National Geographic Magazine Reporter Dan Stone Embarks on Environmental Road Trip Through California

WASHINGTON (Nov. 28, 2012)—Dan Stone, National Geographic magazine’s newest reporter, embarks today on an environmental road trip through California in search of new ideas, big thinkers and innovations that will power the planet’s future. For the next two weeks, Stone will tweet, blog and “Instagram” on NationalGeographic.com’s Change Reaction blog (NationalGeographic.com/changereaction) and his Twitter feed @NatGeoDan.

“California is a real hotbed of innovation and new ideas, some of which will change how we get around and others will affect what we eat,” said Stone. “I’m excited to get on the road to explore the best ones and to share them with my followers.”

Along the way, Stone plans to cover such concepts as the tiny house movement, car sharing and water-saving landscapes. He’ll take story suggestions from fans through his blog, his Twitter feed and the hashtag #CAroadtrip. The trip, sponsored by Volkswagen, will kick off at San Diego State University. Stone will drive a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, which won’t be available to the public until next month.

“Our magazine has never done anything like this before,” said Margaret Zackowitz, a National Geographic senior editor. “We know Dan will find some great stories on the road, and thanks to social media, we can all go along for the ride.”

Stone covers energy and environmental science for National Geographic magazine. A former White House correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, he joined National Geographic to report on innovation and the people powering the future. His work has appeared in Scientific American, E (the environmental magazine) and on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” He lives in Washington, D.C., and, back in college, he spent two summers in California’s central valley as a sniffer and taster on the hunt for the perfect strawberry.

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It has won 12 National Magazine Awards in the past five years: for Best Tablet Edition in 2012; Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; and for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008. The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 36 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.

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National Geographic Kids Magazine Sets Out to Claim 2 Guinness World Records® Titles Tied to Running and Recycling

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT

On Saturday, Oct. 27, media are invited to watch 3,600 kids help break the Guinness World Records? title for most people running 100 meters within a 24-hour period. Through National Geographic Kids’ Run for the Planet program, in coordination with the Marine Corps Marathon’s Healthy Kids Fun Run, the Pentagon North parking lot will be packed with kids devoted to fitness, with Marines cheering them on.

Kids Run participants will contribute to the record as they complete a one-miler, and all runners will be observed by Guinness World Records representative Mike Janela. Per record rules, runners also will be confirmed by two independent witnesses: healthy lifestyle coach Kathy Pugh, owner of women’s running boot camp EZ8DC; and DeShay Williams, co-owner of personal training studio Definitions (both of Washington, D.C.). In addition, runners worldwide will help set the record with 100-meter runs between noon ET, Friday, Oct. 26, and noon ET Saturday, Oct. 27. Five thousand participants are needed for the record.

To simultaneously engage people in recycling, National Geographic Kids is also collecting old athletic shoes for the longest chain of shoes. With the help of Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, the sneakers will be recycled into Nike Grind — a material used in athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks — after they have been tied into a chain later this year. The goal: 25,000 shoes. Shoes contributed by stars such as the NFL’s Eli Manning and race car driver Danica Patrick can be seen at National Geographic’s Washington headquarters, 1145 17th St. NW, where people can also drop off their shoes through Nov. 9.

Macerich malls across the country — including Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. — will be holding events. See macerich.com/ngkids for details. For more on either record attempt, go to kids.nationalgeographic.com/run-for-the-planet/.

WHERE:

Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run, Pentagon North Parking Lot

WHEN:

Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Final wave organized by National Geographic
Kids: 11:57 a.m.

WHO:

Rachel Buchholz, Executive Editor, National Geographic Kids magazine
Mike Janela, Head of U.S. Records Management, Guinness World Records North America, Inc.

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National Geographic Magazine Launches iPhone Edition

WASHINGTON (Oct. 31, 2012)—National Geographic magazine has launched an iPhone edition with its November 2012 issue, providing daily updates and rich content, including stunning video of penguins leaping out of icy waters by BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Paul Nicklen as well as never-before-seen, high-definition, slow-motion footage of cheetahs.

The iPhone edition has daily feeds of news, Instagram photographs from magazine photographers on assignment and photos from the magazine’s online community of fan photographers, offering unique, fresh content each time a user opens the app. Additionally, users will get new, photo-based jigsaw puzzles daily, based on the popular puzzle page of the magazine’s website. Three of the feature articles in the app will be available as audio recordings.

“Designing the magazine for the iPhone required rethinking the entire user experience,” said Bill Marr, National Geographic’s creative director. “We’ve organized the content so that it is easy to navigate on the phone, with text, photos and video arranged in a way that allows users to quickly find what they want. We’ve also simplified our interactive graphics for the iPhone screen and added audio recordings, so users can listen on the go. Most of all, we’ve tried to make the app fun — with daily puzzles and photo feeds that people can enjoy any time they open it.”

The magazine’s iPad edition won the 2012 National Magazine Award for best tablet magazine. Current print subscribers can authenticate into both the iPad and iPhone editions. New subscribers can purchase the magazine at the App Store or National Geographic’s website.

About National Geographic magazine

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It won a National Magazine Award in 2012 for best tablet edition as well as a further 13 National Magazine Awards in the previous five years: for Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008; and for General Excellence and Photography in 2007.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 36 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent out each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.

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National Geographic Magazine, November 2012

November 2012 NGM Highlights - View as PDF

This month, we capture the first ever slow-motion, high-definition running of the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah, with one of the world’s fastest cameras. In addition, scientists discover the secret of the emperor penguin’s incredible underwater speed. Elsewhere, Cuba’s new now is explored, as the people are responding to reform with excitement and skepticism; a paragliding photographer, George Steinmetz, captures the desert’s shifting sand shapes from above; strands of yarn may help unravel a lost chapter of New World History; and 40 years later, a photographer returns to the Arkansas Delta to see then vs. now.

Cheetah, the World’s Fastest Runner video  — For the first time ever, one of the world’s fastest cameras captures the movement of the world’s fastest land mammal – in incredible high-def, slow motion.The Science of a Cheetah’s Speed video  — From spine to skull, a body “perfectly designed for running.”A Geographer’s Personal Journey from Cuba to the U.S. video — National Geographic Geographer Juan Vald?s shares his story of immigration to the United States from Cuba as a child in the early 1960s.Penguins as Elegant Emperors video —  Join photographer Paul Nicklen to see penguins rocketing out of the water onto the ice.Penguin Feather Power interactive graphic  — Drag the bar on the graphic to propel a penguin and see the steps it takes to rocket from sea to ice.Above the Desert video — Rise above the desert for incredible views with paragliding photographer George Steinmetz.Sand Dune Formation graphic — Tap on photos of sand dune formations to see how their sizes are determined and their shapes are formed.

Features:

Cheetahs on the Edge, by Roff Smith, photographs by Frans Lanting (Page 110). Shy, delicately built and unable to roar, cheetahs are one of the most vulnerable of the big cats. Fewer than 10,000 survive in the wild. While highly threatened, they are also shrewd survivors. Certain “supermoms” have astonishing success in raising cubs and even foster the offspring of others. Says one scientist, “I’m not aware of any other carnivore whose survival relies so heavily on the success of so few females.” A remarkable anatomical diagram shows the many features that make cheetahs unique, while a pullout poster documents a 7.19-second 100-meter dash by cheetah Tommy T at the Cincinnati Zoo. Smith and Lanting are available for interviews.

Cuba’s New Now, by Cynthia Gorney, photographs by Paolo Pellegrin (Page 36). Four years after Fidel Castro formally handed Cuba’s presidency to younger brother Ra?l, the country is gradually shedding the ascetic nationalism of the revolution and becoming more open, flexible and entrepreneurial. Cynthia Gorney spent nine weeks over the course of two years traveling and interviewing both the optimists — many of whom are experimenting with new business ideas in a changing economy — and the pessimists, who are making plans to flee the island in pursuit of opportunities abroad. Meanwhile, everyone must grapple with the difficulties of the country’s two-currency system that fuels a lucrative black market and forces professionals like doctors to moonlight as cab drivers to make ends meet. Gorney’s text and Paolo Pellegrin’s photos highlight Cuba’s complexities, paradoxes and tensions as change slowly seeps into the country. Gorney and Pellegrin are available for interviews.

Penguin Bubbles, by Glenn Hodges, photographs by Paul Nicklen (Page 60). Shortly after British marine biologist Roger Hughes had been discussing the lubricating properties of competitive swimsuits with his wife, he saw emperor penguins “rocketing through the sea with trails of bubbles in their wakes” and wondered if the bubbles helped penguins swim faster. Hughes teamed with a mechanical engineer and another biologist to analyze hours of underwater footage and they discovered penguins use air as a lubricant to cut drag and increase speed. Air released from the penguin’s feathers in the form of tiny bubbles reduces the density and viscosity of the water around its body, enabling the bird to reach speeds that would otherwise be impossible. Shipping companies are now adopting air-lubrication systems to improve the efficiency of their containerships and supertankers. Paul Nicklen’s stunning photos capture the emperor penguins and their subtle adaptation in action. Hodges and Nicklen are available for interviews.

Vikings and Native Americans, by Heather Pringle, photographs by David Coventry (Page 80). Viking seafarers were “explorers par excellence of medieval Europe,” traveling as far as the coast of Newfoundland. Yet new evidence suggests that they had ventured even further north, to the northern tip of Baffin Island, one of the most inhospitable areas in North America. There, it seems, they constructed semipermanent housing and established a lucrative exchange of goods with native Dorset people, who ranged the eastern Arctic coast for nearly 2,000 years. Carvings of wood and walrus ivory found in Baffin — along with spun-wool yarn — indicate friendly contact between Vikings and these aboriginal Native Americans. There is also evidence that trade in furs and other luxuries seems to have flourished. Following a subtle trail of artifacts, archaeologist Patricia Sutherland is searching for a lost chapter of New World history. Pringle and Coventry are available for interviews.

Sailing the Dunes, photographs and text by George Steinmetz (Page 94). George Steinmetz learned to fly a motorized paraglider — one of the slowest aircraft in the world — in order to take aerial photographs of the Sahara. But what began as a means to an end for an assignment blossomed into a 15-year project to photograph the world’s most extreme deserts. The barchans, seifs, star dunes and other wind-blown sand shapes are variegated and highly textured when captured by Steinmetz’s lens, and his aerial images provide the viewer with a unique perspective on the desert. Steinmetz is available for interviews.

Return to the Arkansas Delta, by Charles Bowden, photographs by Eugene Richards (Page 124). Twelve thousand years ago, the end of the Ice Age and the melting of glaciers began a process that turned the Arkansas Delta into a promised land of agricultural fertility. American settlers and slaves turned the swamps into gold through the cash crop of cotton, but the wealth was impermanent and unevenly distributed. Eugene Richards moved to the delta during the civil rights movement of the late ’60s hoping to help improve the lives of the locals, and he began using his camera to document the poverty and violence throughout the area. There he met the woman who became his wife and endured violence and intimidation. Forty years later, he returns to consider the people and landscapes that became inextricably linked with his life and his memories, attempting to reconcile his past hopes and ambitions with the modern reality of a difficult and unforgiving place.

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It has won 12 National Magazine Awards in the past five years: for Best Tablet Edition in 2012; Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; and for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 36 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent out each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.

###

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National Geographic Kids Magazine Sets Out to Claim 2 Guinness World Records® Titles Tied to Running and Recycling

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT

On Saturday, Oct. 27, media are invited to watch 3,600 kids help break the Guinness World Records? title for most people running 100 meters within a 24-hour period. Through National Geographic Kids’ Run for the Planet program, in coordination with the Marine Corps Marathon’s Healthy Kids Fun Run, the Pentagon North parking lot will be packed with kids devoted to fitness, with Marines cheering them on.

Kids Run participants will contribute to the record as they complete a one-miler, and all runners will be observed by Guinness World Records representative Mike Janela. Per record rules, runners also will be confirmed by two independent witnesses: healthy lifestyle coach Kathy Pugh, owner of women’s running boot camp EZ8DC; and DeShay Williams, co-owner of personal training studio Definitions (both of Washington, D.C.). In addition, runners worldwide will help set the record with 100-meter runs between noon ET, Friday, Oct. 26, and noon ET Saturday, Oct. 27. Five thousand participants are needed for the record.

To simultaneously engage people in recycling, National Geographic Kids is also collecting old athletic shoes for the longest chain of shoes. With the help of Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, the sneakers will be recycled into Nike Grind — a material used in athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks — after they have been tied into a chain later this year. The goal: 25,000 shoes. Shoes contributed by stars such as the NFL’s Eli Manning and race car driver Danica Patrick can be seen at National Geographic’s Washington headquarters, 1145 17th St. NW, where people can also drop off their shoes through Nov. 9.

Macerich malls across the country — including Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. — will be holding events. See macerich.com/ngkids for details. For more on either record attempt, go to kids.nationalgeographic.com/run-for-the-planet/.

WHERE:

Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run, Pentagon North Parking Lot

WHEN:

Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Final wave organized by National Geographic
Kids: 11:57 a.m.

WHO:

Rachel Buchholz, Executive Editor, National Geographic Kids magazine
Mike Janela, Head of U.S. Records Management, Guinness World Records North America, Inc.

View the original article here

National Geographic Magazine, October 2012

This month, an investigative report by Bryan Christy implicates organized religion in the demand for illegal ivory. In addition, leaves are profiled…how did they evolve and why do they look the way they do? Photographer David Alan Harvey takes us into Rio de Janeiro as it prepares to host the 2016 Olympics. Central America’s Mesoamerican Reef and its remarkable eco-region are explored, as are cliffside caves in Nepal’s Mustang region. A photo piece on the animal squatters of a rural Finnish town is included.

Available on print newsstands Sept. 25 and as a fully interactive e-magazine available on the App Store Sept. 14.

Special Content for iPad Edition Includes:

Elephants in Crisis video  — Reporter Bryan Christy investigates the illegal ivory trade, tracing the path of elephant tusks from Africa to Asia and the role organized religious demand plays in ivory smuggling.Global Ivory Trade map — Tap on the maps to explore elephant poaching in Africa and ivory seizures in Asia. The Story of Nature Prints narrated gallery — Tap on a series of nature prints to hear commentary on the making of the prints, including the techniques and technology used, by historian Roderick Cave.Mesoamerican Reef map — Tap on the map to explore the fragile habitats of the reef and the threats they are facing from overfishing, inland land clearing, offshore oil exploration and more.Spawning Snappers video — Photographer Brian Skerry takes viewers down under to watch cubera snappers spawn in spring along the coast of Belize.Secrets of a Nepalese Cave video — Step inside a tomb located among the Samdzong caves in the Mustang region of Nepal to explore its mysterious contents in this artist’s reconstruction.

Feature Stories:

Ivory Worship, by Bryan Christy, photographed by Brent Stirton (Page 28). Every year, thousands of elephants die so that their tusks can be carved into religious objects. The slaughter is massive and accelerating, spurred in large part by growing demand in China. Bryan Christy’s two-year-long investigative report took him around the world, from the African savanna where elephants are killed with grenades and AK-47s to the luxury goods stores of China and carving workshops of Southeast Asia. Christy’s investigative report reveals that representatives of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Buddhists in Thailand are connected to illegal ivory trading. Demand for religious art is an overlooked piece of the illegal ivory trade, which fueled the slaughter of 25,000 or more elephants last year. Brent Stirton’s photographs highlight the complexity of the crisis and the tremendous challenges that lie ahead. Christy and Stirton are available for interviews.

The Glory of Leaves, by Rob Dunn (Page 62). The simple yet elegant poetry of leaves is captured beautifully by Rob Dunn. Whatever their structure, they are designed to essentially accomplish the same thing: to turn light into life. Leaves capture the energy from sunlight, turning it into the sugar from which plants, animals and civilizations are built. Whether located in the hot and dry deserts of Africa or nutrient-poor bogs, plants have battled to survive, adapt and flourish, and their glory lies in simple differences and delicate details. Dunn is available for interviews.

A New Face for Rio, by Antonio Regalado, photographed by David Alan Harvey (Page 72). For all its beauty and spirit, the image of Rio de Janeiro has long been tarnished by its favelas —  violence-filled squatter communities that are home to almost a quarter of the city’s 6.3 million residents. But with the city set to play host to two world-class events — the World Cup in 2014 and the summer Olympics in 2016 — officials are spending millions and a lot of effort to give these hillside slums a face-lift, improve the city’s infrastructure, pacify the gangs and inspire confidence in the government’s ability to manage large-scale projects outside of Carnival. Harvey’s alluring photography profiles the vibrant city that is set to make its debut on the world stage in a big way. Regalado and Harvey are available for interviews.

Remarkable Reef, by Kenneth Brower, photographed by Brian Skerry (Page 92). The Mesoamerican Reef, stretching more than 600 miles along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, is less than half as long as its Australian cousin, the Great Barrier Reef, but “is in its own way the more remarkable,” writes Kenneth Brower. Its diverse and intricate ecosystem, anchored by mangroves, sea grasses and coral reefs, is bound tightly to inshore habitats and myriad sea creatures. Brian Skerry brilliantly captures the loggerhead turtles, slow-grazing manatees and cubera snappers that depend on the reef’s protection to reproduce and find food. Brower and Skerry are available for interviews.

Nepal’s Sky Caves, by Michael Finkel, photographed by Cory Richards (Page 114). Mustang, a former kingdom in north-central Nepal, is home to one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries. Archaeologists are starting to unravel the secrets hidden in an extraordinary number of human-built caves, of which there are conservatively 10,000 in the region. Some date back as far as 3,000 years ago and were used as burial chambers, while later examples served as living quarters. Making the climb up sheer walls of fragile, crumbling rock is “pure thuggery” according to one climber, but the effort is worth it for what a cave might contain — like one treasure trove of 8,000 calligraphed manuscripts dating back 600 years. The artifacts found so far are helping to rewrite the region’s prehistory, and scientists are captivated by what future discoveries might reveal. Finkel and Richards are available for interviews.

Wild Squatters, by Carolyn Butler, photographed by Kai Fagerstr?m (Page 136). Kai Fagerstr?m of Finland is an amateur photographer and he doesn’t even own a flash. But what he lacks in equipment he makes up for in patience and adaptability. Fagerstr?m found inspiration near his family’s summer home in rural Suomusj?rvi, where dilapidated, ramshackle cottages abandoned by their owners have begun to be claimed by animals. A red squirrel peeks out of a broken window; a family of badgers files out of a fireplace; a pygmy owl stamps his feet in defiance — these are the type of endearing photos that can only be made by a local who is intimately familiar with the environment. Butler and Fagerstr?m are available for interviews.

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National Geographic Magazine Investigative Report Reveals Religious Art As a Driver of Illegal Ivory Trade

WASHINGTON—African elephants are being massacred across much of the continent, with illegal slaughter accounting for 90 percent of recorded deaths in central Africa. The animals are being killed for their tusks, despite a 1989 ban on international ivory trading. While motivation for the rise in killings is most commonly linked to China’s demand for ivory, National Geographic magazine reveals in its October 2012 cover story “Blood Ivory” that religion is a driver of the illegal ivory trade in key countries, including China.

National Geographic reports that representatives of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and practicing Buddhists in Thailand and China are actively complicit in the illegal ivory trade or unwittingly facilitate it. Their actions appear to be motivated by religious beliefs that ivory as a carving material best symbolizes purity and devotion. These devotional markets are supplied in part by groups who smuggle the ivory from Africa through middleman countries such as Malaysia.

CITES, the treaty organization that sets international wildlife trade policy, has viewed the Philippines primarily a way station for ivory destined for China. But author Bryan Christy’s report for National Geographic exposes a thriving and devout Catholic market for ivory in the Philippines, one where the head of protocol for the country’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese gives Christy smuggling tips and contact information for his favorite carvers. The ivory is used for elaborately carved religious icons that are integral to many Filipinos’ practice of their faith.

Christy traces the Catholic fascination with ivory to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, where ivory Catholic images are for sale. While the Vatican in its role as a governmental entity has signed transnational agreements on drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, it has not signed the CITES 1989 global trade ban on ivory.

The elephant is revered in Buddhism, and in Thailand demand is driven by the ironic idea that carving in ivory honors both the animal and Buddha. Elephant keepers legally sell the clipped tusk tips of live domesticated Asian elephants, but this legal trade provides cover for smuggled African ivory, which is easily mixed in with Asian ivory. Corruption is rife, with one monk offering to assist Christy in transporting smuggled African ivory inside Thailand — and advising that if anything goes wrong, Christy should tell officials he’s bringing the ivory to the monk’s temple.

In addition to revealing the links between religious leaders and the illegal ivory trade, Christy exposes flaws in strategies adopted by CITES, including overreliance on ivory seizures as the metric for estimating smuggling activity, which doesn’t accurately portray poaching behavior. This results in skewed analysis and led to a mistake with grave  consequences — CITES’ endorsement of a massive purchase by China and Japan of more than 115 tons of legal ivory from four African countries in 2008. The sale has accelerated the mass slaughter of elephants now underway. Overemphasis on seizures continues to misdirect enforcement efforts, Christy reports, rewarding countries for confiscating ivory instead of prosecuting criminals higher up the demand chain — including large-scale dealers and kingpins whose crimes cost the lives of both elephants and the African rangers hired to protect them.

“Blood Ivory,” an investigative report authored by Bryan Christy with photographs from award-winning photojournalist Brent Stirton, is the cover story of the October issue of National Geographic. It is available as a digital edition on Sept. 14. The print edition goes on newsstands Sept. 25.  The story is available online at ngm.com/blood-ivory at 10 a.m. (ET, U.S.) on Sept. 14.

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http://ngm.com/blood-ivory

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/elephant-ivory-poaching-graphic

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/christy-text

http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.php

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/ivory-video

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National Geographic Kids Magazine Sets Out to Claim 2 Guinness World Records® Titles Tied to Running and Recycling

Photo by ? Mark Thiessen/National Geographic (left to right): Back row: Nolan Gould, Amanda Beard and Jake Short. Front row: Eli Manning, Danica Patrick, One Direction.

WASHINGTON (Sept. 12, 2012)—In an effort to engage children in both fitness and recycling, National Geographic Kids magazine will attempt to break two Guinness World Records? titles this fall. Through the magazine’s Run for the Planet program, in coordination with the prestigious Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) Healthy Kids Fun Run, people all over the world will attempt to set the Guinness World Records achievement for the most people to run 100 meters in 24 hours. Participants will also send in athletic shoes to National Geographic Kids, which will be tied together to break the record for the longest chain of shoes, then recycled into athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks.

Runners (or walkers) can complete their 100 meters anytime between 12 noon ET, Friday, Oct. 26, and 12 noon ET Saturday, Oct. 27. Although many participants will be collecting athletic shoes during that period, shoes can be sent to National Geographic Kids now until Nov. 9. Five thousand participants are needed to set the running record; the current shoe chain record stands at 24,962. Children, families, schools, sports clubs and other groups are encouraged to help set both Guinness World Records titles.

Run for the Planet supports first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, which encourages kids and families to get healthy and active. To pledge to participate and get official rules for both record attempts, go to kids.nationalgeographic.com/run-for-the-planet/.

Top athletes and celebrities have shown their commitment to encouraging kids to do something good for their health and the planet by contributing their own old athletic shoes. They include Eli Manning of the 2012 Super Bowl-winning New York Giants; singer Taylor Swift; Boston Bruin Andrew Ference; race car driver Danica Patrick; boy band One Direction; actor Nolan Gould, who plays Luke on “Modern Family”; actor Jake Short, who plays Fletcher on Disney’s “A.N.T. Farm”; and Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard.

“Children’s response to set National Geographic Kids’ sixth and seventh Guinness World Records titles is extraordinary,” said Melina Bellows, executive vice president and chief creative officer of National Geographic Books, Kids and Family. “Tens of thousands of people have already pledged online to take part in 100-meter runs, and we’re making room for thousands of shoes.”

The athletic shoes will go to Nike Reuse-A-Shoe, which recycles shoes into materials to build athletic surfaces such as tennis courts and playgrounds. If this year’s goal of 12,500 pairs is met, it will be enough to recycle into five basketball courts.

“Kids’ eagerness to run and recycle shows their devotion to fitness, health and conservation at a time when they aren’t getting a lot of credit for it. It is inspiring, and I’m so excited to prominently cover both record attempts in the pages of our magazine,” said Rachel Buchholz, executive editor of National Geographic Kids magazine.

A July 2012 National Geographic Kids Pulse Survey revealed that nine out of 10 children are regularly active. The four most popular sports are swimming, walking, bicycling and running.

During MCM Weekend in Washington, the Healthy Kids Fun Run will host 3,600 participants on Saturday, Oct. 27. These numbers will be included in the overall Guinness World Record count.

“The Kids Run promotes physical fitness and encourages children to lead a healthy and active life. The partnership this year with National Geographic Kids to set a Guinness World Record is a great thrill for Kids Run participants and reinforces how fun running can be,” said Rick Nealis, MCM director. Registration is still open for the one-mile run at www.marinemarathon.com.

In addition, 29 Macerich-owned shopping malls across the country will be hosting Run for the Planet events during the 24-hour time period of Oct. 26-Oct. 27. For locations, see www.macerich.com/ngkids.

The five Guinness World Records titles already set by National Geographic Kids are the Longest Line of Footprints (10,932 prints measuring two miles, set in 2004); Largest Collection of Plush Toys (2,304 stuffed animals, set in 2006); Longest Chain of Shoes (10,512 shoes, set in 2008); Most Items of Clothing Collected for Recycling (33,088 items of denim clothing, set in 2009); and Most People Doing Jumping Jacks in 24 Hours (300,265, set in 2011). First lady Michelle Obama participated in the 2011 record-breaking feat, kicking off the attempt with one minute of jumping jacks on the White House lawn as part of her Let’s Move! initiative. The record is featured in the “Guinness World Records 2013 Edition,” on sale now.

About National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events and a website, and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids magazine (10 issues per year) and Little Kids magazine (six issues per year) are photo-driven publications available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets. The award-winning website kids.nationalgeographic.com excites kids about the planet through games, videos, contests, photos, quizzes and blogs about cultures, animals and destinations. National Geographic Kids Books is the leading nonfiction publisher with 50 titles each year, including the New York Times bestseller “Kids Almanac.” National Geographic Kids Games engages kids to learn through play with games like the online virtual animal world of Animal Jam and the interactive TV experience of Nat Geo Kinect TV. National Geographic Kids Apps bring the best of National Geographic Kids to smartphones and tablets.

About Guinness World Records?

Guinness World Records? (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) is the global authority on record-breaking achievements. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records? book has become one of the biggest-selling copyright titles of all time, selling 120 million copies to date in 22 languages and in more than 100 countries. The internationally renowned brand is now also available across a number of platforms — GWR’s global television shows are watched by 250 million viewers annually; digital media and online record-processing services attract more than 50 million visitors a year; and the live events team annually entertains and inspires 1.5 million people around the world. GWR receives more than 1,000 applications each week and has a specialized team of multi-language record managers and adjudicators who travel the globe to verify official record attempts. GWR also has a commercial division (Guinness World Records Corporate http://corporate.guinnessworldrecords.com/) that offers accessible record-breaking business solutions to other organizations and brands.

About the Marine Corps Marathon 

Voted the “Best Marathon for Families” and the “Best Marathon in the Mid Atlantic,” the Marine Corps Marathon honors the dedication, sportsmanship and patriotism of its participants. Runners from all walks of life participate in the largest marathon not to offer prize money, earning the name “The People’s Marathon.” The 37th MCM will be held on Oct. 28, 2012, in Arlington, Va. No federal or Marine Corps endorsement is implied. Please visit www.marinemarathon.com.

About Our Supporting Organizations

National Geographic Education is responsible for creating educational programs and resources for schools, out-of-school settings and the home. National Geographic Education’s work targets two goals: geo-literacy, an essential skill for decision-making in 21st-century personal, professional and civic life; and educational outreach that maximizes the impact of the National Geographic Society’s rich media, scientific and exploration programs on the education audience. National Geographic Education disseminates its educational resources via the natgeoed.org website, which brings geography, social studies and science to life for educators, learners and their families — in and out of the K-12 classroom.

The Healthy Kids Fun Run presented by The Washington Post hosts over 3,500 children for a one-mile run and family fitness festival on Saturday, Oct. 27, in Arlington, Va. Held annually the day prior to the Marine Corps Marathon, the Kids Run is sponsored by Sodexo, FAMILY Magazine and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Macerich? (NYSE:MAC) is a fully integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States. Macerich Malls serve neighboring communities with one-of-a kind events, which are fun and educational, as well as unique shops and restaurants.

The Kids Run the Nation Program, a program of the Road Runners Club of America, is a multi-week, turnkey, youth running program designed to meet the physical activity goals outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for children in grades kindergarten through sixth. The program can also be modified to serve older grades.

The National Recreation and Park Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing park, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance quality of life for all people. Through its network of 20,000 recreation and park professionals and citizens, NRPA encourages the promotion of healthy lifestyles, recreation initiatives, and conservation of natural and cultural resources.

Let’s Move in School, an initiative of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, is urging physical educators, parents, school administrators and policy makers to get involved in bringing quality physical education and physical activity to schools through a comprehensive school physical activity program. Schools can start by registering at www.LetsMoveInSchool.org.

Girls on the Run is a life-changing, experiential learning program for girls 8-13 years old. It uses a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. Girls on the Run serves over 120,000 girls each year in 47 states and Canada.

The Life is good Playmakers is the Life is good Company’s accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, whose mission is to help kids overcome poverty, violence and illness. The Life is good Playmakers use the power of play to build healing, life-changing relationships with the children in their care and reach more than 209,000 children each year. To date, Life is good has raised over $8 million to help kids in need, principally through the annual Life is good Festival, Life is good products and other fundraising efforts.

We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition)? is a science-based national education program developed by the National Institutes of Health, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is designed to help children ages 8-13 stay at a healthy weight through improving food choices, increasing physical activity and reducing screen time.

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National Geographic Magazine, September 2012

September 2012 NGM Highlights: View as PDF

This month, editor Peter Miller writes about weather gone wild and the certainty that even more is to come; he also takes an in-depth look at the effects of drought in West Texas.  Photographer Stephanie Sinclair and writer Joshua Hammer offer an intimate look at life in Yemen and the challenge of dealing with rebels, refugees and al Qaeda.  Other articles explore ocean life around seamounts, underwater mountains; Roman walls, far-reaching remnants of the Roman Empire that still dot landscapes today; and the quirky life of Romania’s nouveau riche.

Special Content for iPad Edition Includes:

What’s Up with the Weather? video – Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires, hail storms…is Earth’s climate changing dangerously?Top 10 Weather Disasters graphic – See a chart of the most costly U.S. weather disasters starting with 1980; tap on a year to view a detailed list of disasters.Coping with Drought video – Life is hard in the dust-choked fields of Texas, where, by September 2011, the state had suffered the driest 12 months in its history. Yet some farmers haven’t given up.Explore an Underwater World video – Explore the underwater world of Cortes Bank, off the coast of California near San Diego, with underwater photojournalist Brian Skerry.Tour of a Seamount animation and location map – See a video of seamounts and their profound effect on life in the oceans; tap on the map to see where seamounts are located.Exploring Mauna Kea interactive graphic – What makes Mauna Kea the world’s tallest mountain is its total elevation, most of it underwater; tap and swipe to see how.Yemeni Youth video – See a video of young Yemenis break-dancing and beat boxing.Roma Song and Dance – Experience a Roma afternoon with a little girl and her grandfather’s music.

Feature Stories:

Weather Gone Wild, by Peter Miller (Page 30). “Rains that are almost biblical, heat waves that don’t end, tornadoes that strike in savage swarms—there’s been a change in the weather lately,” writes Peter Miller. With losses in 2011 estimated at $150 billion worldwide, why are extreme weather-related events happening more frequently than ever? Cyclical events like El Ni?o and La Ni?a contribute significantly to the extreme weather, and “average surface temperature worldwide has risen nearly one degree Fahrenheit in the past four decades,” increasing water vapor in the atmosphere and contributing to intense rainfalls. Human populations and property are also becoming increasingly concentrated in areas affected by storms. Only by better preparing for extreme weather and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can we hope to succeed in mitigating the damages caused by future storms. Miller is available for interviews.

The New Dust Bowl, by Peter Miller, photographed by Robb Kendrick (Page 56). “If you’re proud of your country, you try to take care of it,” says Bill Tullos, a resident of San Angelo in West Texas. Having lived through the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Tullos knew what to do when 2011 brought Texas the driest 12 months in its history: He slowly auctioned off his livestock to preserve parched and brittle grazing lands. Robb Kendrick’s touching, vivid photographs capture a region and people hobbled by drought but determined to scrape out a living in an unforgiving environment. Miller and Kendrick are available for interviews.

Marine Mountains, by Gregory S. Stone, photographed by Brian Skerry (Page 66). The ocean floor is covered in hundreds of thousands of seamounts, or undersea mountains, yet life has been explored on barely 300. According to ocean scientist Gregory S. Stone, “more finely detailed maps of the surface of Mars may exist than of the remotest parts of the ocean floor.” Stone takes us aboard the submersible DeepSee to explore these massive formations that teem with underwater life. With “new species … discovered on almost every expedition,” much remains to be explored and documented in and around the planet’s countless seamounts. Skerry’s exquisite underwater photography highlights curious harbor seals, kelp forests and a bevy of other curiosities. Stone and Skerry are available for interviews

Yemen’s Day of Reckoning, by Joshua Hammer, photographed by Stephanie Sinclair (Page 80). The Arab Spring that swept through the Middle East has left Yemen “in a deeply precarious condition,” writes Joshua Hammer about his explorations there. In the power vacuum that followed President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s resignation, tribal leaders, former generals and Al Qaeda operatives have all struggled to assert their control over the country’s course, while pro-democracy movements — marginalized and threatened by violence — are “now struggling to remain relevant.” Saleh may no longer be president, but for now “Yemen still belongs to the men with guns.” Stephanie Sinclair, winner of the 2012 World Press Photo contest, captures the gamut of life in Yemen, from the beauty of a wedding reception to the tragedy of a boy blinded by a sniper’s bullet. Hammer and Sinclair are available for interviews.

The Empire Strikes Out, by Andrew Curry, photographed by Robert Clark (Page 106). Hadrian’s Wall, the 73-mile-long fortification that cuts Britain in half, is the most well-known and extensively documented section of the perimeter of the Roman Empire. Yet similar structures were constructed as far away as North Africa, Syria and the Arab peninsula, and archaeologists and historians are working to better understand why these walls and ditches were built. Hadrian’s Wall “may be a red herring,” as most Roman walls would have been useless against an invading army but highly effective for local policing or perhaps collecting customs fees. Though other, more heavily reinforced cities existed, archaeological evidence suggests that their buildup occurred rapidly as a last-ditch effort to protect the empire from the many outside groups that would eventually overwhelm it. Aerial photographs of vast Roman constructions accompany detailed shots of exquisite artifacts from the period. Curry and Clark are available for interviews.

Mansions of the Roma Kings, by Tom O’Neill, photographed by Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky (Page 128). Sherbet-colored mansions with gleaming marble halls. Neckties spun from solid gold thread and emblazoned with the brand of a luxury SUV. These are the trappings of the Roma nouveau riche, the people pejoratively known as Gypsies. After the fall of Romania’s communist regime in 1989, the entrepreneurial instincts of the Roma people and their engagement in the lucrative metal trade meant that some members of the culture could afford to buy new houses — then tear them down and rebuild them. Photographers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky spent two months working to gain access to these glittering houses of Buzescu, an “otherwise dour farm town,” and their vivid, personal images highlight the Roma culture’s struggle to balance traditional values with newfound wealth and outside influence. O’Neil, Gachet and Kashinsky are available for interviews.

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It won a National Magazine Award in 2012 for best tablet edition as well as a further 13 National Magazine Awards in the past five years: for Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008; and for General Excellence and Photography in 2007.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 33 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent out each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society.

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August 2012 National Geographic Magazine

August 2012 NGM Highlights: View as PDF

Issue includes: Portrait of East London, site of the Summer Olympics; the quest to capture lightning by veteran storm-chaser Tim Samaras and the world’s fastest high-resolution camera; a look at modern life on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota; deep-diving North Atlantic birds; and high-priced fungus-infested moth larvae.

Special Content for iPad Edition Includes:

“Do You Want to Be on the Cover of National Geographic?” video — See a video of the Oglala Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota getting their moment inside the famous yellow border.The Lost Land map — Tap on the map to see how the Great Sioux Reservation has shrunk in size from 1851 to today.The Voices of Pine Ridge audio gallery — See a gallery of interviews from the reservation.East London photo gallery — See photos of the mixing bowl that is East London: the young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight and everything in between.The Anatomy of a Lightning Strike photo gallery — Tap to see how a lightning strike develops.

Writers and photographers are available for interviews July 15-Aug. 15 (see specifics below).

Feature Stories:
East Side Story , by Cathy Newman, photographed by Alex Webb (Page 76). London’s East End, gritty, graffitied, but with a rising cool index, is getting ready for its close-up as the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games. Once known mainly for its squalor, grime and graffiti, East London is now the city’s most diverse area, playing host to tech startup firms, titans of international finance and Michelin-starred bistros. The Summer Games gave the government an opportunity to invest in infrastructure and sustainable development with the intention of helping lower-income residents, but skeptics remain doubtful that the “legacy Olympics” will have a lasting, positive impact on the neediest residents. One thing is certain, however: With more than 200 languages spoken in the area and constant changes due to immigration, nothing in East London stays the same forever. Newman and Webb are available for interviews.

Chasing Lightning, by George Johnson, photographed by Carsten Peter (Page 98). Tim Samaras’s camera may be a relic of the Cold War, but it’s been given a digital-era makeover. The 1,600-pound, six-foot-tall behemoth — the world’s fastest high-resolution camera — was originally designed to photograph nuclear tests. Samaras, a 2005 National Geographic Emerging Explorer and Society grantee, has repurposed it to try to do something that’s never been done before: capture an image of a lightning strike the moment it is born. The process usually begins when a descending zigzag of negatively charged electricity meets up with positive fingers of charge from the ground. The instant they meet, a dazzling surge of current leaps toward the sky with a burst of light. From beginning to end, the entire process takes as little as 200 milliseconds. Samaras’s camera has the ability to shoot nearly 1.5 million frames per second, and Samaras won’t stop his quest, which he began six years ago, to capture the birth of a bolt until he gets his picture. Johnson and Peter are available for interviews.

Life After Wounded Knee, by Alexandra Fuller, photographed by Aaron Huey (Page 30). Still carrying the scars from land seizures, broken treaties and one of the most brutal events in U.S. history, the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, the Oglala Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are looking to the future, thanks to a powerful resurgence in traditional values. Although they remain distrustful of outsiders and are scourged by poverty, alcoholism and high rates of infant mortality and suicide, they are nurturing their tribal customs, language and beliefs, finding new hope in old ways and showing resilience in the face of hardship. This rare, intimate portrait by Alexandra Fuller and Aaron Huey shows how the Oglala are honoring their customs and instilling in the next generation the spirit of Oglala culture. Fuller and Huey are available for interviews.

What a Dive!, by Jeremy Berlin, photographed by Andrew Parkinson (Page 68). Northern gannets can plunge into the sea at 70 miles an hour and dive as deep as 50 feet. These far-foraging champion divers, who nest in crowded cliffside colonies in the North Atlantic, are built for life in cold, turbulent waters. They are one of conservation’s great success stories: By 1913, centuries of hunting had thinned their ranks to perhaps 100,000 birds. A hundred years of protection later, 40-odd sites around the North Atlantic harbor some 400,000 nesting pairs, plus tens of thousands of juveniles and nonbreeders. Today, with few natural enemies and abundant food sources, the northern gannet seems primed to thrive. Berlin and Parkinson are available for interviews.

Tibetan Gold, by Michael Finkel, photographed by Michael Yamashita (Page 114). What product that resembles “a faintly fishy-smelling Cheez Doodle-colored caterpillar with a strange growth emerging from its head” has been known to commands $50,000 per pound, or double its weight in gold? Yartsa gunbu, the Tibetan name for moth larvae that have been infected by a parasitic fungus, has been prized all over Asia for centuries for its alleged medicinal and libidinous powers. The “worms” as they’re colloquially known, have been prescribed by herbalists to treat back pain, jaundice, impotence, fatigue, bronchitis and many other maladies. As the Chinese economy soars, so has demand for the worms. This has transformed the lives of families along the Tibetan Plateau, where the caterpillar/fungus is found, and of entrepreneurs, as the annual harvest and trade of 400 million specimens yield hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Michael Finkel follows the trail of the worms, from field to consumer, and explores the wide-ranging effects on the lives of those who harvest and market this fascinating product. Finkel and Yamashita are available for interviews.

National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. It has won 12 National Magazine Awards in the past five years: for best tablet edition in 2012; for Magazine of the Year and Single-Topic Issue in 2011; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Essays, plus two Digital Media Awards for Best Photography and Best Community, in 2010; for Photojournalism in 2009; for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting in 2008; and for General Excellence and Photography in 2007.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit education and scientific organizations. Published in English and 33 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent out each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call for membership to the Society

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National Geographic Magazine, December 2009

National Geographic Magazine, December 2009

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2009

On newsstands Nov. 24

Features and additional Web content at ngm.nationalgeographic.com

Click on link on right to view the press release

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Contacts:
Beth Foster
202-857-7543
befoster@ngs.org

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National Geographic Adventure Magazine Names 2009's Adventurers of the Year

National Geographic Adventure Magazine Names 2009's Adventurers of the Year

Vote Online for First 'Adventurer of the Year: Readers' Choice Award'

WASHINGTON (Nov. 12, 2009)--National Geographic Adventure magazine has selected 16 individuals as 2009's Adventurers of the Year, recognizing extraordinary achievements in exploration, conservation, action sports and humanitarian work. The honorees are featured in the December 2009/January 2010 "Best of Adventure" issue of the magazine (on newsstands Nov. 24). A robust and interactive Best of Adventure Web portal with more than 100 pages of content also highlights the 2009 Adventurer of the Year honorees with in-depth feature profiles, exhilarating videos and photo galleries. This year, for the first time, readers can cast a vote online for the honoree they believe best embodies the spirit of adventure. The winner will receive the first-ever "Adventurer of the Year: Readers' Choice Award." Voting, at www.ngadventure.com, begins today and ends Jan. 15, 2010. The Readers' Choice winner will be announced online on Jan. 19, 2010.

A group of 30 explorers, scientists, journalists and luminaries in the world of adventure served on an advisory board for the nomination of this year's top adventurers. The class of 2009 includes a BASE jumper, military veterans, an explorer, road trippers, a surfer, an astronaut, an ultra runner, an educator, a filmmaker and a scientist. They are:

-Khadija Bahram, supported by the aid organization International Rescue Committee, guided an educational program that stretches across five provinces in war-torn Afghanistan reaching more than 10,000 pupils, mostly girls, as well as disabled children.
-Stephen Bouey and Steven Shoppman crossed 69 countries and racked up more than 77,000 miles during a two-and-a-half-year road trip that circumnavigated the globe by road.
-Maya Gabeira, the only sponsored female big-wave surfer in the world, surfed the largest wave by a woman ever, landing a 45-footer at South Africa's Dungeons break.
-John Grunsfeld, known as NASA's "Hubble Repairman," braved hurtling space debris to pull off the repair to end all repairs: Working at zero gravity some 350 miles above the surface of the Earth, the astronaut restored sight to a half-blind Hubble.
-Marc Hoffmeister, an injured Iraq veteran, organized a team of climbers, including his wife, Gayle Hoffmeister, his friend, Bob Haines, and injured vets Jon Kuniholm, Matt Nyman and David Shebib, to attempt the dangerous West Buttress route of Denali in Alaska.
-Albert Yu-Min Lin organized a high-risk, high-stakes project into Mongolia's "Forbidden Zone" to search for the lost tomb of Genghis Kahn, using state-of-the art, cutting-edge mapping technologies.
-Dean Potter recorded the longest BASE jump ever -- 2 minutes and 50 seconds -- while wearing a wingsuit that allowed him to cover some 9,000 vertical feet and nearly four horizontal miles in distance.
-Louie Psihoyos assembled an "Ocean's 11"-esque crew to expose and end the annual slaughter of hundreds of dolphins for meat in Taiji, Japan, a story told in the award-winning film "The Cove."
-Diane Van Deren, survivor of a successful lobectomy, became the first and only woman to complete the Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 430-mile run across frozen tundra in the dead of winter.
-Katey Walter Anthony mounted an expedition to Siberia to seek out and measure beds of thawing permafrost -- a major source of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than CO2, yet is not factored into most climate change models.

The National Geographic Adventure Adventurers of the Year feature is presented and sponsored by South African Tourism, South African Airways and Budweiser American Ale.

About National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure, winner of four National Magazine Awards, is the fastest-growing magazine in the outdoor category and the ultimate guide to the adventure lifestyle. Published eight times a year, with a rate base of 625,000, National Geographic Adventure has
2.8 million readers. It is available by subscription (800-NGS-LINE) and on newsstands in the United States ($4.99) and Canada ($6.99). Its editorial mission supports National Geographic's mission to inspire people to care about the planet. The magazine's Web site is www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure.

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Contacts:
Ethan Fried
National Geographic Society
(202) 857-7037
efried@ngs.org

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