The Smithsonian’s Life on a Sustainable Planet Initiative

Working with co9lleagues around the world, we are working on ways to address the crisis of climate change effectively and equitably for all.

I am pleased to announce the Smithsonian’s “Life on a Sustainable Planet” initiative, our latest major effort to collect new data about the changing planet, implement holistic and multi-scale approaches to environmental conservation, and educate the world about why and how sustainable solutions to climate change can benefit people and nature. Life on a Sustainable Planet is part of Our Shared Future, the Smithsonian’s campaign to build a better future for all.

For more than 175 years, the Smithsonian has been building collections and undertaking research that shows how humans have pushed Earth’s delicate ecosystems towards a tipping point that threatens our long-term health, national security and economic stability. Life on a Sustainable Planet will use our history of scientific research across a global network of research centers, our expansive museum collection and our diverse set of exhibits and educational programs to produce, curate and communicate strategies for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change. We will pioneer new technologies to collect environmental data, develop new platforms to analyze and share these data and work with partners and communities to inform conservation action.

Life on a Sustainable Planet will coalesce the Smithsonian’s global resources to promote sustainable living and conservation across five focus areas:

• Conserving complex forests and grassland ecosystems
• Recognizing that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and inter-dependent
• Safeguarding oceans and working seascapes
• Promoting public engagement on environmental justice
• Improving the sustainability of the Smithsonian’s facilities and operations

Using these themes as a framework, Smithsonian scientists and researchers—in concert with hundreds of partners and research associates around the globe—are working to understand the science that underlies Earth’s systems to help us develop strategies to protect the complex biosphere of our planet. We will use this information to develop new strategies for mitigating the impact of climate change on an international scale. Second, we will work to renew and strengthen scientific rigor and the practice of evidence-based thinking throughout American life and around the world through exhibitions, educational materials and public programs. Finally, the Smithsonian will lead by example by improving the sustainability of its operations and facilities while incentivizing its staff and audience to reduce their carbon footprints.

Climate change threatens all of us. We are hopeful that Life on a Sustainable Planet will help the Smithsonian set an example for the world on how to address this crisis effectively and equitably for all.

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