Archives for July, 2009
Name That Mammal
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 31, 2009 As I mentioned not long ago, National Geographic Weekend radio host Boyd Matson (at right above) and producer Ben Shaw invited me to join them on a trip across town to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Boyd and Ben had an appointment with biologist Kristofer Helgen, a 2009 National Geographic Emerging Explorer who…
Posted by Efforts to rebuild fisheries are starting to pay off in some places around the world, an international team of scientists with divergent views on ocean ecosystems has determined. The study “puts into perspective recent reports predicting a total collapse of global fisheries within 40 years,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency responsible…
Posted by Landfill-clogging plastic is widespread in our daily lives, from our sunglasses to our shampoo bottles—but I didn’t realize until a few weeks ago that it could be in our gardens and farms, too. Standard black mulch—which tamps down on weeds and stimulates plant growth—contains petroleum-based plastic that doesn’t break down easily. That’s why researchers at…
Icelandic Saga: Puffin Quest
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 28, 2009 When last I wrote about the 2009 National Geographic Student Expedition to Iceland, we were clambering up the margin of the world’s third-largest glacier. Our next stop: Ingólfshöfthi, where Ingólfur Arnarson—the Viking who founded Reykjavik—wintered over in the year 874 (give or take a few) before heading west to settle what would become Iceland’s capital…
Where to Find Green Energy
Posted by Tasha Eichenseher of National Geographic on July 27, 2009 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released an updated roster of green energy superstars today. This top-20 list ranks businesses, government agencies, and universities that are using renewable resources to power buildings and production. Coming in first is the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a nearly $20-billion bathroom and kitchen paper-product and diaper business headquartered in Dallas. Seven percent,…
Half a Million Strong on Facebook
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 27, 2009 For an organization that’s all about inspiring people to care about the planet, having half a million Facebook fans is gratifying. Well, I imagine it would be … but we’re about 100 fans short: As I post this, the tally stands at 499,889. Won’t you help put National Geographic over the top? You’ll find us…
Someone to Watch Over You
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 26, 2009 Conservationist, marine biologist, and NatGeo Fellow Enric Sala and I drove to Dulles, Virginia on Friday to visit GeoEye headquarters. The company manages a fleet of Earth imaging satellites, including IKONOS and GeoEye-1, which traverse the globe from pole to pole every 90 minutes 423 miles (681 kilometers) overhead. Both IKONOS and GeoEye-1 can scan…
Wild About Amreeka
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 24, 2009 My friends Lisa Truitt and Nikki Lowry with National Geographic Entertainment messaged to let me know the website, YouTube trailer, Facebook page, and Twitter feed are all up for Amreeka, a wonderful new film by Cherien Dabis. Nat Geo is distributing Amreeka—the “coming to America” story of one Palestinian family. The film was a hit…
Posted by Shortly after the Chandra X-ray Observatory opened its eye for the first time in 1999, the orbiting probe snapped its first picture of a supernova remnant about 190,000 light-years away that’s lovingly called 1E 0102.2-7219—or E0102 for short. —Image courtesy NASA/CXC/SAO Yesterday, ten years to the day after the probe’s July 23 launch, the Chandra…
Life Mirrors Art Mirrors Artifact
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 23, 2009 While visiting the National Museum of Natural History with National Geographic Weekend host Boyd Matson and producer Ben Shaw, I wandered across the Mall to the old Smithsonian Castle and took a look inside. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this! The pile of loot that fills the building’s lobby was created…
As I perused the bountiful wares of Rexville Grocery in rural Washington State last week, I was surprised to see a sign in their front window advertising an electric-vehicle charging station. The small market and community center (which, at this time of year, offers delectable pies with berries plucked right from the surrounding farmlands) sits…
It Pays to Dream…
Posted by Tasha Eichenseher of National Geographic on July 22, 2009 Over the past few months nearly 2,500 people and teams submitted entries to a contest National Geographic helped sponsor. The idea was for people to dream of ways to green their neighborhoods and communities. Based on the number of submissions received, the so-called Green Effect–taking small steps that together create big change–is in full force.…
Did you hear? Today, July 20, 2009, is the 40th anniversary of the day humans first set foot on the moon. Yeah, I know. If you read newspapers/watch TV/surf the web/opened your door this morning, you’ve probably been flooded with Apollo 11 news by now. On one hand, it’s quite the achievement worth celebrating. On…
“Cornelius,” Anyone?
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 20, 2009 WildlifeDirect shares news on the Great Apes Blog of Kwita Izina, Rwanda‘s annual celebration in which mountain gorillas born during the previous 12 months receive their names. Volunteers in gorilla suits, pictured above, stood in for the baby gorillas receiving names during the ceremony. Other videos on the official Kwita Izina YouTube channel include adorable…
Full Moon Rises on Google Earth
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 20, 2009 Exactly 40 years after Neil Armstrong took his famous “one small step for man,” and less than six months after adding the ocean to its virtual planet, Google unveiled the moon in Google Earth today. Much as you could already fly to the bottom of the Grand Canyon or the Mariana Trench, perch on top…
Bengal Tiger Preserve Loses Its Last Tiger
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 17, 2009 Stefan Caiafa writes for Intelligent Travel of coming face to face with one of the last Bengal tigers in India’s Panna National Park—a popular tourist destination and tiger reserve—and of a report from the BBC that no tigers remain in the park. The Indian government’s Ministry of Tourism recognized Panna in 2007 as the country’s…
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France today announced his country’s support for a ban of international trade in endangered Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, joining a growing call to list the overexploited fish under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), WWF reports. NGS illustration of bluefin tuna by Stanley…
A new study of thirty-million-year-old fossil “megadung” from extinct giant South American mammals reveals evidence of complex ecological interactions and theft of dung beetles’ food stores by other animals, according to a study published in the journal Palaeontology. NGS photo of modern dung beetles by Chris Johns “Thirty million years ago South America was…
Canada took top honors at the ninth National Geographic World Championship held today at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, the National Geographic Society announced today. The United States came second, and Poland, just one point behind the United States, was third. The winning team members from left are Chris Chiavatti of…
Canada Rules World
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 15, 2009 When it comes to knowing about the world, Canada reigns supreme. Team Canada claimed gold today at the National Geographic World Championship, held at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City. Team U.S.A. came in second and took silver … …while Poland, which lagged the United States by just a single point,…
Major China-based producers and users of palm oil have committed support for sustainable palm oil, “an important boost for efforts to halt tropical deforestation,” WWF reported today. The public statement, made at the 2nd International Oil and Fats Summit in Beijing on July 9, committed the companies to “support the promotion, procurement and use of…
Icelandic Saga: Crampons and Axes
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 14, 2009 Days of camping without power and Internet access interrupted the story of my trans-Icelandic journey with Nat Geo Student Expeditions. Now I’m back on the grid, and the saga continues… After a rainy night of camping at Skaftafell—newly consolidated with other territory by the Icelandic government into Vatnajökull National Park, which is Europe’s largest—the weather…
Chinese alligators reintroduced into China from the United States are breeding successfully in the wild on an island in the mouth of the Yangtze River, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society said today. Photo © WCS “The alligator hatchlings–15 in number–are the offspring of a group of alligators that includes animals from the Wildlife Conservation…
The first integrated analysis for all coastal areas of the world has ranked hotspots of human impact. The hottest hotspot is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, says Benjamin S. Halpern, lead author of the study, with the other top 10 in Asia and the Mediterranean. Nutrient runoff from farms draining into the Mississippi…
Students Compete in Mexico City
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 13, 2009 Student teams from Canada, Poland, and the United States have progressed to Wednesday’s final round in the 2009 National Geographic World Championship. Top competitors in national geography bees, such as the one held here at NatGeo headquarters in May, earned the right to represent their countries at the world competition in Mexico City. Learn more…
