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Acid rain may not be top of mind these days for many Americans, but that doesn’t mean the problem has gone away. Referring to any form of precipitation with high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids, some acid rain can develop naturally from decay of living things. But the primary cause is emissions from burning…
On March 27, an estimated 15,000 young people gathered in Washington State’s KeyArena for We Day Seattle, an event “to celebrate the power of youth to create positive change in their local and global communities.” We Day Seattle marked the first time the program came to the U.S., although it has been well known in…
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) passed away today after fighting illness for several years. She died in London, after having suffered a stroke, at 87 years old. Last December, she had undergone an operation to remove a growth from her bladder. Known as the Iron Lady for her toughness, Thatcher had served as the United Kingdom’s only…
We recently covered a two-headed bull shark fetus that was found by a fisherman and described by scientists in a journal. That story got more than ninety comments and more than four thousand Facebook likes, and it got us thinking about what other two-headed creatures might have been found. So in lieu of this week’s…
On April 3, 2013, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala and a team of colleagues from around the world published a scientific paper called “A General Business Model for Marine Reserves” in the journal PLoS ONE. Building on the work of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Expeditions (see clickable map below), the team analyzed available data to show…
Just how much eating fish is good for you has been a question of debate for some time, and now a new study adds some more data to the pile. Older adults who have high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids — as found in fatty seafood — “may be able to lower their overall…
One of my favorite vendors at D.C.’s Eastern Market sells illustrations of plants and animals. The intricate colored drawings harken back to a golden age of naturalism, when intrepid explorers headed out with little more than a notebook to chronicle the incredible biodiversity of our world. Of course, there are still many species yet to…
This month 36 Philippine freshwater crocodiles were introduced into the wild on Siargao Island, in an effort to bolster the population of this endangered reptile. The Philippine freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis), also called the Mindoro crocodile, is found only in the Philippines. The Philippine crocodile shares the island chain with the much more common Indo-Pacific crocodile or saltwater…
Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron made history one year ago when he became the first person to reach the bottom of the ocean by himself, in his high-tech sub DEEPSEA CHALLENGER (learn all about the groundbreaking project on the official website). To mark the one-year anniversary of that voyage, Cameron has now announced…
We’ve written about a cyclops shark, freshwater sharks, and whorl-toothed sharks, but we have to add a new curiosity to the digital curio: a two-headed shark. A fisherman working off the Florida Keys recently caught a bull shark, then opened it up to find that it contained two live fetuses, including one highly unusual one with two…
National Geographic’s recent video on Concrete Canvas shelters went viral, as nearly 4.8 million YouTube viewers saw how quickly a sturdy structure could be raised when air is blown into wetted, cement-covered cloths. So we caught up with Peter Brewin, director of the U.K.-based Concrete Canvas company, to get the story behind the innovation. Can…
“When it comes to the Ross Sea and Antarctica we’re not going to wait for a crisis to take action,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a crowd at National Geographic headquarters yesterday evening. Kerry was joined at the podium by Terry Adamson, EVP of National Geographic; Karen Sack of The Pew Charitable Trusts,…
While one could make a case that pigs should be this week’s Freshwater Species of the Week, since they have turned up by the thousands in a Chinese river, I decided to focus my attention a bit closer to home. Today, authorities announced that eight men have been indicted for alleged trafficking in American paddlefish…
Today, delegates to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok agreed to list the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) on Appendix I on an interim basis, boosting its protections. A final decision on the species’ status is expected by the time the conference wraps up on March 14, according to Humane Society…
On Saturday, Paul Rose put on a dry diving suit and walked to the end of a pier on scenic Lake Windermere, the largest natural lake in England. He plunged into the cold water. “I had been underwater for 30 seconds when I bumped straight into a complete toilet,” Rose told Water Currents. Rose, a…
I recently posted about Brain Games, the new National Geographic TV show with mind-bending interactivity, and shared an infographic about intelligence. I follow that with an infographic my friend just made for Veracode on hacking the mind–perhaps a dark side of brain science. Earlier today I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The…
A few weeks ago, I posted a gorgeous “dreamlapse” video that was made in Death Valley. Readers said they enjoyed it. Yesterday, I received an email from Daniel Lowe of Daniel Dragon Films. “I have something similar, done around the same time, but with more timelapse and startrails sequences,” Lowe wrote. He sent me a…
Except for the occasional shriek of a raven or the muffled voices of hikers passing on the rocky trail, Santa Elena Canyon was silent. The canyon’s high walls shielded us from the hot Texas sun, which beat down with a vengeance even in November, when I visited Big Bend National Park with family. Our…
Yesterday, National Geographic staffers were treated to special previews of upcoming programs on National Geographic Channel. One of the most exciting was upcoming episodes of Brain Games. The audience was thrilled by a series of new interactive puzzles from the show. I won’t give away the surprises, but it’s amazing how optical illusions can work…
At Ocean Views, we’ve covered the specter of mis-identified seafood several times. Today, the conservation group Oceana released a new report that brings the issue into even more focus. Oceana collected fish samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states and used DNA testing to compare those products against U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seafood labeling…
I’m posting Freshwater Species of the Week a day early because I just caught wind that biologists have discovered “monster” goldfish breeding in Lake Tahoe. I visited Lake Tahoe a few winters ago, and can say with experience that it’s a stunning natural gem. Snow-capped peaks ring the crystal-clear blue water, which supports a diverse…
In lieu of Freshwater Species of the Week this time around, I wanted to share this postcard I picked up a few years ago in Idaho. Made by Duckboy Cards Inc. of Hamilton, Montana, it pokes fun at an area of tension that has affected much of the dry West, as well as many other…
The Colorado River may have cut the Grand Canyon, but for much of its course the river is no longer so mighty. Most of the time, the Colorado no longer even reaches the sea. The moisture the Colorado River brings to an arid part of the United States and a piece of northern Mexico has sustained generations…
As any gardener or farmer should be able to tell you, earthworms can play an important role in ecosystems, by churning up soils, leaving copious amounts of nutrient-rich waste, and serving as food for a wide range of wildlife. Many young students dissect earthworms in biology 101, but there is still a lot we don’t…
In case you weren’t aware, every February 2 is not just Groundhog Day. It is also World Wetlands Day. From the official website of World Wetlands Day: This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the…
