New stunning National Geographic images explores aspects of climate change in their new issue

by

EXCLUSIVE: New stunning National Geographic images explore aspects of climate change – from an orphaned elephant to an underwater farm – in the magazine’s upcoming issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day

  • The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970, and National Geographic’s upcoming April issue commemorates the event’s 50th anniversary 
  • After the publication of Rachel Carson’s bestseller Silent Spring in 1962, an environmental movement began that spurred millions to the street for that first Earth Day
  • National Geographic’s April issue explores what climate change means in daily life: from food to transportation 

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Advertisement

It’s been 50 years since the first Earth Day was celebrated and in commemoration, National Geographic’s upcoming issue explores what climate change means in daily life: from food to transportation.

After the publication of Rachel Carson’s bestseller Silent Spring in 1962, people around the world and in the United States started thinking more about the environment. This lead to the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 when 20 million Americans ‘took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies,’ according to Earth Day’s website.

Below are images from National Geographic’s April 2020 single-topic Earth Day issue, which has features that look at the consequences of climate change. For more on this story, visit natgeo.com/EarthDay.      

An orphaned elephant is comforted by a wildlife keeper at Kenya’s Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, the first community owned elephant sanctuary in Africa. Reteti has successfully integrated six orphans into wild herds

A diver off Noli, Italy, harvests tomatoes from Nemo's Garden, an experimental underwater farm where plants grow without soil or pesticides—a possible boon for places without arable land

A diver off Noli, Italy, harvests tomatoes from Nemo’s Garden, an experimental underwater farm where plants grow without soil or pesticides—a possible boon for places without arable land

An abandoned yellow pickup truck with a field of wind turbines behind it in Grady, NM

An abandoned yellow pickup truck with a field of wind turbines behind it in Grady, NM

Emperor penguins normally breed on sea ice, taking more than eight months to raise their chicks. When sea ice is unstable or breaks up before the chicks fledge, emperors sometimes move onto the continent's more stable ice shelf. Fledglings then have to leap from great heights to feed in the ocean. Sea ice is projected to decrease as oceans warm. If the penguins don't adapt, their population could plunge dramatically

Emperor penguins normally breed on sea ice, taking more than eight months to raise their chicks. When sea ice is unstable or breaks up before the chicks fledge, emperors sometimes move onto the continent’s more stable ice shelf. Fledglings then have to leap from great heights to feed in the ocean. Sea ice is projected to decrease as oceans warm. If the penguins don’t adapt, their population could plunge dramatically

Preserving tropical forests like this one, part of Arfak Mountains Nature Reserve in West Papua, Indonesia, is crucial to the well-being of the planet. As the trees in such forests grow—accounting for 60 percent of all photosynthesis on Earth—they take up many billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, including some emitted by humans burning fossil fuels. But when the forests are logged or burned, they release the carbon. Safeguarding these immense carbon lockers is perhaps the most cost-effective solution to climate change

Preserving tropical forests like this one, part of Arfak Mountains Nature Reserve in West Papua, Indonesia, is crucial to the well-being of the planet. As the trees in such forests grow—accounting for 60 percent of all photosynthesis on Earth—they take up many billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, including some emitted by humans burning fossil fuels. But when the forests are logged or burned, they release the carbon. Safeguarding these immense carbon lockers is perhaps the most cost-effective solution to climate change

In 2002, California committed to getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2017. It exceeded the target—and raised it to 100 percent by 2045

In 2002, California committed to getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2017. It exceeded the target—and raised it to 100 percent by 2045

Indo-Pacific sergeants swim around a plastic bag near Taiwan. An estimated 8.8 million tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year, killing millions of marine animals

Indo-Pacific sergeants swim around a plastic bag near Taiwan. An estimated 8.8 million tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year, killing millions of marine animals

A pump jack bobs in a cotton field near Lubbock, Texas, at the northern edge of the Permian Basin. Fracking of deep shales allowed this region to pump more than one third of U.S. crude in 2019. For the month of September, when this photo was taken, the US was a net oil exporter for the first time since monthly recordkeeping began in 1973

A pump jack bobs in a cotton field near Lubbock, Texas, at the northern edge of the Permian Basin. Fracking of deep shales allowed this region to pump more than one third of U.S. crude in 2019. For the month of September, when this photo was taken, the US was a net oil exporter for the first time since monthly recordkeeping began in 1973

Gwen Nordgren sits for a portrait by the pool next to the charred ruins of her former home in Paradise, California. Two months after the fire, Nordgren allowed Muller to accompany her on her return to say goodbye to the 'perfect retirement house,' a place filled with 15 years of memories. The pool holds a special place in her thoughts. 'I would go in the pool in the morning by myself,' Nordgren says. 'I'd get into my bathing suit and get into this gorgeous pool, and I just felt like a queen. I'd look up at this beautiful California blue sky'

Gwen Nordgren sits for a portrait by the pool next to the charred ruins of her former home in Paradise, California. Two months after the fire, Nordgren allowed Muller to accompany her on her return to say goodbye to the ‘perfect retirement house,’ a place filled with 15 years of memories. The pool holds a special place in her thoughts. ‘I would go in the pool in the morning by myself,’ Nordgren says. ‘I’d get into my bathing suit and get into this gorgeous pool, and I just felt like a queen. I’d look up at this beautiful California blue sky’

Above, Greta Thunberg. After capturing the world's attention at the United Nations in New York City last September, the activist, now 17, spoke in December at the UN's climate change conference in Madrid. Her main theme: science. 'I've given many speeches and learned that when you talk in public, you should start with something personal or emotional to get everyone's attention,' she said. 'But today I will not do that because then those phrases are all that people focus on. They don't remember the facts, the very reason why I say those things in the first place.'

Above, Greta Thunberg. After capturing the world’s attention at the United Nations in New York City last September, the activist, now 17, spoke in December at the UN’s climate change conference in Madrid. Her main theme: science. ‘I’ve given many speeches and learned that when you talk in public, you should start with something personal or emotional to get everyone’s attention,’ she said. ‘But today I will not do that because then those phrases are all that people focus on. They don’t remember the facts, the very reason why I say those things in the first place.’

Above, the cover of the new issue

Above, the cover of the new issue