Conservation
There are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica than previously thought, stated the National Science Foundation in mid April. That’s certainly good news, as concerns about the effects of global warming on penguin colonies rise.
Travel Tales
Ever since the explorers of old used oral storytelling, flyers and published journals to spread word of streets lined with gold, fountains of youth or rich silks and spices, people have been using mass media to motivate others to go on adventures.
Nature & Wildlife
If you dread overseas flights because you always land intolerably tired and exceedingly hungry, I have some facts that might help you put such ordeals into perspective. It was recently discovered that a female bar-tailed godwit flew 7,145 miles from Alaska to New Zealand—without taking a single break for food or drink.
News & More
Upon meeting someone new, we usually try to find out two salient facts about the person within the first 30 seconds of being introduced: his or her name and what he or she does for a living. It hasn’t always been that way, of course.
Travel Tales
The long waits now common at airports do have one advantage: they give us a chance to catch up on our reading while getting to and coming back from our travel destinations.
Conservation
We humans have drained half the world’s wetlands and fully exploited or overexploited 75 percent of its fishing grounds.
Nature & Wildlife
One of the most amazing migrations on earth is taking place right now, as 20,000 gray whales make their way along the Pacific Coast of North America from Baja to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea – a one-way journey of 6,000 miles!
Travel Tales
Ask anyone who travels why he or she does it, and you’ll get answers that usually revolve around the theme of seeing something new or experiencing something different. I think I travel for the opposite reason: to see and understand the familiar—my own home—a little bit better.
