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Published by Patrice Eulin, 2017-05-18 12:10:56

National Geographic Kids 2018 Almanac Excerpt for Scout Leaders

2018 Almanac excerpt for Scout Leaders

U.S. EDITION BNeEsWt SYOeRlKleTrIM!ES

ALMANAC

2018

Cool

Technology
& Videos

Amazing Awesome FUN
Animals Games
FA5CT0S0&
Everything INCREDIBLE
PHOTOS!
You Always PLUS

EWVaEnKtRendoYwtoTAHboIuNt G! DIGITAL

Animal Jam Code Inside EXTRAS

including videos,
games, and more!

CNHEAWLSLMEANKGER20C1H8ALLENGE 2018

Save OurSharks!

Marine biologist We asked
Jessica Cramp Cramp to
answer some
needs your help. questions for
our readers and
We’re sending out an SOS to help National young explorers:
Geographic Explorer Jessica Cramp and
marine conservationists around the world How did you get your start in marine
save our sharks. This awesome(but often biology?
misunderstood) predator is a vital part of the
ocean’s ecosystem. When sharks thrive, the I used to work as a research biologist in a lab,
ocean thrives. which was challenging—but it wasn’t my dream.
I am a surfer and diver and wanted to spend more
The more everyone knows about sharks, time outside and make a positive impact on the
the more we can increase their chances environment. Eventually, I got the opportunity
for survival. So answer our SOS call! Plunge to volunteer for a local marine conservation
into the world of sharks and join this organization and help create a shark sanctuary in
year’s Almanac Newsmaker Challenge at the Cook Islands. Becoming a marine biologist and
natgeokids.com/almanac. When you emerge, conservationist allowed me to align my intentions
you’ll be a shark expert. Take a fun shark quiz, with my actions—and work has never been so fun!
pledge to help save this important predator,
and get tips on how you can help. You can What is a typical day on the job like for you?
also find out what kind of shark matches
your personality, download shark masks and There’s no typical day! Sometimes, I spend hours
posters, and help us choose the coolest shark in front of my computer researching. When I’m in
species to feature in next year’s Almanac! the field, I’m on a boat tagging sharks, fishing for
bait, and dropping baited cameras into the ocean.
If you’re looking for Jessica Cramp, you may We work from sunrise to sunset. At night, I’ll look
find her working on a boat in the middle of over the day’s camera footage to look for shark
the Pacific Ocean, or perhaps scuba diving off presence—including new species or interesting
the coast of a remote atoll. Such is the life behavior. I’m usually wet, salty, and smell like fish
of a marine conservationist like Cramp. Here, all day long, but it’s worth it.
the National Geographic Explorer shares
more about her fin-tastic job—and why it’s
important to protect sharks.

28

AWESOME EXPLORATION

What do you like best about your job? Why is it so important to shine the
I like that it’s always changing, but that the spotlight on sharks and make sure they’re
goal stays the same: solid research that informs protected?
policy, outreach that inspires outcomes, and Unfortunately for sharks, the high value of the
advocating for what I believe in. fins, meat, and liver oil drive overexploitation
of many species. Because they are slow-growing,
Any scary encounters with sharks? late to mature, and many species have very few
I’ve had one or two uncomfortable moments, offspring, they just aren’t able to replenish the
but most of my time spent in the water with population as quickly as they are being fished.
sharks I feel relaxed and comfortable. The And without them in our ocean, the natural
majority of sharks are quite afraid of us. They balance and order of life is upset, which can have
lose interest and swim away much sooner than unpleasant cascading effects on other animals
I’d like, so I find myself wishing they’d hang and their habitat.
around a little longer.
What can we do to help protect sharks?
Tell us about a cool experience you’ve had Be curious! Understand how sharks are connected
in the field. to the fish on your dinner plate. There are
Freediving into a large school of sharks on a companies that fish responsibly, but we don’t
remote, submerged atoll called Beveridge Reef always know what effects our tuna sandwich
in Niue. I was leading the shark research on a may have had on sharks, seabirds, whales, manta
recent expedition with National Geographic. The rays, or other ocean creatures. The more we know
setting, the expedition, the abundance of sharks, about how fish are caught, the faster the changes
it was unforgettable. will happen in the water.

Get smart about sharks at
natgeokids.com/almanac.

View last year’s challenge results My Shot User: INIMINIMO

In last year’s Almanac Newsmaker Challenge, we asked kids to create
a time capsule, photograph it, and share it on My Shot. We received so
many fantastic photos, from as far away as China, and together they
present a fascinating window to the past for kids in 2050.

HIGHLIGHTS

Most popular items: headphones and earbuds, smartphones,
computers and tablets, books, plushies, toys, games, sneakers
Top books: Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Nat Geo Kids
Almanac and Weird But True books
Top toys/games: Legos, Rubik’s Cube, Uno, Minions

Here are a few of our favorites. View the complete photo gallery
at: natgeokids.com/almanac

My Shot User: Ferretopia My Shot User: allid126

29

OUR FRAGILE EARTH

The Earth needs your help!
Here are six ways

6 TtoIPSSave the Earthtoprotectourplanet.

1 4Take a Walk – Usually get a ride to Eat Up – Mom’s right: You really
your friend’s house down the street?
should eat everything on your plate!

Ask your parents if you can walk or ride Around the world, 1.4 billion tons (1.3

your bike there instead. Skipping the billion t) of food is lost or wasted every

car ride not only saves gas, but it also year. And all of that rotting food is

cuts back on air pollution. Just make filling up landfills and releasing harmful

sure to always have an adult with you on greenhouse gases into the environment.

longer walks or rides, and stick to the Coming up with creative ways to use

sidewalks—especially on busy roads. up food that would otherwise be

tossed—like making muffins out of ripe

2 Fill It Up – Of the billions of bananas—can make a big impact on the
bottles of water consumed in the future of our planet.

United States every year, only about 30 5 Go Portable – Laptop computers
use 50 to 90 percent less energy
percent are actually recycled. The rest
clog up landfills or wind up in the ocean,

where they may harm sea animals. An than desktop computers.

easy fix? Drink from a reusable water

bottle. Experts say tap water is totally 6 Pick It Up – Every year, people
safe to drink, and you’ll do your part to around the world generate 2.6

reduce the waste. trillion pounds (1.2 trillion kg) of

3 Bag It – Like water bottles, plastic garbage—equal to the weight of more
grocery bags are likely to become
than 6 million blue whales. And some of
that will wind up in your local creeks and

hazards to the environment, as they take playgrounds. So grab some gloves and a

many years to degrade. Next time you trash bag and pick up trash. You’ll get

go the grocery store with Mom or Dad, some fresh air and exercise—and help

remind them to bring along reusable the environment, too.

shopping totes. TRY MAKING YOUR TThriys!

DID YOU KNOW? OWN SOAP

If food waste were

a country, it would Don’t trash your leftover bits of soap! Combine soap

be the third largest slivers to keep pieces of soap from going into the

emitter of greenhouse garbage—and adding to landfill. Squish the slivers
gases behind China and into cool shapes when they’re wet.
the United States.

98

GOING GREEN

Pollution Cleaning Up Our Act

So what’s the big deal about a little dirt on the

planet? Pollution can affect animals, plants, and people.
In fact, some studies show that more people die every
year from diseases linked to air pollution than from car
accidents. And right now nearly one billion of the world’s
people don’t have access to clean drinking water.

A LITTLE POLLUTION = BIG PROBLEMS

You can probably clean your room in a couple of hours. (At least
we hope you can!) But you can’t shove air and water pollution
under your bed or cram them into the closet. Once released
into the environment, pollution—whether it’s oil leaking from
a boat or chemicals spewing from a factory’s smokestack—can
have a lasting environmental impact.

KEEP IT CLEAN

It’s easy to blame things like big factories for pollution problems.
But some of the mess comes from everyday activities. Exhaust
fumes from cars and garbage in landfills can seriously trash
the Earth’s health. We all need to pitch in and do some house-
cleaning. It may mean bicycling more and riding in cars less.
Or not dumping water-polluting oil or household cleaners down
the drain. Look at it this way: Just as with your room, it’s always
better not to let Earth get messed up in the first place.

What a
Prince!

The heir to the British throne is doing his
part to save Earth’s oceans. Working to
combat both overfishing and the amount
of plastic that lands in the ocean every
year—8.8 million tons (8 million t)
by some estimates—Prince Charles is
leading a charitable drive to protect the
seas with a focus on sustainable fishing.
We’d say that’s a quite a royal effort.

99

99

OCEANS

PACIFIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN

STATS STATS

Surface area Surface area
65,436,200 sq mi (169,479,000 sq km) 35,338,500 sq mi (91,526,300 sq km)

Portion of Earth’s water area Portion of Earth’s water area
47 percent 25 percent

Greatest depth Greatest depth
Challenger Deep Puerto Rico Trench
(in the Mariana Trench) -28,232 ft (-8,605 m)
-36,070 ft (-10,994 m)
Surface temperatures
Surface temperatures Summer high: 90°F (32°C)
Summer high: 90°F (32°C) Winter low: 28°F (-2°C)
Winter low: 28°F (-2°C)
Tides
Tides Highest: 52 ft (16 m)
Highest: 30 ft (9 m) near Korean peninsula Bay of Fundy, Canada
Lowest: 1 ft (0.3 m) near Midway Islands Lowest: 1.5 ft (0.5 m)
Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea
Cool creatures: giant Pacific octopus,
bottlenose whale, clownfish, great Cool creatures: blue whale, Atlantic spotted
white shark dolphin, sea turtle

GREAT WHITE SHARK GREEN SEA TURTLE

134

WONDERS OF NATURE

INDIAN OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN

STATS STATS

Surface area Surface area
28,839,800 sq mi (74,694,800 sq km) 5,390,000 sq mi (13,960,100 sq km)

Portion of Earth’s water area Portion of Earth’s water area
21 percent 4 percent

Greatest depth Greatest depth
Java Trench Molloy Deep
-23,376 ft (-7,125 m) -18,599 ft (-5,669 m)

Surface temperatures Surface temperatures
Summer high: 93°F (34°C) Summer high: 41°F (5°C)
Winter low: 28°F (-2°C) Winter low: 28°F (-2°C)

Tides Tides
Highest: 36 ft (11 m) Less than 1 ft (0.3 m) variation
Lowest: 2 ft (0.6 m) throughout the ocean
Both along Australia’s west coast
Cool creatures: beluga whale, orca, harp
Cool creatures: humpback whale, Portuguese seal, narwhal
man-of-war, dugong (sea cow)

DUGONG ORCA

To see the major oceans and bays in relation to landmasses, look at the map on pages 258 and 259. 135

OCEANS

PRISTINEExplorers work to protect

the last truly wild

SEASplaces in the ocean.

80%
of marine
pollution originates
from the land.

A YELLOW-EDGED LYRETAIL PROWLS
CORAL NEAR PITCAIRN ISLAND.

DR. ENRIC SALA KEEPING OUR OCEANS PRISTINE

136 Oceans cover more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Even
with all of that water, only a tiny percentage is not impacted
by human activity—but conservationists are working to

change that. The National Geographic Pristine Seas team,
led by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric
Sala, travels to some of the most remote parts of the
oceans to explore life underwater and create protected
areas. One such location? The Pitcairn Islands in the
South Pacific, where the Pristine Seas squad created the
world’s largest marine reserve, setting aside a swath of sea
bigger than the entire state of California, U.S.A., for special
protection. That means there is no fishing or seafloor mining
allowed in the reserve, a move meant to keep the thousands of
fish, plants, and coral living there healthy and thriving.

WONDERS OF NATURE

PITCAIRN ISLAND So far,
Pristine Seas
has protected A DIVER EXPLORES
more than 1.16 million BOUNTY BAY NEAR
square miles(3 million PITCAIRN ISLAND.
sq km) of ocean

territory.

The goal

GREY REEF SHARK of Pristine Seas

is to help fully

SAVING THE SHARKS protect 10% of
the world’s oceans
The Pristine Seas expedition has also made its too fast a rate for the
by 2020.
mark on the uninhabited Southern Line Islands, species to replace

an archipelago deep in the South Pacific. Dozens themselves. But by working

of grey reef sharks swirl around these islands, with the local government, Sala and

feeding on the fish around the coral reefs. But his crew have established a 12-nautical-mile

they face constant danger. Sought out by humans fishing exclusion zone around each island. It’s a

for their fins—considered a delicacy in some step in the right direction for protecting the

parts of Asia—these sharks are vulnerable to ecology of the island and, ultimately, boosting

overfishing, which is when people catch them at the shark’s dwindling population.

137


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