 3, 2016

Tokyo is the world's largest city...for now.

Age of Humans

Five Things to Know About Megacities

Urbanization is happening fast—here’s what to know about the world’s largest cities

May 2, 2016

New Research

Eating Toxic Algae Might Make Some Plankton Act Drunk

Though it may seem funny, it could have serious environmental consequences

April 29, 2016

Two state officials and a city employee are the first to be charged in connection with the Flint water crisis

April 21, 2016

Surveys show that 55 percent of reefs surveyed were severely affected by high water temperatures, with half of those expected to die

April 20, 2016

New Research

More Than Half of All Americans Breathe Polluted Air

166 million people a year are exposed to air that’s too dangerous to breathe

April 20, 2016

How Do Butterflies Fly and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

April 2016

Some of the coral bleaching near Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef

Age of Humans

Massive Bleaching Event Hits the Great Barrier Reef

Warm ocean temperatures have impacted large swaths of the Great Barrier Reef in the last month, part of a worldwide coral die-off

March 22, 2016

A worker sorts plastic in a recycling plant in Bangladesh. A new bacteria could make her job obsolete

New Research

Could Plastic-Gobbling Bacteria Save the Environment?

Japanese scientists discovered a microbe that digests one of the most common plastics

March 11, 2016