National Geographic Magazine April 2020

THE SAYING IS SO WELL KNOWN that most of us can finish the sentence: Those who cannot remember the past … … are condemned to repeat it. It’s a fitting reminder this month as we mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For the occasion, we’ve created the first ever “flip” issue of National Geographic—essentially two magazines in one—to revisit environmental milestones of the past half century and to look ahead at the world our descendants will inhabit in 2070, on Earth Day’s 100th anniversary. Two scenarios emerge. On the magazine cover just before this page, there’s a verdant Earth. Welcome to the optimistic view of writer Emma Marris, who sees a world that is changed—we cannot undo some damage we have done—but one in which technologies will be harnessed…

SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 1888, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN WORKING TO CONSERVE THE PLANET AND ITS INHABITANTS. THIS MONTH, ALONG WITH THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY (THE MAJORITY OWNER OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS), WE’RE CELEBRATING EARTH DAY’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING AND EVENTS, AS WELL AS SPECIAL PROGRAMMING ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ABC, AND DISNEY+. CALL TO ACTION #NatGeoSaveTogether Help protect wildlife Join National Geographic and Disney as we focus on saving 50 of the planet’s at-risk species. Find out how you can help, beginning April 1 at nationalgeographic.com. LIVE TV SPECIAL Born Wild and ready to explore How better to appreciate Mother Earth than by meeting her offspring? A live celebration of animal babies, Born Wild: Earth Day Live airs April 22 at 8/7c on National Geographic and Nat Geo…

CONSERVATION WITH CARE 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. NEW ENERGY In southern France, 35 countries are building ITER, a thermonuclear experimental reactor, in an effort to harness nuclear fusion—the process that powers stars and potentially is an almost limitless source of carbon-free energy. ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE 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. LIVING WITH WATER Decades of pollution control have made the water so clean in the industrial harbor of Aarhus, Denmark, that people now swim in seawater pools. A new floating complex makes…

MY MOTHER’S BROWN HAIR is long and parted in the center. She is sewing a eucalyptus seed-pod to a dress made of pale green drapery fabric, laughing with her friends. She is 19 years old. It is February 1970, a few months before the first Earth Day, and students at San Jose State College in California are throwing a “Survival Faire,” during which they plan to bury a brand-new yellow Ford Maverick. The Maverick and all combustion engines are to be declared dead because they belch pollutants that have helped create vile, ground-hugging smog in San Jose and cities around the world. The Maverick, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery wrote, “was pushed through downtown San Jose in a parade led by three ministers, the college band and a group…

Most companies think having a strong opinion means scaring away customers who think differently. We think it’s a good way to make some new friends. For the record, we believe we should eat stuff that we can grow instead of growing stuff to feed animals and then eat them. Everybody — regardless of spiritual beliefs, birth country, race, gender, sexual orientation or color of their nail polish — is of equal worth. The reckless pursuit of profits without any consideration for the well-being of the planet and the humans that live here should be considered a crime. Companies have as much responsibility as politicians for building a society that the rest of the world can admire. Bigfoot the legendary Sasquatch is real. Okay, that last one has nothing to do…

IN THE 1980S the number of giant pandas in China hovered around 1,100. Now, after decades of focused conservation, giant pandas have been crossed off the endangered list. Habitat preservation, anti-poaching efforts, and advances in captive-breeding programs can offer a lifeline to the most endangered members of the biosphere. In 2019 a total of 10 creatures showed improved status on the list of threatened species produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Many more need help, including these animals that conservationists are trying to pull back from the brink. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED Cotton-top tamarin This tiny, long-haired monkey lives only in the tropical forests of Colombia, where agriculture and urban growth have led to a significant population drop in the past few decades. Proyecto Titi strives to reverse this:…