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Newsela - Whales and dolphins get bigger aquarium tanks

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Aquariums have stepped into the eye of the captivity storm: The controversy over continuing to use whales and dolphins for entertainment, or bowing to pressure to stop.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela | SeaWorld, activists make questionable claims on killer whale life spans

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Both sides use different numbers that support their arguments. Scientists don’t know for sure how long orcas live.

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Story highlights

A California state legislator is proposing to ban the captivity of killer whales for entertainment at SeaWorld in the wake of CNN's controversial documentary " Blackfish."

"It is time that we embrace that the long-accepted practice of keeping orcas captive for human amusement must end," state Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Democrat from Santa Monica, said at a press conference Friday at the city's oceanfront pier.

Bloom was joined by "Blackfish" director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, two former SeaWorld orca trainers and an animal welfare activist.

"This is about greed and this is about corporate exploitation, both of the whales and the trainers, but most importantly the whales," said John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld orca trainer who resigned in August 2012.

A Bloom statement described the proposal as "landmark legislation calling for comprehensive improvement to orca protection laws in California."

Currently, there are no laws prohibiting the captive display of orcas, but there are federal laws governing the care, capture and research use of the killer whales, Bloom said.

The documentary, produced by Magnolia Pictures and acquired by CNN Films, recounts the 2010 death of longtime SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau by a killer whale named Tilikum, a 12,000-pound bull, in Orlando, Florida.

SeaWorld also offers orca shows at a third site, in San Antonio, Texas, but the California legislation would apply only to SeaWorld's San Diego facility.

The film challenges the concept of keeping killer whales for entertainment and implies Tilikum had been driven to madness by captivity.

Since then, a fiery controversy has erupted.

SeaWorld strongly disputes the allegations that "Blackfish" makes and called the film grossly one-sided and the product of animal activists.

On Friday, SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides criticized the bill.

"The premise behind this proposed legislation is severely flawed on multiple levels, and its validity is highly questionable under the United States and California Constitutions," Bides said in a statement. "We trust that our leaders who are responsible for voting on this proposal will recognize the clear bias of those behind the bill."

Bides added the participants joining Bloom were well-known "extreme animal rights activists, many of whom regularly campaign against SeaWorld and other accredited marine mammal parks and institutions."

"Included in the group are some of the same activists that partnered with PETA in bringing the meritless claim that animals in human care should be considered slaves under the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution - a clear publicity stunt. This legislation appears to reflect the same sort of out-of-the-mainstream thinking," Bides said in a statement. "We engage in business practices that are responsible, sustainable and reflective of the balanced values all Americans share."

The proposed law would end performance-based entertainment for all killer whales in California, captive breeding programs and the export and import of genetic material, and the import and export of orcas within the state.

Also, the proposal would retire all captive killer whales to sea pens if available and would allow retired orcas to be on display, but not perform. The bill would limit the amount of human interaction for trainer safety, according to Bloom's fact sheet.

"Like the elephant - the largest land mammal in captivity - we have realized that orcas are more complex than most other marine mammals and require more space, have a more complex social structure and most importantly need their family network (pod) for a happy and healthy life," said a fact sheet by Bloom.

Currently, California has 10 captive killer whales, and seven of them were captive-born, according to Bloom.

In the past 50 years, California has lost 14 orcas, 12 of which were caught in the wild, Bloom said.

"After the tragic death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, the public has begun to question the moral justification of keeping orcas in captivity for our general entertainment," Bloom's fact sheet said. "As a state we should lead the way in ending captivity for entertainment purposes and should be ensuring our current captive population general welfare needs are taken care of, and that we end any future captivity whether it be by capture or captive breeding programs here in California."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the proposed legislation "has the potential to end the deep injustice of exhibitions of captive marine life," said spokesman David W. Perle.

"PETA and kind people around the world have called on SeaWorld to retire these deprived orcas to a seaside sanctuary, but the park continues to defend its overt cruelty," Perle said in a statement.

One animal trainer, Grey Stafford of Arizona's Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium, criticized the proposed law, which he said "collapses under its own weight of inconsistencies, particularly with respect to animal welfare and future breeding."

"We still have a lot to learn about the killer whales," said Stafford, who used to train orcas.

The killer whale shows ensure the animal and its ocean habitat remain in the public consciousness.

"I am more concerned about the welfare of all species," Stafford said. "Out of sight means out of mind."

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California bill would ban orca shows at SeaWorld | CNN

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A California state legislator is proposing to ban the captivity of killer whales for entertainment at SeaWorld in the wake of CNN's controversial documentary " Blackfish." "It is time that we embrace that the long-accepted practice of keeping orcas captive for human amusement must end," state Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Democrat from Santa Monica, said at a press conference Friday at the city's oceanfront pier.

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Smart, Social and Erratic in Captivity (Published 2013)

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A film, a book and a trainer’s death have renewed debate among scientists and animal advocates on the wisdom and morality of keeping killer whales in marine parks.

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Back to Animals

A zoo can be an awesome place to see animals first hand and learn about what they eat, their habits, environment, and all sorts of other interesting facts about animals. Another name for a zoo is zoological garden.

Today zoos are becoming better and better places for animals. In the past some zoos were somewhat cruel to animals. Placing animals in environments they were not suited for and often not keeping the animal's best interest in mind. However, today many zoos do wonderful work in animal research and take great care of their animals.

Photo by Ducksters

Some good things that many Zoos do today include:

Acting as sanctuaries for endangered animals. They provide a safe environment for animals that are being threatened by changes in the environment. Often zoos will work to breed and maintain endangered animal populations. Sometime animals are nearly extinct in the wild and the only place they survive is in zoos.

Education on wildlife. Zoos provide a great opportunity for us to learn more about creatures from distant lands.

Research on wildlife and how we can help animals survive radical changes. Zoos do veterinary medicine research as well.

Today's modern zoos house animals in enclosures that are similar to the animal's natural habitat. This can include buildings made for nocturnal animals where they are bright at night, so the animals can sleep, and dark during the day, so zoo visitors can see the animals moving about. Also, climates are controlled in some zoo enclosures for animals like penguins and polar bears. Many zoos have great open spaces as well where animals may graze together. Some zoos have an area where you can take a mini-safari or ride around in a truck or bus to hopefully see the animals up close.

Perhaps the most famous zoo is the San Diego Zoo in Southern California. Many modern zoo practices were pioneered at the San Diego Zoo. The largest zoo in number of animals is the Bronx Zoo with over 6000 animals. The largest zoo in land size is the North Carolina Zoo with 535 acres.

Photo by Ducksters

Seeing an elephant, giraffe, lion, polar bear, penguins, seals, or other incredible creatures at the zoo can be an amazing experience. Be sure to check out your local zoo and get the opportunity to see some awesome animals and learn more about nature.

Another great place to see animals, similar to a zoo, is at an aquarium. Most states have an aquarium where they display all sorts of fish and some sea mammals.More on endangered species:
Amphibians in Danger
Endangered Animals
How Animals Become Extinct
Wildlife Conservation
Zoos

Back to Animals

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Learn about the zoo. History and types of zoological gardens. List of Zoos with interesting animals.

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This way to amazing animal stories, poetry and art and loads more info. Tell us why you love animals, and send us your poems and pictures, too:

Primary Teachers

Information and curriculum-linked lesson plans to help you teach animal issues. Plus great stories for your class and useful resources for you:

Secondary Pupils

You want to know more about animal issues? This is the place. We want to hear your views about how animals are treated around the world:

Secondary Teachers

Curriculum-linked lesson plans to help you teach animal issues within your subject and in-depth information for you. Useful resources, Web sites and recommended reading:

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Primary Kids This way to amazing animal stories, poetry and art and loads more info. Tell us why you love animals, and send us your poems and pictures, too: Age 5 - 7 The Issues. If you're 5, 6 or 7 years old, and you want to learn some fascinating things about animals, you're in [...]

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How do you feel about keeping animals in zoos? Read both sides of the argument to help you decide.

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Newsela | Some clever chimps stage escape at Kansas City Zoo

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It took a branch, a wall, and a smart chimpanzee ringleader to cause a "Code Red" at the zoo.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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I would like to begin by defining “zoo.” It is a park-like area in which live animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public exhibit. Hold on, large enclosures? More like tiny cages. As zoo funds are cut, cages become smaller wi

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This piece is a response to "The Modern Zoo" from the May 2008 issue of Teen Ink. I volunteer at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and have gotten to know its keepers, veterinary staff, and other workers. According to the writer of "The Modern Zoo," staff torture animals, do not provide adequate living space, and keep the animals merely to entertain. In my three years of volunteering, I have never seen, nor had any reason to suspect, any foul play at my zoo. The allegations in "The Modern Zoo" that all zoos are inhumane and cruel is false, I believe.

According to the article in Teen Ink, "Zoos claim to educate visitors. Yet we've all seen the one-sentence signs that describe monkeys. What can be learned from this? Certainly not enough to justify inhumane captivity." One-sentence signs are not the end of zoos' efforts to educate. At my zoo an entire department is devoted to educating the public about conservation of animals and our planet. If zoos didn't care about education, why would they have this? While exhibits may display signs with brief information, staff work daily at the zoo to educate visitors about conservation and other critical topics.

Some zoo employees visit schools and businesses to educate the public about how to be more responsible with our environment. This department even organizes conservation projects around Ohio, such as the community effort to remove waste from Big Creek. Volunteers spent a day restoring the creek to a more healthy ecosystem. The zoo is also part of a national conservation campaign called Year of the Frog, dedicated to saving amphibian species from extinction. Zoos put forth tremendous effort to educate people, and to say that they do not is just not true in my experience.

"Zoo animals endure inadequate living conditions with no space," claims the article. It's not fair to make this generalization. My own zoo, for example, is planning a one-of-a-kind, spacious exhibit for its elephants. The exhibit encompasses many acres, and will be large enough to support a breeding population. If zoos didn't care about adequate space for their animals, why would they waste time raising millions of dollars to build this type of exhibit? Also, my zoo cares a lot for its animals; it houses the second oldest hippo in North America and its polar bears are twice the age of those in the wild.

I witnessed a life-saving surgery on a 13-year-old wolf. Veterinarians worked for two hours to save his life. Thirteen is very old for a wolf. Zoos do care for their animals, and do what they can to keep them strong and healthy.

"These animals are simply meant to entertain," claims "The Modern Zoo." That too is false. At the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, animals are never forced to do anything for the sake of visitors' entertainment. We believe in positive animal/ human interaction. Zoo staff never force or coerce an animal due to this policy.

The author of "The Modern Zoo" is obviously very passionate in his opinion about zoos. I am also very passionate. I have not written this to personally attack him. Rather, I am simply stating facts. "The Modern Zoo" paints zoos as cruel, inhumane facilities, but it is both unfair and untrue to claim this about all of them. Many have state-of-the-art veterinary facilities and work hard to save endangered species.

I hope that readers will see that zoos seek to protect and save endangered species, as well as educate and encourage the public to do the same.

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This piece is a response to "The Modern Zoo" from the May 2008 issue of Teen Ink. I volunteer at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and have gotten to know its keepers, veterinary staff, and other workers. According to the writer of "The Modern Zoo," staff torture animals, do not provide adequate living space, and keep the animals merely to entertain.

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Extreme Sports Facts

Check out our range of extreme sports facts.

Learn about the summer and winter X Games, different types of extreme sports, the surfaces and environments such as water, land, snow and air, as well as lots more interesting facts and information.

Extreme sports, sometimes called action sports or adventure sports, do not have an exact definition but are generally considered to be activities that are seen as having a high level of potential danger.

Extreme sports often involve high speeds, dangerous heights, the requirement for a high level of specialist technical skill, and highly specialized gear or equipment.

Success in extreme sports usually involves judging panels scoring athletes based on visual and technical criteria and completion of a 'trick'.

Height based extreme sports include Bungee jumping, skydiving, BASE jumping, paragliding and hang gliding.

Water based extreme sports include scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, wakeboarding surfing, whitewater kayaking and rafting.

Wheel based extreme sports include BMX, skateboarding, mountain biking, inline skating, rally car and motocross.

Winter based extreme sports include skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobile.

Cliff and cave based extreme sports include rock climbing, ice climbing, caving, free diving, mountaineering and cave diving.

The X Games are an annual extreme sports event, organized by the U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN. Participants compete to win gold, silver, and bronze medals along with prize money.

The first Summer X Games were held in 1995 in Newport, Rhode Island. The first Winter X Games were held in 1997 at Mountain Resort, Big Bear Lake, California.

X Games are typically held in the USA. The winter games are held in January or February and the summer games are usually held in August.

X Games have also been held in Asia since 1998 and Europe since 2010.

The X Games competitions often makes heroes of those athletes who are talented and brave enough to pull of a new and exciting 'trick' such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in freestyle motocross, Heath Frisby's first snowmobile front flip or snowboarder Torstein Horgmo's triple flip.

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Extreme Sports Facts - Information About X Games, Action Sports & More

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Extreme Sports Facts Check out our range of extreme sports facts. Learn about the summer and winter X Games, different types of extreme sports, the surfaces and environments such as water, land, snow and air, as well as lots more interesting facts and information.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Who Its The Toughest Action Sports Athlete?

Who's the UGIEST of them all? Action Sport athletes are some of the most fearless, some might say crazy, humans on earth. They are driven by pure adrenaline, and the fact that they're risking life and limb on a daily basis only seems to fuel their fire. The unrelenting pursuit of progression leads these athletes to push the boundaries and test the limits of whať's possible, sometimes resulting in serious or fatal accidents. But you can only have ONE TRUE badass of the bunch and Krush set out to find who that is. WHAT'S THE PERCEPTION OUT THERE? WHICH ACTION SPORT HAS THE TOUGHEST ATHLETES? A recent 2012 survey of action sports athletes revealed that motocross athletes were perceived to be the toughest. *Respondents were asked to choose among the six sports listed below 32% 26.1% 18% MOTOCROSS SKATEBOARDING 11.8% SNOWBOARDING 7.7% BMX 4.4% SURFING FREESKIING #1 # 2 # 3 # 4 # 5 #6 WHERE'S THE RISK? NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS IN EACH SPORT THAT GET INJURED PREDICTION (Per 1,000 participants) *Per 1,000 surfing hours for surfing New school freestyle skiing, or "freeskiing", has only come onto the scene since the late 1990's. Being such a young sport, data is scarce when it comes to tracking injuries and risk and includes both freeskiing and alpine skiing. We predict that the injuries per thousand will be significantly higher in the coming years. 100 94.5 63 60 40 20 8.9 6.97 6.6 2.63 Freestyle Motocross BMX Skateboarder Snowboarder Surfer Freeskier MOST COMMON INJURY IN EACH SPORT SHOULDER INJURIES LACERATIONS AND ABRASIONS BLUNT CHEST AND ABDOMINAL TRAUMA WRIST INJURIES TORN LIGAMENTS ANKLE INJURIES THE BEST OF THE WORST INJURIES NOTABLE ATHLETES FROM EACH SPORT RATED ON THEIR INJURY LEVEL *The rating system is a cross reference between seriousness & frequency of injuries FREQUENCY OF INJURIES KEVIN PEARCE TRAVIS PASTRANA MIKE METZGER MAT HOFFMAN JACOB TRETTE DAVE MIRRA O BRIAN DEEGAN JAKE BROWN DANNY WAY TRAVIS RICE TANNER HALL less often FREQUENCY OF INJURIES more often ATHLETES TRAVIS PASTRANA: Has one of the most extensive injury rap sheets in the action sports industry, including a rare dislocated spinal injury. MAT HOFFMAN: Fell after clearing 23 feet in the air, rupturing his spleen. He was given 20 minutes to live. MIKE METZGER: Broken vertebrae in his back and neck, injured both collarbones, and lacerated his kidney training for X17. KEVIN PEARCE: Sustained a traumatic brain injury after hitting his head on the hard icy side of the halfpipe training for the Olympics. DAVE MIRRA: He is called the "Miracle Boy" because he survives so many serious accidents. BRIAN DEEGAN: Broke his hip, snapped his humerus in half, broke his wrists five times, compressed a vertebra in his back and blew up his kidney doing a backflip. JAKE BROWN: Brown spent three days in a hospital recovering from a broken wrist, a bleeding liver, a bruised lung and cracked vertebrae. JACOB TRETTE: Almost drowned after being trapped underwater by two 25-foot waves. Spent three days in an induced coma in the ICU. DANNY WAY: Has had 13 surgeries, including eight on his knee, along with four ACL reconstructions in the same knee. TANNER HALL: Broke both ankles in 2005, then suffered fractures to both tibial plateaus, and ACL tears in each knee in 2010. TRAVIS RICE: Travis ruptured his spleen and spent six days in intensive care. TAKEN TOO SOON HEROIC ATHLETES, WE HONOR AND REMEMBER ALWAYS KARGOLA (1983-2011) JIM (1978-2011) JEREMY LUSK JEFF (1982-2012) CR JOHNSON MCCONKEY CRAIG AARON ROBINSON MCNEIL SHANE KELLY (1966-2003) (1984-2009) SARAH BURKE Freestyle Motocross JOYEUX (1980-2005) (1983-2010) (1969-2009) Freestyle Motocross MILOSKY Freestyle Motocross (1983-2011) SION (1975-2011) MALIK Freeskier Freeskier Freeskier Snowboarder Snowboarder Surfer Surfer BY DRIN With all action sports comes a certain degree of risk and fear that isn't found in other sports. This risk, along with the reward, is what motivates these athletes day in and day out, and even though we give props to every single one of them... WE CAN ONLY HAVE ONE WINNER: MOTOCROSS frousHEST SOURCES http://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/press/facts-ski-snbd-safety.asp http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15133584 http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0515/p2007.html#afp20010515p2007-b13 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070102092203.htm http://www.sandersclinic.net/common_motoxinj.html http://www.orthonurse.org/portals/0/sports%20med%203.pdf https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042612-120758/unrestricted/final.pdf http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/40/4/770.abstract http://vuir.vu.edu.au/712/ KRUSH K http://travispastrana.net/extra/injuries/ ptavispastre http://magazine.stack.com/Thelssue/Article/7775/OneonOne_With_Brian_Deegan. aspx http://sports.espn.go.com/action http://www.grindtv.com/athlete/jeremy-lusk/ http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2703-xtreme-sports-injuries# http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/17/news_pf/Sports/Extremely_painful.shtml http://skateboarding.transworld.net/1000077290/news/danny-way-hospitalized-at-mega-ramp-contest/ http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/4892-jacob-trette-released-from-hospital-after-induced-coma http://www.surfermag.com/features/malikrip/ "Survey Results: 300+ respondents surveyed nationwide through Krush media outlets less serious SERIOUSNESS OF THE INJURY more serious

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Who Its The Toughest Action Sports Athlete?

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The toughest action sports athletes based on public opinion and injury reports. What do you think? Do you agree?

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Is your kid obsessed with becoming the next X Games star, Olympic medalist, or YouTube stuntman? Young kids often have no fear when it comes to taking risks, but are extreme sports like dirt bike riding and bungee jumping dangerous for kids?
Related: Sports Safety Tips for Your Child
Though traditional sports like football, basketball, and hockey aren't exactly going out of style, the world of extreme sports is growing in popularity. Kids and adults alike are participating in increasing numbers in these risky-if not sometimes downright dangerous-sports. But why?

From skateboarding and snowboarding to BMX biking and rock climbing, pop culture and social media have collided to amp up physical activity and make super-sized stunts seem like the norm. Long gone are the days when peer pressure from classmates, neighbors or older sibs drove younger children to drop into a half-pipe or launch their bike off a crazy incline.

Today's kiddos are also influenced by...well, influencers. YouTube stars, TikTok creators, and even Olympic athletes have turned extreme sports from something that only the wildest child would attempt to everyday activities.

If your littles are begging to do extreme sports and you're totally new to these types of activities, read on for more info on the risks, benefits, times to encourage your kiddo, and when to flat out say a big 'ol, " NO."

Extreme Sports Growing More Popular with Kids

Some kids are happier riding their skateboards than dealing with the structure of soccer practice. Others like cruising around on their BMX bikes until their legs just quit, surfing themselves silly, or spending the entire weekend learning new tricks on their inline skates.

Of course, young kids are also attracted to extreme sports because they're cool. And who doesn't like being on the cutting edge? Snowboarding, the bad-boy little brother of skiing, was legitimized by sports traditionalists when it became an official Olympic event at the 1998 Nagano Games.

Fast-forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were actually held in 2021 thanks to the pandemic) and skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing became legit gold, silver, and bronze events!

Studies Show Fewer Kids Are Joining School Sports Teams

Have the days of dribbling a ball down a court or passing a puck gone the way of the dinosaurs? According to stats from Project Play, in 2021 the most popular youth sports for children ages six through 12 were bicycling, basketball, and baseball. Even though more than 5.2 million children biked in 2021, this was a significant change from way back in 2008.

The Project Play statistics show that only 18 percent of children reported bicycling in 2021, while a whopping 27.7 percent got active on two wheels in 2008.

Basketball team play dropped from 16.6 percent to 14.5 percent participation and baseball from 16.5 percent to 12.6 percent between 2008 and 2021. The number of children playing other popular team sports, such as soccer, tackle football, and flag football, also dropped during the same time frame.

Basketball is Less Popular But Bicycling is Big with Teens

The same downward trends didn't happen for teen participation in all traditional sports. Bicycling participation grew from 16.8 percent to 21 percent between 2008 and 2021 and baseball play rose from 8.2 percent to 9.5 percent.

What could account for the overall downward trend in team and individual youth sports play? There isn't one reason. But some of the possible explanations include an increasingly competitive climate, the high cost of intensive travel sports (such as hockey), or interest in other activities -such as extreme sports.

Dangerous Sports: Kids in BMX, Climbing, and Bungee Jumping?!

We spoke to Paul Vail, 29, a BMX freestyle bike rider for more than 14 years to learn more about the kinds of extreme sports kids are trying.

Vail says that when it comes to extreme sports, "Today's kids who've been riding skateboards or BMX bikes since they were 12-year-olds will become the parents who say, 'Yes, skateboarding, bike riding -- perfectly acceptable sports for my kid to do. And don't tell me they have to play football or be on the basketball team to be accepted, because that's no longer true.'"

Vail balks at the term "extreme sports." "People have been skydiving, skiing, riding bikes, doing tricks, and taking jumps forever. I think the extreme sports label is a gimmick. I like the term 'alternative sports'."

Extreme or not, it's important to encourage kids to express themselves physically, whether their athletic tastes are trendy or traditional. Both solo and team-oriented sports can build self-confidence, relieve stress, and promote physical fitness -- all of which are vital to growing kids and adults alike.

Kids in "alternative" sports are expressive, highly skilled athletes. And sports like rock climbing, snowboarding, inline skating, surfing, skateboarding, extreme skiing, and mountain biking (to name just a few), require significant technical ability as well as strength and endurance. Plus, alternative sports can help your kids develop positive qualities like discipline, persistence, and determination.

Kids in Ski Jumping or Snowboarding

BMX, skateboarding, and bungee jumping aren't the only extreme sports kids flock to. Even though ski jumping might seem like a new adventurous activity, it made its Olympic debut way back in 1924.

Of course, this doesn't mean kiddos were climbing up mountains, whooshing down slopes, and flying into the air on two skis a century ago. While this soaring sport isn't exactly new, its youth appeal has spiked in recent years. According to Women's Ski Jumping USA, five to eight years old is the age average for ski jumpers to start the sport!

Like ski jumping, snowboarding is a winter-time extreme sport that has skyrocketed in popularity. Again, snowboarding became Olympic-official in 1998. Almost a decade later, in 2006, then-19-year-old Shaun White made his first bid for the gold. But White certainly wasn't the last teen to take this extreme sport up a level and put it center stage.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe Kim became the youngest women's Olympic halfpipe competitor to nab the gold in 2018 at the PyeongChang games. With role models like White and Kim to follow, a whole new generation is getting into the halfpipe!

Not only do today's kiddos follow these, and other top athletes, but during the Olympics, they can watch the extreme antics of snowboarders on YouTube, TikTok, and just about every other social media site.

Kids and Sport Injuries

How dangerous are extreme sports? As a parent, your child's safety is priority number one. And that's why you're not so sure about your kiddo's extreme activities. Even though extreme sports do often come with, as the name implies, extreme risks, these aren't the only athletics that can result in serious injuries.

According to Stanford Medicine Children's Health, each year over 3.5 million children (14 and under) are injured during sports play. This includes more than 775,000 kiddos who require ER treatment. The majority of the injuries requiring hospital-level care are the result of collisions, falls, overexertion (during informal recreational activities) or object-related impacts.

When it comes to the most injuries per sport, football takes the top spot-with nearly 215,000 five- to 14-year-olds treated in hospitals in one year. This number is higher than what you find with some extreme sports. But in general, more children play this type of traditional team sport than engage in extreme activity.

A 2015 study published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine looked at the prevalence of head and neck injuries in extreme sports. The researchers found that between 2000 and 2011 there were more than four million total injuries from these types of activities (this includes adult injuries).

Over 11 percent of these were head and neck injuries. Of these head and neck injuries, the extreme sports with the highest number of incidents included skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, and motocross.

Fear is probably the number-one reason many of us avoid taking risks. For athletes in extreme sports, conquering fear is part of the adventure of sport. When a skateboarder is practicing tricks on a 15-foot ramp (commonly called a half-pipe), or a mountain biker is flying down a rock-strewn single-track trail, and he makes a mistake and falls -- well, it's going to hurt a little. Okay, maybe a lot.

But the athletes we spoke to didn't complain about injuries. In fact, most have enjoyed relatively injury-free experiences in their sports. Brian Krause, a competitive skydiver for the U.S. Army's Golden Knights, has taken thousands of jumps out of airplanes without so much as a sprained ankle.

But Matt Donovan, a pro downhill mountain bike racer from Massachusetts, said that when he first got serious about racing, his season was "very injury-laden. I had two concussions, a separated shoulder, a broken hand, multiple cuts, and lacerations. And I cracked a rib."

There are two kinds of sports injuries:

1. Chronic Repetitive or Overuse Injuries

Overuse injuries can cause stress fractures, muscle tears, or progressive bone deformities.

2. Acute Injuries

Acute sports injuries occur as a result of trauma from contact with a major force. Acute sports injuries include fractures, broken bones, dislocations, and more serious spinal and brain injuries.

Is It Wrong to Let Children Do Extreme Sports?

Should safety concerns stop your child from trying an extreme sport? There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. If your adventure-loving kiddo is all about skateboarding, snowboarding, parkour, BMX biking, or any other high-octane activity, you will need to think about:

Your Child's Age and Developmental Level

Is your child developmentally ready to handle the challenge? What is their skill level when it comes to basic coordination and athletic tasks like running, jumping, and balancing? Can you trust them to act responsibly, follow an instructor's directions, and wear safety equipment correctly?

Your Child's Motivation

Does your child want to become the next Tik Tok star? If your tween has dreams of easily twisting a BMX bike around in mid-air like their fave influencer or thinks videos of teens crashing their skateboards into just about anything and everything is hilarious, they may struggle to stay safe while engaging in an extreme sport.

The Instructor or Coach

Who will teach your child about the sport? A YouTube video or IG video are not a substitute for the real deal. Only a qualified instructor or professional should instruct your child.

The Safety Equipment

Do you know what safety equipment your child will need? Will they wear it? You may need to learn more about the equipment standards before you allow your child to participate in extreme activities.

What types of equipment do children need? The specific items depend on the sport. These could include a helmet, shoulder pads, shin pads, elbow pads, or wrist guards.

According to Seattle Children's Hospital, skiers and snowboarders should wear a helmet that meets ASTM, CEN, or Snell standards. Skateboarders should wear one that conforms to the ASTM F1492 standard. Children who ride bikes or scooters should wear a helmet that meets CPSC or Snell standards, knee pads, and elbow pads.

When is an extreme sport too extreme? If you don't feel comfortable with your child engaging in the activity or don't feel that they can follow safety directions, it's okay to just say no. Some sports are not age-appropriate for younger kids, and you should wait until they're a bit older to try them out.

It's also okay to talk to ask questions, talk to a pro, or take your time gathering facts, stats, and any other info about the adventurous activity! Learn more about extreme sports by taking our quiz here.

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Kids and Extreme Sports: Should They Be Allowed?

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Should kids do extreme sports? BMX riders, snowboarders and X Game stars weigh in on the benefits and risks of kids doing extreme sports.

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Do you like the excitement of extreme sports? If so, you might be an 'adrenaline junkie'. Find out more about white-water rafting and parkour in this video.

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Jan. 19, 2011&#151; -- Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died today, nine days after sustaining injuries in an accident on a half-pipe course in Utah.

The 29-year-old Winter X Games champion and 2005 half-pipe world gold medalist suffered " severe irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest," according to a statement from Burke's publicist.

"As the result of Sarah's fall, she suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. The rupture of this artery led to a severe intracranial hemorrhage, which caused Sarah to go into cardiac arrest on the scene," according to the statement. "While early reports in the media stated that Sarah's injury was a traumatic brain injury, it is important to note that Sarah's condition was the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain during cardiac arrest."

Although she underwent a successful operation to repair the torn artery, tests showed she suffered irreversible brain damage.

Burke's organs and tissues were donated in accordance with her wishes. She died surrounded by family and loved ones at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City at about 9:22 a.m., according to her publicist's statement.

"The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude for the international outpouring of support they have received from all the people Sarah touched," the statement said.

Burke, who was not only one of the best female skiers in the world but a red carpet regular and fashion plate who was once named one of FHM's 100 sexiest women alive, crashed after a faulty landing while on a private training run in the Eagle Superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort Jan. 10.

Burke's accident occurred on the same course where snowboarder and Olympic medalist Kevin Pearce suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2009.

Freestyle skiing is something of a daredevil sport, a sort of trick skiing that uses the half-pipe, which is normally used by snowboarders. Burke was training for the upcoming X Games in Aspen, Colo., where she was the defending champion and expected to win again.

Described as a pioneer in the sport, Burke was the first woman to land a 1080 (three full-body rotations) in competition, according to the Associated Press. She was performing a trick called a "flat spin 540" when she was injured.

She was also a favorite heading into the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, having lobbied to have women's skiing superpipe added to the lineup.

Burke, from Whistler, British Columbia, married fellow freestyle-skier Rory Bushfield in 2010.

While Bushfield and Burke's families have asked for privacy, a public celebration of the ski champ's life will be held in the coming weeks.
ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed reporting.

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Sarah Burke Dead at 29 After Half-Pipe Skiing Accident

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Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died today, nine days after sustaining serious injuries in an accident on the half-pipe course in Utah. The 29-year-old Winter X Games champion and 2005 half-pipe world gold medalist suffered severe irreversible damage to her brain because of lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest.

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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X Games too extreme? New questions after snowmobile accident | CNN

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Serious injury to snowmobiler brings increased scrutiny to the safety of X Games.

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They do it because they have to. They need the feeling of exertion, that head rush of air and attitude. They want what Warren Shouldice knows is hard to explain unless you flip head over skis, knees over board, and kick snow in the face of danger.

That's what drew Shouldice to freestyle aerials and helped him become a world champion after he had broken his neck and compressed his back. It's what powered the late Sarah Burke to four Winter X Games championships and made her a success in the superpipe, skiing's answer to snowboarding's half-pipe.

"It's almost no fun doing it if there's no risk involved," said Shouldice, a 12-time World Cup medalist in a daredevil game. "The trick is making it a manageable risk."

When Burke died Thursday, nine days after falling during a training run in Park City, Utah, it saddened a nation and a sporting community world-wide. Burke was 29 and happily prepping for her sport's inclusion in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. She had been injured many times before - a broken back, a torn shoulder - but nothing could dampen her love of skiing and the need to push herself to the brink of manageable risk and beyond.

Such is the appeal of many established and extreme sports, both for participants and spectators. The risks and rewards provide the thrills. Alpine skiing, particularly the ultra-fast downhill, has been a major attraction for decades. But the advent of the X Games upped the adrenalin quotient considerably.

The Games were the brainchild of ESPN producer Ron Semiao. In 1993, Semiao was looking for programming to fill the cable channel's fledgling ESPN2. He spotted a series of oddball sports that seemed to have a culture all their own and suggested to his bosses that ESPN create a made-for-TV sporting event. Two years later ESPN launched the first Extreme Games, a week-long competition that featured bungee jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding and street luge. Ratings weren't great and some critics panned the spectacle as "moronic." But ESPN stuck with it and made the games an annual event, later adding a second winter sports program. It also changed the name to X Games.

The popularity of the X Games took off and today they rival the Olympics in some respects. The X Games pull in more than 100,000 spectators and draw a television audience of around 44 million. They have also attracted major sponsors such as Ford, BF Goodrich, Sony and athletes such as Shaun White make up to $8-million annually in sponsorship deals.

The X Games are so popular, ESPN has announced plans to expand from two annual events to six, three summer and three winter. Bids from potential host cities have been flooding in, including one from Whistler B.C., which sees the X Games as a complement to the 2010 Olympics. Meanwhile rival network NBC has started a competing series called Dew Tour with PepsiCo and the Olympics have taken up some X Games sports, including Burke's specialty halfpipe skiing, which will be in the 2014 Games in Sochi.

The X Games "have gone viral," says Lee Berke, who runs consulting firm LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media Inc. in New York. "It's very grassroots in its appeal." Berke added that the X Games have won over major sponsors because the viewing audience is so young, largely 18-34, which means many have yet to form brand loyalties.

But at the root of it all is the question: why? Why do athletes gamble with their lives by doing something so inherently dangerous? Like flying upside down off a 22-foot snow wall or skiing from ridiculous heights?

Asit Rathod has a wonderful life. He's single, active, works at a sales job in Portland, Ore. But as often as he can, he climbs to the top of Mt. Hood and skis off a cliff with a parachute on his back. He's done it many times and is now eyeing bigger verticals - Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest.

Ask him why he does it and Rathod's passion runs wild.

"People always say, 'Why do you feel the need to risk your life?' It's about the power of adventure. In day-to-day life, adventure has been ripped from us in the way we drive, the way we eat. You get to that place where you have to have that adventure," he said. "The risk is always the excitement."

Rathod was a good friend of Shane McConkey, who died in 2009 when he skied off a cliff in Italy and his chute failed to open. Over the past four years, Rathod has lost "six, seven good friends" to extreme-sport accidents yet he has no plans to take up something with a safer track record.

"You remember their spirit. You remember their smile," he said of his fallen comrades. "If anything, it gives you more inspiration to do what you're doing. It's like Nietzsche said, 'The secret to reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously.'"

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, was saddened by the news of Burke's death but insisted freestyle skiing is no more dangerous than any other winter sport. "There are always risks attached to sport," he stated.

Mitigating those risks is the relentless challenge. The International Ski Federation is presently examining how to equip downhill skiers with air bags to protect them during high-speed spills. FIS has been working with Dainese, the Italian company that makes protection for mountain bikers and motorcyclists. Canadian downhillers Erik Guay and Jan Hudec have been involved in the testing. Three years into the project, FIS is hoping to have a race suit fully ready for the end of this year.

Not so high tech, yet just as important, is the way young athletes are trained for their sport. Alpine Canada is holding a series of speed skills camps to instruct young racers on how to ski safely. At Calgary's Canada Olympic Park, there are plans to expand on an acrobatics room with trampolines and foam pits for budding freestylers. The kids, ages 9 to 14, practise there first before graduating to jumping off a ramp and landing in an air bad. Eventually, after hundreds of practice jumps, they move to the snow and begin in moderation.

"What we're doing is hiring top coaches to train top athletes," said Daniel Lefebvre, COP's director of education/sport development. "You have to build their confidence."

Shouldice, who recovered from both of his bad crashes but is currently sidelined with a concussion, endorses all of that - solid training and coaching. He also believes Burke's death, whole tragic, will not adversely affect freestyle skiing.

"I don't think this is going to change anyone's opinion of freestyle," he said. "Yes, there are risks. There are risks driving to work every day, Look at the number of people in freestyle and this is our first death. A lot of sports can't say that."

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Given the risks involved, where's the appeal in extreme sports?

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It is part adrenalin rush and part risk/reward that drive people to take part in established and extreme sports

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Overconfidence and a lack of training and a habit of not wearing safety gear, especially helmets, help cause more than 40,000 head and neck injuries nationally a year in sports like skateboarding.

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Published in recognition of World Water Day, a video called The Story of Bottled Water (at right, on top), made its debut on YouTube this week, using animation and snappy narration to convey what its makers consider to be the evils of bottled water. (It comes from the same folks who produced "The Story of Stuff" - an eco-themed viral video sensation from last year.)

Not missing a beat, the International Bottled Water Association, declared the new video to be sensational, and quickly posted its own minifilm, highlighting the sustainability practices of its members, which include major brands like Nestlé.

"The Story of Bottled Water," in a nutshell, accuses bottled water companies of scaring consumers by saying that tap water is dirty and contaminated, while they themselves simply bottle tap water. "Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Dasani are two of the many brands that are really filtered tap water," the star of the video, Annie Leonard, says.

She goes on to say that 80 percent of plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned in incinerators.

But the International Bottled Water Association, using different statistics, says that water bottles are the nation's most recycled plastic container, with a 30.9 percent recycling rate.

"Consumers are really quite thoughtful in selecting and enjoying a safe, healthy, convenient, calorie-free beverage that's delicious, refreshing and a very smart drink choice," said Tom Lauria, the association's vice president of communications in a press release. "That's the real story of bottled water."

The association says that bottled water is a necessity - particularly in emergencies like floods, tsunamis and earthquakes.

"Lifesaving bottled water cannot be available in times of pressing need without a viable, functioning industry to produce it," the association wrote.

But the United Nations, in a report released on Tuesday, emphasized that bottled water was not sustainable.

The report that found producing bottled water for the United States market consumed 17 million barrels of oil annually.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Leonard's video had been viewed more than 120,000 times. The I.B.W.A.'s had received about 250 visitors.

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Published in recognition of World Water Day, a video called The Story of Bottled Water (at right, on top), made its debut on YouTube this week, using animation and snappy narration to convey what its makers consider to be the evils of bottled water.

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Author: Catherine Clarke Fox
Source: National Geographic Kids

If your family is like many, unloading the week's groceries includes hauling a case or two of bottled water into your home. On your way to a soccer game or activity, it's easy to grab a cold one right out of the fridge, right?

But all those plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment. In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, adding 29 billion water bottles a year to the problem. In order to make all these bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil. That's enough oil to keep a million cars going for twelve months.

Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That's about how much oil was needed to produce the bottle.

So why don't more people drink water straight from the kitchen faucet? Some people drink bottled water because they think it is better for them than water out of the tap, but that's not true. In the United States, local governments make sure water from the faucet is safe. There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may leach into the water.

People love the convenience of bottled water. But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a refillable steel container instead of plastic.

Plastic bottle recycling can help-instead of going out with the trash, plastic bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or cozy fleece clothing.

Unfortunately, for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin. The rest are sent to landfills. Or, even worse, they end up as trash on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bottles take many hundreds of years to disintegrate.

Water is good for you, so keep drinking it. But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change.

And yes, you can make a difference. Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours.

Read article in National Geographic Kids

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Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap? - Cool Australia

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Author: Catherine Clarke Fox Source: National Geographic Kids If your family is like many, unloading the week's groceries includes hauling a case or two of bottled water into your home. On your way to a soccer game or activity, it's easy to grab a cold one right out of the fridge, right?

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What Are Some Advantages of Bottled Water?

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While some people might argue that it’s silly to spend money on something you can get for…

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About this film

The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day), employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand-how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows virtually free from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry's attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call for viewers to make a personal commitment to avoid bottled water and support public investment in clean, available tap water for all.

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Movie Resources

Credits

The Story of Bottled Water was co-created and released by The Story of Stuff Project and a coalition of partners, including Corporate Accountability International, Food & Water Watch, Polaris Institute, Pacific Institute and Environmental Working Group. The movie was produced by Free Range Studios.

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The Story of Bottled Water - Story of Stuff

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About this film The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day), employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand-how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows virtually free from the tap.

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Bottled Water - Always There When You Need It

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Bloodthirsty, ruthless, killer: shark. For years people have feared and slaughtered sharks because of the bad rap they have received from Hollywood, but these beliefs are not justified.

Sharks are not vicious and are actually quite gentle. Of the more than 388 species of sharks only two (the Great White and the Tiger) have been known to attack man and then only because of mistaken identity. Wetsuits and surfboards used by surfers are mistaken by sharks as the thick, rubbery, skin of seals, which are their main diet. Once the shark bites the surfer, it almost immediately lets go because it does not taste like its favorite meal.

Not all big sharks have huge jaws full of teeth, as many people believe. Whale sharks, the largest fish in the world, are the most affable creatures you will encounter in our world's oceans. These sharks (that can weigh over three thousand pounds and grow up to five stories in length) have no teeth at all. Instead they have a mouth full of baleen that they use to filter plankton and tiny fish out the hundreds of gallons of sea water that passes through their monstrous mouths at one time. These peaceful giants have been known to let divers ride on their backs and don't show any aggression when approached.

People should treat sharks with respect, as they should all earth's creatures. The only way for future generations to learn to appreciate these magnificent creatures (instead of fear them) is through education. This can be accomplished through programs which highlight the good points about sharks, instead of the myths surrounding them. Another way is to make ocean research available to all people - everyone should have the chance to learn the truth about sharks. ^

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Sharks: Killers Or Just Misunderstood? | Teen Ink

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Bloodthirsty, ruthless, killer: shark. For years people have feared and slaughtered sharks because of the bad rap they have received from Hollywood, but these beliefs are not justified.Sharks are not vicious and are actually quite

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Sharks are scary-no doubt about it. Just ask anyone who's seen Jaws or other films that feature these sharp-toothed creatures.

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When a great white shark is born, along with up to a dozen siblings, it immediately swims away from its mother. Born on the east and west coasts of North America, the south of Africa and southwest Australia, baby sharks are on their own right from the start. Their mother may see them only as prey.

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When a great white shark is born, along with up to a dozen siblings, it immediately swims away from its mother. Born on the east and west coasts of North America, the south of Africa and southwest Australia, baby sharks are on their own right from the start.

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Newsela | Florida teen can’t wait to surf again, even after shark attack

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Ryan Shapiro was surfing with friends when he felt something bite his arm. It was a shark. His arm was badly injured, but he says he will definitely surf again after it heals.

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Shark Attacks Expected to Rise This Summer

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More shark attacks are predicted this summer, but there are strategies to avoiding becoming shark bait.

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Elio, 13, was killed by an 8 foot bull shark while surfing at Cap Homard two weeks ago, on the west coast of the island paradise.

Since 2011 there have been 16 shark attacks, 7 of which have been fatal including the death of a 15-year-old girl in 2013, which prompted the government to impose a ban on bathing and surfing unsupervised along more than half of the island's coastline.

The attacks have devastated the island's economy as surf shops have been forced to close causing a 13 per cent drop in leisure tourism.

Rival holiday destinations in the region such as Mauritius and the Maldives have benefited from these shark attacks as more tourists visit these islands on a yearly basis.

Experts have tried to come up with a reason for the rise in shark attacks with some claiming the opening of a marine reserve in 2007 which was intended to boost the biodiversity of the coral in the area coupled with a fishing restriction in the area has led to an increase of prey for the sharks.

Other experts believe urbanisation is the root cause of the shark problem.

The increased levels of wastewater flowing in to the sea as a result of rising urbanisation on the island has created the perfect conditions for the bull sharks as they thrive in murky water.

Surfers and bodyboarders have called for more action to be taken to make the waters safer for humans.

Marine biologist Antonin Blaison said: "we will have to change our ways to account for the sharks' presence".

With no real plan of action and the tourism industry on the island continuing to plummet, Reunion's government may have to refocus their efforts on promoting the islands land attractions which boasts 91 different species of birds and a host of exotic animals.

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Rise in shark attacks scares tourists away from paradise isle of Reuni

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A RISE in fatal shark attacks off the coast of Reunion Island including the death of rising surf star, Elio Canestri, has stopped surfers from visiting the French territory.

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The White Shark, more commonly referred to as the "Great White," has been reported to be involved in more attacks on humans than any other shark.
Fossil remains suggest the Great White dates back to the early Eocene eras, which lasted from about 56 to 34 million years ago.

Mature males reach an average size of 10.5 feet while females can average 14 feet. Active during daytime hours, Great Whites feed on marine animals - they don't like sea birds or sea otters particularly. It's thought that they attack humans when they mistake diver and surfer silhouettes in the water during approaching from below the surface of the water. An alternative theory has also been suggested that Great Whites attack unfamiliar objects to test their potential as food. If true, that would help explain their involvement over the years in myriad hit-and-run attacks near beaches.

Not very much is known about the size of the great white's total population. Described as a slow-growing animal with low fertility rates, the Great White is considered at risk of overfishing.

Tiger Shark

According to theInternational Shark Attack File, the Tiger shark ranks No. 2 behind the white shark in the number of reported attacks on humans. The shark-monitoring group notes that the animal's "large size and voraciousness" qualify it as a formidable ocean predator. Surfers and swimmers need to know that Tiger sharks tend to be both curious and aggressive when they spot humans in the water.

Shortfin Mako

Powerful, fast and aggressive, the Shortfin Mako has been blamed for many reported shark attacks on humans. In more than a few cases, also blame human error as fisherman have been known to get injured after dragging hooked makos into their boats.
The Shortfin Mako is believed to be the fastest of any shark, able to swim up to 20 miles per hour. Prior to attacks, the sharks tend to swim in figure eight patterns and approach their prey with mouths open. The popularity of Mako meat in shark fin soup has reduced their populations; the World Conservation Union has listed the Shortfin mako as "Near Threatened."

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Swimmers, Surfers and Divers Need to Pay Special Attention to these Five Species

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Sharks: Stewards of the Reef (sharkstewards.com)

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May 6, 2005 &#151; -- It started with Perrier. Somehow, a French company convinced people it's cool to buy bottled water. Today, Evian has surpassed Perrier in sales and now it's the chic French water of choice. Why? It costs about 5 bucks a gallon! Why do people pay so much for something they can get virtually free?

If they're not buying Evian, they buy Aquafina and Dasani and the dozens of new brands that are jumping into this billion-dollar business, including bizarre ones like Venus, the Water for Women, and Trump Ice, with "The Donald" scowling on the label. I'd have to be very thirsty to buy that.

Many people say they buy bottled waters because they taste better. We spoke with people in New York City, asking them why they liked bottled better than tap water.

"I drink Dasani. It tastes good, it tastes crisp, like -- natural," one girl said.

"I think tap water kind of tastes like sewer," said another.

People also say they drink bottled water because they believe it's safer than tap water.

One man told me he's the only one "who's brave enough" to drink tap water at home. His family's afraid to drink tap water because of germs, he said.

At recent Earth Day celebrations, a lot of people told us they believe tap water is unhealthy. "As a parent I feel more comfortable giving her bottled water," one father told us.

Bottled water, we were told, is cleaner, safer, healthier.

Watching bottled water ads, you'd think that tap water might not be healthy. But it's not true.

"20/20" took five bottles of national brands of bottled water and a sample of tap water from a drinking fountain in the middle of New York City and sent them to microbiologist Aaron Margolin of the University of New Hampshire to test for bacteria that can make you sick, like e. coli.

"There was actually no difference between the New York City tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated," he said.

Many scientists have run tests like that and have consistently found that tap water is as good for you as bottled waters that cost 500 times more.

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May 6, 2005 — -- It started with Perrier. Somehow, a French company convinced people it's cool to buy bottled water. Today, Evian has surpassed Perrier in sales and now it's the chic French water of choice. Why? It costs about 5 bucks a gallon!

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BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS
Statement of IBWA President Joseph K. Doss:
"The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the bottled water industry have been working to provide bottled water to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Since we first learned the news of this disaster, IBWA and the bottled water industry have produced, coordinated and distributed critical bottled water supplies through relief agencies and organizations such as 'Clean the World', 'Convoy of Hope,' 'American Red Cross' and 'AmeriCares' and other state and local charities.

A key facet of IBWA involvement has been to provide bottled water companies with specific information regarding staging areas where bottled water shipments may be dropped, as well as other contact information for relief organizations that are seeking bottled water and other contributions.

The bottled water industry has always been at the forefront of relief efforts during natural disasters and other catastrophic events. Throughout the years, bottled water companies have immediately responded to the need for clean water after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes and wildfires in the West, or the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. More recently, our companies provided bottled water to those in need in the aftermath of the 2009 spring flooding in the Midwest."

###

Contact:
TOM LAURIA703-647-4609 office / 703-887-4056 cellphone
Emergency Relief contacts:
Clean the World ( http://www.cleantheworld.org)

Convoy of Hope ( http://www.convoyofhope.com)

American Red Cross ( http://www.redcross.org)

AmeriCARES ( http://www.americares.org)
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.

In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.

IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often - whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.

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BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS

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BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS Statement of IBWA President Joseph K. Doss: "The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the bottled water industry have been working to provide bottled water to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

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Dealing With Stress In Sports (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

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The key to keeping calm when playing sports is to develop a healthy attitude and learn to deal with the stress that comes with competing. Here’s how.

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With more kids than ever in organized sports, experts in sports medicine and youth athletics say they are increasingly concerned about the pressures put on young children to excel at sports.

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Athletics motivate students to keep grades up and manage their time, say members of The Courier-Journal's High School Round Table.

Shortly before one of its members, Deuce Finch, was named Kentucky's Mr. Football, the group met to discuss high school sports.

Although the panelists were generally positive about the benefits of sports, some worried about the toll sports can take in stress, injuries and extreme competition.

It's been 36 years since Congress passed Title IX to promote equality in sports funding for males and females. But the round table's female athletes don't see equal community support for the girls.

The High School Round Table has been a Courier-Journal tradition since 1983. This year's members were selected from among 210 applicants. Here are excerpts from their discussion.

Railey: Is it tough to keep up with schoolwork and other areas of life when you play team sports?

Deuce Finch, 18, senior at St. Xavier High School: To play a sport in most every high school, you have to have a certain GPA. If you really want to play, you are going to do whatever you can to get that grade, whether it's getting a tutor or putting in more time studying.

Football helps my time management because I know that I only have a certain amount of time to get my homework done and get the rest that I need.

Brooke Glidewell, 16, junior at Christian Academy of Louisville : Sports makes it hard for you to hold a job and keep your studies up and get enough sleep at night.

I baby-sit on occasion, but it's very on occasion because basketball changes. You'll practice one day and then you'll have a game the next day. Or you are supposed to have a two-hour practice, and your coach extends it to a three-hour practice because you got in trouble and you had to run for an hour.

There's no way that I could keep a job.

As soon as I am done with basketball, I am probably up until 10 or 10:30 just doing homework. It's hard. But I love basketball and that's why I do it every day.

Lauren Bradley, 16, junior at Assumption High School: I focus on my homework, and I take advantage of my studying at school. During lacrosse, I never watch TV. My grades are my best when I am playing a sport.

Kamahl Hess Jr., 14, freshman at Central High School: Some of us have to stay after to practice for an hour, to do play reviews, watch film, watch other schools and go to other schools' games.

I don't get home until 10:30 and I am taking AP classes. I have a college math class. Calculus is not easy.

You are a student-athlete, but your athlete part takes over a lot of your student part. It's a balance between your social time and the other things you get to do as well.

Tisis Spalding, 17, junior at Bardstown High School: I don't play sports, but I have friends that play soccer, basketball. I see that it's a struggle.

Some people might not have the money to make it to college from their parents. They have to earn scholarships, and the only way that they can do that is by playing a sport or being in AP classes.

I just wish some of the teachers would be a little bit more considerate. I am not asking for them to get an easy grade or give them extra credit so they'll pass. Teachers are like, "My job is so hard." But the student's job is hard too.

Michael Clark, 17, junior at Valley Traditional High School: Teachers don't care, and it's because you signed up for that class. You made the decision to put yourself in that position.

I have the same issue. My parents told me straight up, they feel like I am a stranger in the house now because I hardly ever come home.

That's the life we all choose as student-athletes. The easiest solution is to just know your limits and don't sign up for everything.

Brooke: I don't want to take the honors classes and have to stay up for hours after practice, but it's something I need to do to get into a great college and to get into a great career.

I want to go to Dartmouth, and I can't do that just on athletics alone.

Are rivalries and competitiveness a positive thing?

Ash Lacy, 19, senior at Danville High School: It's good that people have school spirit and they are proud of where they come from. But I think it can go a little far with schools doing other stuff to schools, like spray painting or doing stuff to their mascots.

Lauren: Our rival is Sacred Heart (Academy), and when we are about to play them in anything, it's really intense.

They can go a little overboard, but it's good because everybody comes out and supports the games.

Victoria Wilson, 17, senior at Rock Creek Christian Academy in Sellersburg, Ind.: It gets our players more pumped up.

When I went to Jeff (Jeffersonville High School) vs. New Albany (High School), it was a little brutal sometimes. It's all for the fun of the sport.

Tisis: It gives you more heart to play harder.

Our pep club got together a whole bunch of different chants, and the next time we were against Nelson County, we were ready for war. Everybody was there. It was filled up with red, purple. And we beat them.

It was a really fun game. It's good to be competitive sometimes.

Brooke: I have tons of friends on all different teams. It's fun to play your friend. You play harder to beat your friend. You push yourself to be just a little bit better.

When you don't talk to your friend after they beat you or you act like you are better than that friend if you beat them, that goes a little too far.

Deuce: Every time you go out on a field or on a court or anything, you should give your all. To me, people who aren't competitive don't always try their hardest or try for the team.

Michael: It's healthy. It's what pumps people up.

Are some sports given more prestige in school?

Brooke: Football gets more recognition than girls' basketball. They get all the money, they get the buses for games, they get new uniforms. They are building a complex for them.

(Football games) do bring in people, so I know that they bring in money.

The girls' basketball team, we don't get very many fans in our stands.

There are other sports that don't get enough recognition: cross country, girls' field hockey. Girls' sports in general don't get as much recognition as guy sports.

Tisis: At our school, basketball and football are really, really popular.

Our girls' basketball was a little bit better than the boys. But still, you'll see a whole lot more people at boys' basketball.

Victoria: It's like a sexist thing. We had our first basketball game against Henryville. We had seven people in the stands for our team. Henryville had, like, eight maybe?

When the boys' basketball games come, we have no room. People are standing.

Lauren: I am at an all-girls school. Not that many people come to our games unless it's a big rival game.

Lacrosse wasn't that popular a few years ago. It's just now becoming a big sport at our school because we are actually winning.

Candace Hardin, 18, senior at Liberty High School: When I went to Iroquois (High School), it was the opposite. The best team we had was the girls' basketball team.

I remember going on school field trips. The whole school would take this nice bus to wherever the state game would be. Everybody supported our girls' team.

Ash: Some schools, some teams do get more recognition. I don't necessarily think that's right.

It's probably that they are going to bring in more money. Of course, schools don't get a lot of funding these days.

Kamahl: I play varsity basketball and we are sponsored by a lot more people than the girls are.

We take pride in all our sports, but our main sports are football, basketball and wrestling. Not all sports end up in the paper and on TV.

Michael: Our wrestling team, we get no recognition.

Our girls' basketball, our boys' basketball and football, they get way more than we do. We think it isn't fair.

Most people will put down wrestling. They'll stereotype it real bad so people won't come out.

We have football players that come out (to play), but then they'll quit because of the harsh conditioning that we have to go through in order to maintain weight.

Deuce: Football, at my school at least, gets a lot more people than other sports. A lot more people go to the football games than to the basketball games.

Brooke: Football, basketball, baseball and soccer are your top sports.

It's always guys first and then the girls. Go to a college women's U of L basketball game. Tickets are $2 (group price). Not even the floor seats are packed.

A U of L men's game, we pay $50 per ticket to sit where we sit on the floor. Every single seat in that house is jam-packed, and you've still got people trying to get in.

Tisis: Also, it's about winning, whoever wins the most games.

Our track team made it to state, and we won -- the guys did, at least. They got these big huge rings. They got lettermen's jackets with the big feet on them with the wings.

Victoria: We don't have a football team. We struggle to get people for anything except for boys' basketball.

Last year, there was no girls' soccer team. There was another girl and I on the boys' soccer team playing against the boys.

I don't think it's all about winning. It's also about the school support, and I don't see it there.

Lauren: My school is known for their volleyball team. I have never been to a volleyball game. They don't get that much support and they really should.

We have a varsity club, and they are motivating people to go to games and cheer for our teams. That's good.

Kamahl: People like Deuce -- he's one of the best football players in this state -- he should be able to get that kind of recognition because he is that good. He worked to get it.

Some people like to watch football. Some people are basketball fans. You don't normally watch somebody swim on TV. You don't normally watch soccer.

Female sports should be supported more. I go to our girls' games.

Victoria: I think the girls work just as hard.

My coach was a Marine, so we do all our exercises Marine-style. We run like the Marines. We feel the burn like the Marines.

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School sports: the pros and cons | Do athletics build character? Take up valuable study time? Why are some teams more popular? And what about the disparity between boys' and girls' programs? Our panel offers some thoughts

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Do athletics build character? Take up valuable study time? Why are some teams more popular? And what about the disparity between boys' and girls' programs? Our teen panel offers some thoughts.