Earth Optimism

"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.

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 monk seal in southern Greece. Females tended to give birth on beaches before human hostility drove them into hiding.

The Mediterranean Monk Seal Is Making a Comeback

The endangered sea creature, known for its reclusive nature, has re-emerged out of the shadows

A sadhill crane flies over the San Luis Valley.

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.

Fighting Fire With Fire in California

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

Dill, Jalape&ntilde;o and Gherkin, the three newly hatched radiated tortoises at the Houston Zoo.

90-Year-Old Tortoise Fathers His First Offspring at Houston Zoo

Critically endangered radiated tortoises don’t reproduce often, so this is a win for the species

Solar panels float on a mountain lake in Switzerland. The first such system was installed in 2008.

Are Floating Solar Panels the Future of Clean Energy Production?

“Floatovoltaics” could drastically raise power generation and conserve water in reservoirs, according to a new study

An aerial view of the Vjosa River near the city of Permet taken on March 14, 2023.

One of Europe's Last Free-Flowing Rivers Declared a National Park

Albania will protect more than 31,000 acres of land, including the undammed Vjosa River

Conference president Rena Lee of Singapore announces an agreement was reached on Saturday.

Historic Treaty Protects Marine Life in the 'High Seas'

The United Nations agreement will help conserve 30 percent of the planet’s oceans by 2030

Tourists on a cruise spotted a rare, giant phantom jellyfish&nbsp;in Fournier Bay of Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula last year.

How Vacationers on Antarctic Cruises Are Filling in Scientific Gaps

From ships and submarines, citizen scientists can access remote areas ripe for new discoveries. But does the research make up for the climate impact?

&Iacute;ris Dr&ouml;fn Gu&eth;mundsd&oacute;ttir (left) and her cousin Anton Ingi Eir&iacute;ksson release pufflings from the Hamarinn sea cliff on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

An Icelandic Town Goes All Out to Save Baby Puffins

Kids and senior citizens alike rally to rescue beloved young seabirds that have lost their bearings

Pollinators, including bees, face pressure from disease-causing organisms, habitat loss, climate change and other factors.

The World's First Vaccine for Honeybees Is Here

It could be a game-changer for beekeepers fighting American foulbrood, a disease that can wipe out entire colonies

The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit relies on sagebrush for food and shelter, but the shrub has nearly disappeared. It&#39;s also slow to regrow: it takes about two decades, or ten pygmy rabbit lifetimes.

Can Scientists Save the World’s Tiniest Rabbit?

In Washington State, the race is on to save a diminutive bunny as wildfires threaten its already shrinking habitat

A fishing cat,&nbsp;Prionailurus viverrinus, in Koh Mon, Thailand, at a shrimp farm. Such facilities reduce the area inhabited by the shy animal, contributing to its decline.&nbsp;

Fishing Cats Face Many Human Threats. What Can Be Done to Save Them?

The wild felines in Asia are highly adapted to watery environs that are disappearing

The first juvenile collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) raised from a cryopreserved embryo.

A Graduate Student’s Research Could Help Stop the Spread of Invasive Seaweed in Hawai'i

For the first time, using cryopreservation to freeze sea urchin embryos may help restore coral reefs

Well digging behaviors have been observed previously in areas with dry habitats, and researchers only know of three chimpanzee groups in the savannah that do so.

Rainforest Chimpanzees Seen Digging Wells for the First Time

The primates may be burrowing for cleaner water

The gophers spend most of their time underground and only venture to the outside world to forage for food or mate.

Pocket Gophers May Be the First Non-Human Mammal to 'Farm'

The rodents don't plant, of course, but they do tend to roots in their tunnels that they then eat

Brooding requires a significant sacrifice for a mother&nbsp;Bathyteuthis berryi. Though she can&#39;t feed or quickly escape from predators while carrying her eggs, she can ensure her young stay in water that has the right temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.

Watch a Deep-Sea Squid Carry Hundreds of Pearl-Like Eggs

Footage taken 56 miles off California's coast documents rarely-observed brooding behavior

Despite only uncovering one bone, researchers were able to identify it as an abelisaurid by the distinct structures that stuck out on the top left and top right of the neck vertebrae called epipophyses. (Pictured: Graduate student, Belal Salem holding the neck vertebra of the unamed abelisaurid theropod found in the Bahariya Oasis)

New Dinosaur Species With Bulldog-Like Face Uncovered in Egypt

The fossil is the first evidence of a bipedal abelisaurid in the one of the world’s richest fossil deposits

The &quot;Gifts We Carry: Sounds of Migration and Memory&rdquo; concert will combine musicians from several backgrounds and cultures, including Salar Nader on the tabla and Homayoun Sakhi, a master on the Afghan stringed instrument the rubab.&nbsp;

After Long Absence, the Folklife Festival Returns to the National Mall

The much-loved summer event, featuring the United Arab Emirates and Earth Optimism programs, opens with a concert hosted by Yo-Yo Ma

A female saltmarsh sparrow in a New Hampshire wetland is held by University of New Hampshire graduatet student Talia Kuras. The circular device reads the transponder-containing indentification tag on the bird&#39;s leg.&nbsp;

Saving the Imperiled Saltmarsh Sparrow

Conservationists are racing to rescue a delightful coastal animal from rising seas

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