Heather Smith

Heather Smith is the science editor at Sierra, a former Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, and a contributor to the atlas Nonstop Metropolis. Twitter handle => @strangerworks. 

Articles

So You Want to Be an Architect?

By Heather Smith | Sep 9 2021
Architectural career paths for the earnest and climate-obsessed
architecture, urban planning, education, cool schools, climate change
Indigo-colored engineering drawning with two nicely sharpened pencils and a compass
Feature

Biking While Black in Minneapolis

By Heather Smith | Sep 21 2021
The simple freedom of moving through space in a fraught city
public transit
Two women wearing summer clothes pose in front of a tree in a park, smiling. A bike is leaned up against the tree.

Put My Superheroes on Amtrak

By Heather Smith | Aug 26 2021
What glorious things should Amtrak do with that $66 billion?
public transit, transportation, climate change, federal climate policy
Massive cream-colored stone room in Chicago's Union Station, with an illuminated sign of a blue arrow on a black background reading "to trains."
Stress Test

Can Farming Seaweed Put the Brakes on Climate Change?

By Heather Smith | Jun 28 2021
Here's how it's supposed to work
climate change
Infographic shows the process of growing kelp in the ocean to sink it for carbon sequestration.
Critter

The Spirit Bear

By Heather Smith | Jul 3 2021
A secret creature comes to the forefront
animals, science
A white black bear lies in a lush green forest eating a fleshy salmon.

Tear Gas, Meet Environmental Law

By Heather Smith | May 27 2021
A small group of environmental lawyers could finally reveal the secrets of tear gas
science, activism, politics, environmental justice, racial justice
A cloud of tear gas silhouetting human figures against a night sky in downtown Portland, OR

Rich Man, Big Tree

By Heather Smith | Mar 18 2021
The documentary, screening at the DC Environmental Film Festival, raises questions about nature and who gets to have it.
forests, politics, film, art
Very big tree on a barge sailing through a sea of calm blue water.
Stress Test

Meet the Land Salmon

By Heather Smith | Jan 2 2021
Terrestrial fish farms are betting that improved technology will make them competitive
technology
Illustrations show the phases of land salmon farming, including trays of eggs, tanks with fry, and someone scooping out a grown salmon from a tank.
Election 2020

The Future of Michigan’s Water Is at Stake

By Heather Smith | Oct 29 2020
Whoever gets elected to Michigan's Senate and Supreme Court will play a big role in who gets access to clean water
People in face masks unloading bottles of water from a car and on to a red hand truck
Election 2020

Early Voting Is a Form of Resistance

By Heather Smith | Oct 27 2020
Here's how to do it

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