Environment

During the 2017 solar eclipse, the path of totality was just 71 miles wide. In 2024, it's expected to be 125 miles wide.

Cleveland Is Giving Away a Free Trip to See the 2024 Solar Eclipse

The city is within the 125-mile-wide path of totality and will experience a total eclipse for nearly four minutes on April 8, 2024

The lioness, photographed by a trail camera in February, is likely around five years old.

First Lion Spotted in Chad National Park in 20 Years Is 'Beautiful' and 'Healthy'

A trail camera snapped a photograph of the lounging big cat, giving wildlife officials renewed hope about the species' recovery in West and Central Africa

A Togo slippery frog rests in grass.

Planet Positive

It Takes a Village to Save a Frog

A community in Ghana rallies to help the Togo slippery frog, an effort that benefits their own people and other endangered wildlife

Colorful murals help brighten up the windowless tunnel.

See Inside the World’s Longest Purpose-Built Cycling Tunnel

The 1.8-mile-long tunnel in Norway is part of a broader effort to encourage residents to ditch their cars

Records of lunar eclipses that appeared unusually dark are telling scientists when volcanic eruptions might have occurred in the past.

Medieval Eclipse Records Help Scientists Understand Volcanic Eruptions

Descriptions of lunar eclipses from monks and poets can shed light on how volcanoes affect Earth's climate in a new study

Xander Bogaerts hits his first home run with his new team, the San Diego Padres, at Petco Park in San Diego on April 1, 2023. 

Climate Change Is Making Home Runs Easier to Hit

A new study attributes more than 500 homers since 2010 to increased global average temperatures, an effect that will only increase the hotter Earth gets

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Our Sustainable Future

Our Sustainable Future

The latest on how climate change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are innovating

"AquaReinas," or costumed mermaid messengers with the Mermaid Society of Texas, participate in the 2022 Mermaid Capital of Texas Fest parade in San Marcos, Texas.

Planet Positive

The Texas City Where Mermaids Inspire River Conservation

“Aquamaids” were once the stars at an amusement park in San Marcos. Now, they are making a comeback to help the environment

A sadhill crane flies over the San Luis Valley.

Planet Positive

Planet Positive

From stories about rebounding species to dispatches about green innovations, <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine shares environmental practices that are working.

Saylor Flett, left, fans flames ignited by Jeff Greef. Air quality, weather and even bird migration affect when it&rsquo;s safe to conduct a burn.

Planet Positive

Fighting Fire With Fire in California

How communities in the West are boldly setting property ablaze to reduce the impact of extreme wildfires

Live oaks in Beaufort, South Carolina, photographed using an old-fashioned wet-plate process

The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again

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

These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity

&quot;Forever chemicals&quot; have been in firefighting foam as well as products including nonstick cookware and water-repellant clothing. Research has linked them to a number of health problems, including cancer.

EPA Proposes First Limits for Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' in Drinking Water

Under the rule, public water systems would monitor levels of six types of long-lasting contaminants known as PFAS

The hydrogen-powered train will travel between&nbsp;Parc de la Chute-Montmorency and Baie-Saint-Paul.

North America's First Hydrogen-Powered Train Will Debut This Summer

While traveling a 90-minute route, the Train de Charlevoix will emit only water vapor

A screenshot of an interactive walkthrough of the Hantan River in Korea

See Google Street View Images of Korean Demilitarized Zone

Established in 1953, the off-limits area has become a haven for plants and wildlife

Industrialization changed Italy&rsquo;s Bagnoli Bay. Analyzing the DNA that was trapped in sediment offers a record of what was lost&mdash;and a clue as to how to get it back.

DNA Buried in Sediment Helps Scientists Picture Past Ecosystems

Examining the evidence offers a way to look back at now damaged environments

Ponderosa pines at Yosemite National Park

California's 'Zombie Forests' Are Cheating Death—but Maybe Not for Long

A fifth of conifer forests in the state’s Sierra Nevada mountains are stranded in unsuitably warm conditions

The British architect David Chipperfield&nbsp;hopes to &quot;address the existential challenges of climate change and societal inequality.&quot;

David Chipperfield Wins Pritzker Prize, the Highest Honor in Architecture

The civic-minded architect is respectful of the past as he pushes his field forward

A video screenshot from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board showing the site of the derailed train.

Dead Fish and Chemical Smells Plague Ohio Community Two Weeks After Train Derailment

Health department officials will establish a clinic for residents experiencing symptoms

Dead aspen trees, shrunken by drought, wither near Grant Lake in California last October.

California Lost 36 Million Trees to Drought Last Year

The die-off is expected to continue despite this winter’s rain storms

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