Tag archives for Environment
Posted by Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of The Green Belt Movement, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, died on September 25, 2011 at the age of 71. She started the Green Belt Movement to encourage people worldwide to protect the environment. Maathai believed, “The planting of trees is the planting of ideas. By starting with the simple act of planting a tree, we give hope to ourselves and to future generations.”
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 40 million trees have been planted across Africa, improving the land and the lives of the people who live there. Their goal for the future is to plant one billion trees worldwide. Maathai was the first African woman and the first environmentalist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai is well-known for her achievements in environmental activism and human rights advocacy, specifically in women’s civil rights.
Will you help them reach their goal by planting a tree?
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar designated six new national natural landmarks last week. One of the new landmarks, Lake Billy Chinook in Oregon, is pictured above. In a statement, Salazar said “By designating these remarkable sites in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington as national natural landmarks, we help establish and pass down to future generations those awe-inspiring places that make America truly beautiful.”
Learn more about the new national natural landmarks on National Geographic News.
See pictures of national parks on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Buddy Mays, Alamy
Today, June 8, is World Oceans Day. It’s a global celebration of the ocean and its creatures. The ocean is important to all of us. Are you doing anything to celebrate World Oceans day? What does the ocean mean to you? Leave a comment and let us know!
Check out cool ocean animal facts, great games, and more on National Geographic Kids.
Learn more about oceans on National Geographic.
Get more information on the World Oceans Day website.
Photograph by Gary Brennand, Your Shot
Phenomenal Friday fact!
The air trapped inside an iceberg can be thousands of years
old.
Photograph by Todd White, My Shot
Six creative classrooms across the United States are vying to win the “Find Your
Footprint” contest. Vote for your favorite finalist of the
in-school conservation program which inspires students to make their schools and
homes more environmentally friendly.
Winners will receive five Promethean ActivBoard interactive whiteboards, five sets of 32 ActivExpressions learner response systems, up to $1,000 worth of award-winning atlases, books, and more. Plus, every student in the winning class receives a one-year subscription of National Geographic Kids Magazine.
The voting period has now ended, but check back soon for the Grand-Prize Winning School!
Posted by BOOK NAME: A Crack in the Sky
AUTHOR: Mark Peter Hughes
Eli Papadopoulos is a teenager who lives in a futuristic America. Global warming has gone extreme, and most of the human race lives in enclosed domes. The insides of the domes are screens that simulate the sky or run ads, and everyone lives fairly happily. Eli’s grandfather was the one who ‘saved humanity’ by thinking of the domes and having his company, InfiniCorp, build it all and take care of everyone. Eli has many relatives, and they are all expected to get a job within InfiniCorp’s ranks. Eli has a pet mongoose, Marilyn, who was given to him by his grandfather. She has been genetically engineered, and can communicate telepathically with Eli. One day, Eli notices a spark on the inside of the dome, and runs to investigate. He doesn’t see anything suspicious, but he begins to be worried and tries to find out more about what is happening. Soon, he discovers a conspiracy plot to escape from the domes because everyone is going to die already. The conspiracy theorists, or foggers, believe that El Guia, a man of the desert, will guide them to safety. Eli begins to doubt his own family, and eventually embarks on an adventure involving a fogger named Tabitha, Marilyn, and his entire family to discover the truth.
As many of you know already, I love science fiction, especially futuristic stuff. I’ll read virtually anything, but this book was really a gem. I’ve recommended it to most of my friends already, and you guys should read it, too! One of the things I liked most about this book was that it gave all perspectives. You got Eli, Tabitha, and Marilyn as well as some people who lived outside the domes. It was good to figure out what the different people were thinking as well as what they knew and didn’t know. It was also cool to see all of the different paths converge at the end of the novel. If you like global warming, this is a great book for you. It’s fairly realistic, and kind of scared me when I thought of how close we are to this coming true. My favorite character would definitely have to be Eli, because he is dedicated to his friends and to finding the truth.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began when an oil rig blew up and sank on April 20, 2010. Hundreds of millions of gallons spilled while the companies tried to find a way to stop it. Finally, the oil well was plugged up in mid-September, but the clean up of oil and the research into its effects on wildlife, the ecosystem, and people will go on for decades. To find out more about the spill and its aftermath read stories, take a quiz, and watch videos of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico below.
Quiz Your Noodle: 2010 Oil Spill
See if you have all of the facts on the 2010 oil spill when you take this quiz.
Green Scene: Oil Well in the Gulf of Mexico Capped
Read about the permanent cap placed on the oil well.
Green Scene: Manta Rays Affected by Oil?
Scientists aren’t sure how the remaining oil in the Gulf will affect the manta rays living there.
Green Scene: Oil in Coastal Marshes
Oil isn’t only a problem on the water–it’s a problem in the coastal mashes, too.
President Obama’s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling recommends that the government agencies and industry need to close safety gaps that led to the disaster.
Green Scene: Substance to Keep Oil Off of Birds?
Scientists are working on an eco-friendly substance that will help keep oil from sticking to birds during future oil spills.
Content produced by National Geographic. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation under Award # DRL-104574
Posted by BOOK NAME: Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas
AUTHOR: National Geographic
This is a book that I like. It’s called Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas. I think it’s cool because it has lots of animals and tells you about the earth: where animals live, what continents they live on, and all kinds of maps.
The book tells about animals ecosystems which are ice caps, mountain, grassland, desert, forest, wetland, tundra, and coral reef.
In this book, it also tells what forest produces the most amount of oxygen–which is the Amazon rain forest in South America. The Amazon rain forest has spotted leopards, blue-and-yellow macaws, red-bellied piranhas, and green anaconda snakes which kill their prey by squeezing it to death.
In Africa, some of the animals you learn about are giraffes, elephants, hyenas, and wildebeests.
This book also tells about which animals are endangered and which are not. It also tells about which ecosystems are in which parts of the world.
The book shows a lot of pictures of animals, what they eat, and what they do. My favorite part of the book was looking at the maps of the continents to see which animals live where. This book would be good for ages 4-10.
Is your class looking for a green project to do together? Tell your teacher about the Find Your Footprint contest! Your classroom can choose one of three categories: Save Water, Reduce Waste, or Save Energy. Your class must think of a way to reduce your school’s footprint in one of these areas, and create a description of your proposal. The winning classroom or school will get some pretty cool prizes, including five Promethean ActivBoards and $1000 worth of National Geographic books.
All entries must be received by December 3, 2010, so go green and get going!
Send your teacher to the Find Your Footprint page for more information on the contest.
Want to find out how big your family’s water footprint is? Grab Mom or Dad and check out the Water Footprint Calculator.
Image Source / Getty Images
President Obama has finished his first year in office. But how well has he done as President? National Geographic Kids magazine asked 758 readers to grade President Obama on his performance in different subjects like health care, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the environment.
So how did he do? For the most part, NG Kids readers think the President is doing a pretty good job. Most kids (90%) gave him an overall passing grade. When it came down to individual issues, the readers were a little more divided. For example, 46% gave him an A or B on health care, 22% gave him a C or D. Fifteen percent of kids gave him an F–more Fs than he received on any other subject. Readers were more pleased with President Obama’s progress on taking care of the environment. Nearly half gave the President an A or B in this subject.
But when it comes to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, one in four kids gave the President a C or D for his performance. Here, too, they were sharply divided on his handling of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and both sides were extremely vocal about the stance they thought the President should take.
Along with the grades, kids also gave advice for the President to keep in mind for the rest of his term, such as “Sometimes being a leader means standing alone and doing the right thing when no one else will,” “Listen to the people, because the people make up this great union,” and “Try not to slouch so much.”
What grade would you give President Obama for his first year in office?
Read more stories about President Obama on News Bites.
Photograph by Pete Souza/Official White House Photo
