Category Archives: NatGeo Highlights

November’s National Geographic Magazine is entirely dedicated to climate change, which the Society timed to coincide with the global climate conference in Paris (as per the editor – I wasn’t aware of said conference, but I barely read the news). The issue has some interesting in-depth stories, but I found its practical advice on dealing with climate change–termed “survival guides”–to be most interesting.

The issue has two sections: “how to fix it” and “how to live with it,” both, of course, referencing climate change. I’m going to give my highlights under each section.

How to Fix It:

• Survival Guide 1: This, I think, is my favorite part of the issue in terms of how thought-provoking it is. It breaks down what people can do to combat climate change on a personal, business, city, country, and global level.
  • On a personal level, it was interesting read the impacts that specific actions can have and to assess how my own way of life stacks up. For instance, “an American household can save 1,600 pounds of CO2 emissions a year by washing laundry in cold water” (24). Can I just say I had a very unholy moment of self-satisfied pride, even though the environment has not been my motivation for washing only with cold water (but rather, most of my clothes labels suggest it)? Alas, the next tip talks about how removing meat from the global diet would hugely beneficial for reducing emissions–and I laughed to myself about how I will NEVER give up my meat.
  • The section on “world” efforts was just frustrating for me. There are three pages on geoengineering, “a catchall term for deliberate large-scale interventions in the planetary environment that are designed to counteract climate change” (26). Here it introduces all kinds of fancy idea that will reduce emissions but doesn’t really discuss what the unintended and potentially problematic effects of these efforts may be. For instance — the article touts more contraception as a way to lower the birthrate and reduce emissions, without addressing any of the well-known environmental issues that stem from hormonal birth control. Soooo… more birth control=less people=less emissions…. and more fish born all of one gender and unable to reproduce? polluted waterways and who knows what else? I guess, without being a climate scientist, I just sort of feel like humans should stop trying to intervene our way out of the climate crisis through creating new things.
• The Will to Change: This is an in-depth story about Germany’s efforts to replace fossil fuels and nuclear energy entirely with renewable sources. It’s an ambitious idea, and the article explores the motivation and energy behind it, including the political forces shaping the clean-energy movement. Undoubtedly, Germany has a long way to go and is unlikely to meet its own goals within its stated time-frame. The article does, however, portray the country as a leader in the worldwide effort, setting a path for the rest of us to follow. One idea stuck with me — rather than telling people to “Do less. Tighten your belts. Consume less,” the better message to convince people to engage in the movement is to say, “Do things differently (51).”

How to Live With It:

• Survival Guide 2: I found this a little more scientific, which meant there was more new info and it was more educational – which I liked. Some of the predictions of how water, crop cultivation, and weather will change were frightening and attention-grabbing. There was the occasional “duh” moment, though, like when it says, “Experts predict we’ll adjust our outdoor activities to reduce heat stress” as the world warms (88). I’m not sure we needed “experts” to tell us that.
• Two in-depth stories in this section focus on places severely affected by climate change but on opposite ends of the spectrum: Greenland, where ice is disappearing, and Kiribati, an island country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where sea level rise threatens the country’s very existence. These were both interesting, though I found the writing in the Kiribati story a little over the top (ex: “The tide was full and taut like the skin of a pregnant woman” (126)).

SO, that’s it. Except to say that I did NOT lose miserably in the geo quiz – Adam and I tied 🙂 Now I need to start studying some maps so I can win next month!

My favorite non-book publication to read is National Geographic Magazine. The day it comes is definitely the most exciting mail day of the month! I lose miserably to Adam…every month… on the geo-quiz, but even that doesn’t temper my enthusiasm.  No matter what else I may be reading when it comes, I pause and read the magazine, almost always cover-to-cover. I think for awhile after I started staying home with the kids it was the only way I felt intellectually connected to the world. For me, reading the magazine gives me the opportunity to learn about so many varied things and has really provided me with the means to stay “aware.” I can credit the magazine for teaching me the existence of such disparate things as Boko Haram—a Nigerian terrorist group which earlier this year pledged its allegiance to ISIS—and sea wolves (more below)! I love the magazine so much, I’m thinking—assuming you all find it interesting—that I’ll come post highlights of what I found interesting or enlightening from each month’s issue of the magazine.

Without further ado, Kristin’s NatGeo Highlights, October 2015

Mystery Man (on the cover, Almost Human: A New Ancestor Shakes up our Family Tree) — This month’s cover story is AWESOME. Basically, paleoanthropologists have discovered a new species of homo, disrupting the previously-held notions of how homo sapiens evolved. It’s an especially cool story because they bones were discovered by two random cavers who just happened to be skinny enough to drop into this previously-unexplored part of a well-known cave in South Africa. I love human bones—my favorite class in college was forensic anthropology—and human evolution has always fascinated me. It’s an area where science and theology have so much left to figure out. One of the greatest quotes in the article comes from an anthropologist: “What [this new species] says to me is that you may think the fossil record is complete enough to make up stories, and it’s not.” Basically, we don’t know the whole story of when/how humans came to be. There’s so much more to learn!

Lure of the Lost City – Researchers have found the untouched ruins of an ancient city in Honduras. It appears the inhabitants had a culture distinct from but similar to the Mayans, but basically nothing is known about them. More research trips are being planned, despite the fact that all the members of the first expedition were hospitalized for contracting leishmaniasis…

Sea Wolves – There are wolves in Canada who live entirely on food they find from the sea. It’s a whole new way of thinking about wolves; there’s even enough genetic diversity between them and inland wolves to consider them an “evolutionarily significant unit” worthy of conservation.

I’d love to hear what you think about these articles, National Geographic in general, or, really, anything!