People and the Planet
Explore Science & Nature
The Smithsonian's Life on a Sustainable Planet initiative envisions a future in which humanity lives in balance with the natural world. The health of our planet and all living things are undeniably linked. Our scientists and researchers are working every day to understand the science behind our connected world and discover solutions to protect animals and ecosystems, mitigate the impact of climate change, investigate the connections between human health, the health of our communities, and all life on our planet.
Connecting Communities and Nature
How do you feel connected to nature? Understanding our place in nature can help us create a world where all life on Earth can thrive.
National Museum of the American Indian
American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Biodiversity! Community Research Guide
National Museum of the American Indian
Living Earth Symposium
Smithsonian Story
Community Involvement in Tropical Forest Restoration
Replanting tropical forests for community harvesting can help to slow the effects of climate change.
Human Health and the Environment
Clean water, air, and a healthy natural environment is essential for human health. Social movements have defined America's history, and the environment has been a central focus of many, from the antipollution movement of the Progressive Era to the first Earth Day in 1970 to the dawn of the the Environmental Justice Movement in the early 1980s. Communities working together can ensure all people have access to a healthy natural environment no matter where they live.
Smithsonian Collection Spotlight
A History of Earth Day
National Portrait Gallery
The Future of Environmentalism
Watch a conversation about the future of environmentalism and see images from the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition Forces of Nature.
Sidedoor Podcast
Building a Movement
In the 1980s, a series of events sparked a movement to fight back against environmental injustices.
Race and Our Shared Future
Race and Place
Consider how race and racism have shaped access to safe, healthy public spaces and private living spaces.
Sidedoor Podcast
The Riverkeeper
Meet Fred Tutman, the longest-serving Waterkeeper in the Chesapeake Bay region and the founding Patuxent Riverkeeper.
Smithsonian Story
Tracking Air Pollution from Space
TEMPO will help us understand air pollution’s causes and impact to improve the health and well-being of life on Earth.
Human and Animal Health
Human and animal health go hand in hand. Not only do we share many of the same needs for survival, we share many of the same illnesses. The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Global Health Program researches questions about nature that can help improve public health. Smithsonian collections also play a role—the National Museum of Natural History houses the largest mosquito collection in the world, which researchers use to study mosquito-borne illnesses. And the National Museum of American History studies the history of infectious disease and our response to it.
National Museum of Natural History
Outbreak
Our world is connected more than ever before—by global travel and trade, by technology, and even by infectious diseases.
Smithsonian Story
Linking Large Mammal and Human Health
Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the humans?!
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Mosquito! Community Research Guide
This guide focuses on how to ensure health for all from mosquito-borne disease.
Sidedoor Podcast
The Gorilla Epidemic
When a highly contagious mystery illness spread through the world’s mountain gorilla population, biologists feared the entire species could be lost.
National Museum of American History
Healthy Hogs for a Healthy Nation
National Museum of American History
Rabies Prevention Inventions
Smithsonian Story
How Do Ticks…Tick?
With illnesses from ticks on the rise, learn about this blood-sucking parasite.
Smithsonian Story
Smithsonian’s Mosquito Collection Is Weapon in Battle Against Zika
As the Zika virus takes hold around the world, health officials are racing to find its cause and prevent its spread.
Human Impacts on the Environment
Individual and community-wide actions of humans impact the environment on a small and large scale. From human-caused climate change to pollution and habitat destruction. Measuring these impacts and ecosystem baselines are an important part of tracking impacts and thinking about solutions.
Around the Smithsonian
Climate Change
Sidedoor Podcast
Lights Out
Light pollution affects all life on earth, from humans to plants and insects. Can we have the dark, without giving up the light?
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Winning the Fight against Mercury Pollution
Mercury monitoring illustrates the success of federal and state policies and shows a way forward.
National Museum of Natural History
Plastic in the Marine Environment
Plastic trash is now found in essentially every ecosystem on the planet—including throughout the ocean.
Smithsonian Story
Agriculture and Fishing Cause Coral Reef Decline
Fossils reveal the state of coral reefs before large-scale human disturbance.
Smithsonian Story
Microplastics in Our Environment
Odile Madden, materials scientist with the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, knows a lot about platics.
Smithsonian Story
Seeing Air Pollution in a New Way
Smithsonian and NASA launched TEMPO into orbit to provide better information about air pollution over North America.
Smithsonian Story
Ocean Invaders
Species travel around the world stowed away on ships, impacting ecosystems and industry.
Sustainability Guides
Smithsonian Education
Sustainability in Action
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Sustainable Communities!
Smithsonian Science Education Center
Ocean! Community Research Guide
Smithsonian Science Education Center
