Results tagged “Green”

Photograph by Evan Zhang, My Shot


Watermelons are delicious and great fuel for kids on a hot summer afternoon. But they also might make great fuel for cars!

Wayne Fish, a chemist with the Agricultural Research Service in Lane, Oklahoma, and his team were working on a project using watermelons when they realized that watermelon juice could be used to make ethanol, which can be used as fuel for cars. Only about four of every five watermelons grown are sold to people for food. The remaining fifth of the watermelons go to waste. That could be a lot of fuel!

Read more about this green (or is it red?) fuel on National Geographic News.

Put your own words into a photo of a woman eating watermelon on National Geographic Kids.

The six winners of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize have been announced. This is the 20th year that the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded. Each year, a winner is chosen from each inhabited continent (making six prizes). It has been awarded to 133 grassroots environmentalists from 75 different countries.

This year's winners are Marc Ona Essangui from Gabon, Rizwana Hasan from Bangladesh, Olga Speranskaya from Russia, Yuyun Ismawati from Indonesia, Maria Gunnoe from the United States of America, and Wanze Eduards and Hugo Jabini from Suriname.

Photograph by Enric Sala


NG Fellow Enric Sala and a team of scientists are starting out on a six-week expedition to study undisturbed reef systems in the Southern Line Islands. This research will create a model of what healthy coral reefs and other healthy marine ecosystems should be like. Damaged coral reefs can be compared with the model, and scientists will be able to better understand what steps are needed to help the reefs recover.

Turn off your lights this Saturday, March 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 local time and participate in a global observance called Earth Hour. Individuals, businesses, and organizations across the world will be participating (National Geographic included). Earth Hour is a demonstration of how much we can do to cut back power use and prevent climate change if we all work together.

The first lights-out will be in the Chatham Island off the coast of New Zealand. From there, the wave of darkened buildings, streets, and monuments will ripple through all 25 time zones. Even the Eiffel Tower will go dark.

The more participants there are, the bigger the impact will be. So get ready to power down!

Learn more about Earth Hour.

Read about last year's Earth Hour on National Geographic News.

Get more power saving tips on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph by Ron Edmonds/AP


First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground on a new vegetable garden on the White House lawn last week with help of students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. The last time there were veggies growing at the White House was when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President in the 1940s.

Over 50 different vegetables, fruits, and herbs will be grown in the White House Kitchen Garden. There will also be two beehives for honey. Some of the green goodies will be added to the menu by the White House chefs, and others will be donated to Miriam's Kitchen, a Washington, D.C. soup kitchen.

Learn how to plant your own veggies and flowers!

See photos of the First Lady working on the garden on the White House Blog.

True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save the Planet by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin was named the Best Hands-On Science Book by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. True Green Kids is packed with simple things you can do to help save the planet!

Read kids' reviews about True Green Kids, including how Jordan earned eco-points and how Parker shortened his showers on the DogEared Books Blog.

AD: True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save the Planet

Get green tips on National Geographic Kids.

Being green has nothing to do with the seasons and everything to do with protecting the Earth year-round. February 2-8 is National Green Week. Schools and students can sign up and help teach the world how to be environmentally aware. Is your school participating?

Learn about National Green Week.

Get tips on how to go green.