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Photographer behind viral image of starving polar bear raises questions about climate change narrative -snip- In an article for the August issue of National Geographic titled “Starving-Polar-Bear Photographer Recalls What Went Wrong,” Cristina Mittermeier talks about the intended message of the image versus the message that was received. “We had lost control of the narrative,” she said. “Photographer Paul Nicklen and I are on a mission to capture images that communicate the urgency of climate change. Documenting its effects on wildlife hasn’t been easy,” she wrote in the article. “With this image, we thought we had found a way to...

Remember that video of an emaciated Baffin Island polar bear that went viral last December? It became the poster bear for climate change. National Geographic made a stunning admission - it was a bit bogus. The Statement: National Geographic went too far in drawing a definitive connection between climate change and a particular starving polar bear in the opening caption of our video about the animal. We said, "This is what climate change looks like." While science has established that there is a strong connection between melting sea ice and polar bears dying off, there is no way to know...

What a stupid time to be alive. Maybe there was always this much dumb in the world and we just didn’t notice it because the Internet didn’t exist, or maybe it’s new. Whatever the case, the amount of “public stupid” has never been higher. Since this is a column and not a book, I’m limited in just how much I can cover here, but suffice to say, if stupid were a marinade and society a steak, we’d be penetrated all the way through this week.So here, in no particular order, is just some of the stupid that happened this week (so far,...

Lots of people are talking about Avery Jackson, a nine-year-old girl from Kansas City who is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of National Geographic. Since we shared photos of the cover of our special issue on gender on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, tens of thousands of people have weighed in with opinions, from expressions of pride and gratitude to utter fury. More than a few have vowed to cancel their subscriptions.

As part of its January 2017 issue exploring our evolving understandings and definitions of gender, National Geographic is featuring nine-year-old transgender rights activist Avery Jackson on its cover—the first time a trans person has made the cover of the magazine. Jackson rose to stardom last year when she began documenting her transition with “Avery Chats,” a series of YouTube videos describing how she came to understand her identity at such a young age and eventually came out to her parents as trans. “When I was born, doctors said I was a boy, but I knew in my heart I was...

It used to appear so simple for many of us: you were a boy or you were a girl. Girls wore pink, and boys wore blue; girls played with dolls, and boys played with trucks. Yet around the globe, these traditional notions of gender are changing rapidly, and labels are no longer so clear cut. National Geographic sets out to explore this evolving concept of gender through the lens of science, society and culture in the groundbreaking new two-hour documentary GENDER REVOLUTION: A JOURNEY WITH KATIE COURIC, premiering Monday, Feb. 6, at 9/8c. Produced by Katie Couric Media with National...

The green-eyed Afghan refugee girl whose iconic photograph captured the world’s attention three decades ago has been arrested for living illegally in Pakistan with fraudulent documents. Pakistani police arrested Sharbat Gula, now married and in her forties, at her home in Peshawar on Tuesday, just a few miles from the border camp where the famous National Geographic cover image was taken in 1984. Her arrest followed reports that she, like many Afghans, had illegally procured false Pakistani identity cards - for herself and two men she claimed were her sons - in order to remain in the country.

This November, the National Geographic Channel will take audiences into outer space in a way we haven't seen before. From producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer comes Mars, a six-part TV miniseries that blends documentary and science fiction to dramatize humankind's first trip to Mars in 2033--and io9 is proud to exclusively debut the first trailer.

Grand Canyon Gorge Is 9 Times Older Than Thought Hope Hamashige for National Geographic NewsApril 9, 2008 New research on the Grand Canyon challenges the long-held belief that the canyon was carved by the mighty Colorado River about six million years ago. Parts of the canyon were formed more than 50 million years earlier than previously thought, according to the new study. The newfound evidence, which will be presented in the May issue of the Geological Society of America Bulletin, shows that part of the canyon known as Upper Granite Gorge formed more than 55 million years ago. The history...

Washington D.C., Dec 23, 2015 / 06:02 pm (CNA).- Our Lady. Blessed Mother. Virgin Mary. Queen of Peace. Theotokos. Handmaid of the Lord. Mother Mary. These are just some of the titles used to describe the young woman to whom an angel appeared some 2,000 years ago with the message that she would conceive and bear the Savior of the World. Mary has very few recorded words in the New Testament, but her worldwide devotion spans across time, cultures and even religions. In a Nov. 8 feature for National Geographic, “How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman,”...

David Letterman will return to TV next year to help draw attention to the effects of climate change when he appears on an episode of “Years of Living Dangerously.” The National Geographic Channel series, which Thursday was renewed for a second season, has signed Letterman for his first announced appearance since leaving his job hosting CBS’ “Late Show.” …

Rupert Murdoch just bought National Geographic. Here’s the problem everybody should be talking about. The media was up in arms yesterday at news of Murdoch's high-profile acquisition. Here's what you should know. The news that National Geographic has now been placed in the hands of Rupert Murdoch prompted a predictable outcry, roughly akin to what happens in the movies when the clearly evil tycoon takes the orphans away. A bastion of popular science is now controlled by a very prominent climate change denier who, despite his company’s assurances of editorial integrity, has spent decades interfering with the independence of his...

National Geographic's adaptation of Bill O-Reilly book Killing Jesus recently debuted to record-breaking 3.7 million viewers. The telecast would be all-time highest rated telecast. Killing Jesus was aired as a three-hour special which chronicled the events leading up to death of the Jesus Christ. The book was released in September 2013 and till now it has sold more than 6.8 million copies. The Guardian's Selina O'Grady called Killing Jesus "a breathy retelling of the gospel stories by two conservative Catholics, one of whom, O'Reilly, believes that he was inspired to write the book by the Holy Ghost." The telecast will...

Bill O'Reilly, host of the Fox News program "The O'Reilly Factor," spoke briefly at the premiere of the new National Geographic mini-series "Killing Jesus," which is based on his best-selling book, and talked about his controversial decision to cast a Muslim actor for role of Jesus in the film. During his speech, which took place before the series was shown to the audience in its entirety, O'Reilly explained his decision to cast young Muslim actor Haaz Sleiman for the role of Jesus. He admitted to being concerned about some of the backlash that might come, but said Sleiman "was the...

".....For decades the National Geographic Society has engaged in serious exploration and scientific inquiry and has earned the confidence of thousands of members/readers. That makes it worrisome that key people there seem to have become followers of the concept of Deep Ecology proclaimed by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in 1973. The concept holds that all life, from human to dust mites, should be safe to live and pursue happiness. Although we humans are the only species with the ability to reason, this gives no special privileges; rather, the responsibility for all the others. To do this, we must not exploit...

Yesterday I posted this quote from Elizabeth from the Will Steger Foundation global warming expedition to the artic.............. It felt so good to be back on trail. The weather was relatively warm for this time of year, there was little wind and the sun was shining. The mountains plunge dramatically to the ice on all sides. The U-shape of the head of the fiord ahead of us gave us a clue to the glaciations that sculpted this land, grinding away the granite to leave sheer walls of bare rock. I felt like I was inside an I-Max movie. I couldn't...

11 Individuals, One Inspiring Journey Home is where the heart is. For the Inion family (www.traveldeepandwide.com), that means everywhere. When Brent and Stacey-Jean set out from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on a family road trip in 2007, their goal was to explore the United States. As their itinerary grew to include Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Belize, and Mexico, so did their number. There are now 11 Inions, including four kids adopted from China, India, Egypt, and South Korea. Their ninth child, Jeriah, was born with Down syndrome and a heart condition. Four of their other children have special needs as well, with...

Geoff Sherrington writes: National Geographic Magazine had a Global Warming issue in September 2004. New instruments have given new data. By planning now, NatGeo can make a revised issue 10 years later, in September 2014. The 2014 edition should aim to correct what is now known to be wrong or questionable in the 2004 edition. We can help. Here are some quotes that need attention. The first three have some commentary, as is suggested for the remainder.1. “The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80% since 1912.” P.14 This might have been correct at the time of...

Monica Lewinsky has spoken out about becoming 'the most humiliated woman in the world' when salacious details of her affair with then-President Bill Clinton emerged. As part of her return to the spotlight, Lewinsky shared details in a new National Geographic documentary, 'The 90s: The Last Great Decade?', which will air starting next Sunday. On Tuesday, the Today show gave a first glimpse at the three-part special, in which Lewinsky, now 40, opens up about the day a 445-page report by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr was published. 'That was one of the worst days of my life,' she said. 'I...

On Wednesday, the National Geographic Society announced that they would be altering the global map to include Crimea in the map of Russia after Crimea’s secession from Ukraine is legally finalized. On Tuesday, National Geographic editorial leadership, led by geographer Juan Jose Valdes, determined that maps used by the organization must show “the world as it is, not as people would like it to be…As you can only surmise, sometimes our maps are not received in a positive light by some individuals who want to see the world in a different light.”