October 2007 Archives

Please take the time to read the quick tip below courtesy of The Green Guide:

Whether you're doing the dishes or wiping down the counter, be sure that your sponge isn't leaving behind a toxic mess. Though soppy kitchen sponges and dishrags are notorious breeding grounds for bacteria, avoid the temptation to pick up an antibacterial or antimicrobial option. Antibacterial products are usually treated with the pesticide triclosan, which provides no additional protection beyond that of plain soap, according to researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and may even contribute to the rise of some drug-resistant bacteria. Not only that, but when triclosan is exposed to water treated with chlorine (and most municipal water is ), it can form the probable human carcinogen chloriform. Kitchens aside, triclosan is showing up in places it shouldn't be, such as breast milk and U.S. waterways, where sunlight can convert it to carcinogenic dioxins that wind up in fish and rise through the food chain.

Greg Chapman

Last week Astronauts aboard the space shuttle discovery docked at the international space station to prepare to move a seventeen and a half ton piece of solar panel from the shuttle to another area of the space station. The solar panel has been malfunctioning the past year because of limited space for the solar wings to expand. Astronauts hopes are for the solar panel to be moved and installed by the time European space agencies begin docking at the space station, (probably a good idea since where the solar panel was located is where those agencies would have to dock their space shuttles).

Well, it looks like it is a more complicated job then expected with the new found problems in the solar panel that will need future attention. Either way it is incredible that the Space Station is at the point that it is today. Before we know it the station will be complete.

Lorne Townend - Director

Solar force, in essence, is a film about how natural variations in the sun's magnetic fields affects our climate. Although this film isn't about Global warming per se - it does cross over with aspects of it, making scientists a little nervous about speaking on the subject. Global warming is such a political 'hot potato' no one wants to burn their fingers, so to speak, if they can possibly help it. This was particularly true of the Danish team that we interviewed, who believe that cosmic rays may be a possible driving force behind global climate change; they had direct, and painful, experience of putting their heads above the scientific parapet and being shot at by most of the science community for their controversial views.

One scientist on a previous film I made about the Loch Ness monster, said how, after he had appeared in a previous film about the elusive creature, he had been pelted with breads rolls at the next scientific conference he attended - and his area of expertise was nematode worms!

Making these films, also made me realise how 'ad hoc' science can be - small teams of experts strung out across the globe, operating out of universities and obscure institutes, quietly honing and polishing their research, hoping others will agree with their findings at the next big conference on paeloclimatology or whatever it may be. 2 scientists, from the University of New Mexico, certainly fitted that profile. They were pioneering a technique whereby they could tell how wet or the dry the climate has been over millions of years, just by analysing stalagmites in caves. Their work isn't widely known, but is now of immense interest to climatologists the world over. And now, thanks to us, the general public will get to hear about their little corner of science as well.

"Sea Monsters is a parade of money shots with academic credentials" - New York Times

National Geographic's new giant-screen film "Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure," currently in IMAX® and other specialty theaters, brings to life the extraordinary marine reptiles of the dinosaur age on the world's biggest screens in both 3-D and 2-D. From the giraffe-necked Styxosaurus and 20-foot "bulldog" fish Xiphactinus to the T-Rex of the ocean — the 40-foot super-predator Tylosaurus — these wondrous beasts defy imagination.

Greg Chapman - Research

Let me first say that there aren't many shows that I have seen on this network as gritty and powerful as last nights premiere of Explorer: Heroin Crisis. If you didn't have a chance to see the show, it chronicles the current state of heroin around globe and particularly the effects it has had on a recovering addict, a couple that can't seem to get away from the drug's stranglehold, and an Afghan farmer that does not have any other means to support his family other then growing the poppi plant.

The message of the show that really struck me is how fast the drug seeps in to peoples lives and acts as a life need for users and growers of opium. Take the profiles of the couple who are currently addicted to the drug and the young women who was a former addict - each day they needed to get a fix to feel normal and in some cases to avoid experiencing terrible withdrawl seizures. On the other hand the Afghan farmer needed to grow the poppi plant as a means to support his family or else his family would have no other way to earn an income. Either side you are on there is no win. Each side of the scenario is at the mercy of heroin.

However, the profile of Jenny, the young women who was hooked on the drug as a teen, acts as a light of hope for addicts that feel that their isn't any. She is living proof, that although it is an extremely hard drug to stop using there are means of getting off it with a strong support system in place.

Heroin production and usage right now seems to be at an all time high and not many people can figure out how to tackle this rapidly growing problem. And realistically the problem and challenge that Heroin poses to the world is huge and is not going away any time soon. The only thing that we can do is continue to educate and be involved with people around us.

Opium production is at an all time high.

Kathryn Wallace - Associate Producer

The scene is straight out of Cool Hand Luke; inmates dressed in black and white striped jumpsuits, chained together at the ankle, breaking rock on the side of the road in the unforgiving desert sun. But this is no movie - this is modern life in Phoenix, Arizona. The chain gangers - mostly in the clink for misdemeanor charges - are serving time in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's one-of-a-kind Maricopa County jail.

They don't call him the toughest Sheriff in the West for nothing. His Tent City (boasting a tall neon "VACANCY" sign) is part PR-stunt, part tough-nosed penal colony - and my worst nightmare. Inmates sleep in military group tents, about a dozen double bunks to a tent, fully exposed to everything the desert can throw at you. Temperatures topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, contrasted by freezing winter nights, dust storms, scorpions, and on top of that - hundreds of other inmates in a small fenced in space, without bars or safe harbor.

There is no personal space and there are no luxuries. No girlie magazines, no TV, no cigarettes, and a small humiliation included in your county-issued clothing: along with the aforementioned black and white jumpsuit comes pink underwear.

A Cougar waits, and scopes the landscape for potential prey.

Vancouver Island, or Cougar Island as it is becoming known as, has more cougar attacks on humans then anywhere else in the world.

Craig Pumphrey

As we walked into this huge hanger it was amazing how they were able to fit all of the equipment into one area. There was scientific equipment everywhere, cameras, high-speed cameras, infrared cameras, load cells and a jungle of wires to huge plasma screens. I had a feeling of "this is the real deal" mixed with the feeling of being a human lab rat. This was also what I've been looking for, to get actual data on the impacts we can generate. For years my brother Paul Pumphrey and I have traveled the world performing these displays of power, but we never had scientific fact to back up what we did. It's hard to answer a question like "How hard can you hit?" or "How much force does it take to break that stack of concrete?" These questions and many like them we never had the answers to ... until now.

Although this was a setting for an in-depth study of strength, everywhere Paul and I go we are sure to have a good time. We had all the camera guys laughing and having a good time to the point it was hard to start filming without having to stop because of the laughing. Paul is a regular comedian, and we have this thing when we're together -- it is tag team comedy show. I can say for sure no matter how stressful the atmosphere is we can make it more laid back, and that's our style.

The caliber of talent was very impressive as well, with each person having an impressive portfolio of achievements and titles. It was very interesting to see the differences in strengths between a power lifter and a strongman. It was obvious everyone possessed an impressive amount of strength and power, but at the same time not everyone was created equal. Even though we all had impressive backgrounds, talents and abilities, there were things that each of us could do that others could not. Most people look at strongmen and automatically assume that they can do anything that would be associated with strength. On this show Super Strength we discovered the complete opposite.

Nat Geo took you through the aging process during Inside the Living Body, now it takes you on a ride through the human body to figure out what exactly all of our moving parts are doing. A showcase of the amazing "machines" that make up our bodies. Producer Chad Cohen took some time to detail what it was like to actually film inside the body.

Nat Geo: What makes this show different than other shows about the human body?

Chad Cohen: This program shows how the entire body works together as one very well-oiled machine. But we also highlight how the body sometimes doesn't work, with stories of everyday people undergoing extraordinary new medical procedures. We feature the first study injecting stem cells into patients suffering from heart failure; the first test measuring a performer's vocal activity during a live performance; and the first retinal implant trial. We also show off a lot of new medical imagery. You'd be amazed at the places you can stick a camera these days.

Nat Geo: How were you able to get access to film Steven Tyler of Aerosmith from the inside out?

Chad Cohen: Steven had recently come to Dr. Steven Zeitels of Massachusetts General Hospital with a vocal bleed that had caused the band to cancel part of its tour. Dr. Zeitels pioneered a noninvasive method of laser surgery that zaps the blood vessels, sealing them off and stopping the bleeding. Steven was very impressed with the surgery and happy that his voice was working again. Both he and Dr. Zeitels were interested in getting the story of the technology out there, and I think they trusted National Geographic Channel to tell it in the way it should be told.

Marlon Singleton - Field Producer,

Amanda Gronich - Senior Writer

Forget the 'ones that got away'...we got to uncover real-life monster catches that shattered records! Shooting stories for Hooked Again: Monster Fish was a wild, unforgettable, ride. Traveling from the U.S.'s biggest fishery in frigid Alaska...to prime fishing country in Florida's Gulf Coast...to the banks of a sweltering Texas swamp. Meeting some of the world's most amazing pro and amateur anglers. Sharing stories that kept our jaws dropped to the bottom of the boat.

Along the way, we also got to discover some of the scaliest, biggest and baddest creatures under water. Back on terra firma, I can't get these amazing fish out of my head. Here are just a few of our favorite 'Whopper Fish Facts' you can use to amaze your friends. Check out the super star species behind the most heart-pumping, pulse- racing, white-knuckle tales of Man vs. Fish.

Halibut: 'Ultimate Transformers': Pacific Halibut are the undisputed kings of Alaskan waters. They're born with one eye on either side of their bodies, swimming upright. Their left eye then migrates to their right side, and the fish 'lays over' to swim forever on its side. And they stay the flatfish kings, the largest on earth, tipping the scales at 450+ pounds!

A saltwater crocodile peeks its eyes above the water and waits patiently .

Andy Baker - Creative Director

A few months back, we decided it was time to update the look of the National Geographic Channel - we wanted to freshen it up while maintaining its "smartness" and make the channel feel less promotional. We changed our logo, the graphic colors and how we talk to our viewers. We choose to use the logo and colors that are used by the international National Geographic Channels. So, no matter where you watch the channel around the world it has the same logo and look. We felt that the more understated palette of gray, white, and our signature yellow, really showcases the spectacular imagery from our programming. We know that people who watch the channel enjoy informative non-fiction programs, and don't like to be "sold" on shows so we changed the way we talk to our viewers, using less hype to tell people about our shows, and to emphasize the incredible stories and information within the program.

To make these sorts of changes, it's a very time consuming process. The creative team has to review every place where the old logo and color palette exists on air or in print and then re-create it with the new logo and colors. New graphics, new copy and new guidelines for how an ad or commercial should look and feel can take as little as a few hours, or as much as several weeks!