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Whenever my adolescent clients tell me they're always tired or can't seem to concentrate at school, one of the first questions I ask is where they keep their cellphones at night.

Because, although evidence suggests that cell phone use before bedtime is detrimental to sleep quality and, in turn, overall health and wellbeing, sleeping with their phones is the norm rather than the exception for my teen clients. (It's also the norm for parents, apparently-see my follow-up to this post on this topic here).

I find this concerning, given recent research published online this month in the Journal of Youth Studies that adds even more clout to the no-cell-phones-in-bed argument. The authors of the study (Power et al., 2017) surveyed over 900 adolescents between 12-15 years and found that 1 in 5 reported "almost always" waking up to check social media or messages throughout the night. Those who logged onto their cell phones every night, or who woke up at inconsistent times each morning, were about three times more likely to report feeling "constantly tired" at school compared to their peers. Moreover, the former youth reported significantly lower levels of wellbeing than their classmates.

However, the temptation for teens to bring their cell phones to the bedroom is a strong one. In fact, research suggests that youth can form strong attachments to their cell phones, and there's even a scale (the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale) that's been recently developed to measure this attachment. A validation study of this scale suggested that some youth experience a heightened sense of safety in the presence of their phones, and, contrarily, feelings of separation anxiety upon its removal. As such, for many parents it can turn into a power struggle when they suggest that their teens turn off their phones-or, even more challengingly, leave their phones outside their bedrooms-before hitting the hay.

So what's a parent to do?
Talk with your teen about their cell phone use
Before suddenly creating new rules about no cell phones in the bedroom, I think it's critical to have an open discussion with your teen about their cell phone use and whether they believe it is impacting their sleep quality and wellbeing. Parents can empower teens to make smart choices by engaging them in a conversation about the importance of sleep during the teen years, and how checking social media right before bed or throughout the night can negatively impact health, wellbeing, and emotions. At the same time, if an adolescent is waking up multiple times during the night and checking their phone, there could be something else going on that is interfering with their sleep quality. Are they feeling worried or stressed out about something and using their phone for comfort or distraction? Or, has checking their phone during the night simply become a habit? Parents can become "information-gatherers" to find out what's actually going on for their teens before making any big changes. This not only shows teens respect and that their voices matters, but also can strengthen the parent-adolescent relationship.
Create a family culture of (realistic) bedtime routines
We often hear about creating bedtime routines for toddlers and younger children, but bedtime rituals are important for teens, too. Although this likely won't involve reading a 16-year-old a bedtime story, modeling healthy pre-bedtime behaviors can help set teens up for sleep success. It can be helpful to encourage adolescents to engage in a quiet activity before bed that works for them - be that reading, taking a shower, or writing in a journal. It's also important to make prioritizing sleep quality a family affair; for example, by designating a communal spot in the house where everyone can deposit their phones before tucking in for the night. At the same time, some teens use mindfulness apps or listen to music on their phones that help them relax before bed, and these can be helpful tools. In such circumstances, parents can talk to their teens about, for example, turning their phones to "sleep mode" at a decided-upon hour. There aren't black-or-white solutions that work for each family, and it's often about meeting adolescents halfway.
Prepare for excuses
Some teens will offer every excuse in the book to get out of unplugging before bed, and having some counter-excuses ready can be handy:

Teen: But I use my phone as an alarm!

Parent: We'll get you a digital alarm clock!

Teen: But I need to check my messages!

Parent: I can guarantee they'll still be there in the morning!

For parents needing a bit more of a boost, I direct them to the National Sleep Foundation's list of consequences for teens who are lacking in the sleep department. My favorite? That insufficient sleep can contribute to acne (nothing like the threat of a pimple to inspire some teens to get more shut-eye).

In sum, the National Sleep Foundation suggests that teenagers get 8-10 hours of shut-eye per night; however, lack of sleep is one of the most common health risks for adolescents, for whom chronic sleep loss has become the norm (Adolescent Sleep Working Group: Committee on Adolescence, 2014). Of course, the solution is not as simple as powering down before turning in for the night, but, at the very least, this conversation should be put on the table between parents and their teens.

(See my follow-up to this piece, "Should Bedrooms Be No-Phone Zones for Parents?)

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Should Bedrooms Be No-Phone Zones for Teens?

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Whenever my adolescent clients tell me they're always tired or can't seem to concentrate at school, one of the first questions I ask is where they keep their cellphones at night. Because, although evidence suggests that cell phone use before bedtime is detrimental to sleep quality and, in turn, overall health and wellbeing, sleeping with their phones is the norm rather than the exception for my teen clients.

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An official from Starbucks reached out to disability rights activists on Saturday, the day before a planned protest against its recent ban on plastic straws, in what several disability rights groups said was the start of a direct conversation about the ban.

After Starbucks announced on July 9 it would phase out plastic straws from its stores by 2020, disability rights activists were concerned the policy would exclude some people with disabilities. Several New York City-based groups, including the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and Disabled in Action, had planned to protest outside a Union Square Starbucks on Sunday after the annual Disability Pride Parade.

"We have something that works. We have something that keeps people alive, and until we have an alternative, this is what we need to use." - Joseph Rappaport, Executive Director at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled

The activists had hoped the protest would help spread awareness about their concerns, but cancelled it after a phone call with Starbucks Global Director for Environment Rebecca Zimmer, who reached out to the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled to discuss the policy.

"It was clearly a response to our plans to protest," said Joseph Rappaport, Executive Director at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID).

Starbucks released a statement on Friday specifying that straws would be available for anyone who asks to use them. "Starbucks offers, and will continue to offer, straws to customers who need or request them in our stores," the statement said.

Leaders from the BCID say they want Starbucks to make sure single-use plastic straws are available, no questions asked, to those who asks for them. On Saturday's call, Zimmer said Starbucks would provide straws to anyone who asked, but didn't confirm they would be plastic, according to Rappaport.

"To be clear, they haven't met our demands, but we're hoping they will after continuing the conversation," Rappaport said.

Zimmer was not available for comment on Sunday. "We are pleased with the outcome and look forward to ongoing conversations on this topic," Sanja Gould, a Starbucks spokesperson, told the NewsHour Weekend via email.

Starbucks' announcement that they would phase all plastic straws out from their stores has gained praise from many environmentalists. But people with disabilities who rely on plastic straws to eat, drink and live their daily lives say banning straws would harm many in their community and that they were not included in the conversation.

"If you think about it, a straw, it seems so small and insignificant. But this seemingly insignificant thing just shows how little those policy makers and business owners pay attention to us, or want to get our feedback," said Sharon Shapiro-Lacks, a BCID board member and executive director of Yad HaChazakah, a Jewish organization that advocates for people with disabilities.

"Eliminating plastic straws can cause many people with disabilities like myself not to be able to eat or drink in a restaurant, in a cafe ... it's more than just a convenience. It is a necessity for people like us," she said.
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Starbucks isn't the only company taking steps to eliminate plastic straws. Plastic straw bans have become increasingly popular online, with celebrities throwing their weight behind the issue and social media users using the hashtags #stopsucking and #plasticfreeocean to show their support. Companies like McDonalds, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Ikea and Hyatt are working on phasing plastic straws out, too.

Seattle became the first major city to ban straws earlier this month, and others like New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are considering legislation to do the same. Scotland, Taiwan, Australia and Costa Rica have passed plastic straw legislation, too. Seattle's law enables companies to keep plastic straws for people who require them.

A painful viral video from 2015, which shows a marine biologist removing a plastic straw wedged in a sea turtle's nose, inspired an outpouring of support for plastic straw bans, according to environmentalists working to ban straws. That, plus growing public concern about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and microplastics in oceans and seafood, had made banning straws seem like an easy win to many environmentalists and politicians, according to Rafael Espinal, who authored a bill that would ban plastic straws in New York City.

Starbucks has said they're committed to finding plastic straw alternatives that work for everyone. But disability rights advocates say those may not exist yet. Plastic straws are flexible, durable, and can withstand hot temperatures in case the user needs it to drink hot coffee or soup, for example. As of now, advocates agree no straw alternatives seem to be able to do the same.

"Other types of straws simply do not offer the combination of strength, flexibility, and safety that plastic straws do," said several groups, including Disability Rights Washington and the Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, in an open letter to the Seattle City Council.

Paper straws get soggy and disintegrate, a potential choking hazard. Biodegradable straws can't handle hot temperatures. Stainless steel straws aren't flexible, and can be potentially dangerous, cutting the mouth and gums if used improperly. If you're someone who has seizures, or poor motor function, or have difficulty controlling muscle groups, steel and glass straws may not be a safe option. And Starbucks' new "adult sippy cups" may not work for people who can't raise a cup to their mouth.

"People want to solve this problem in a nanosecond, and it's not that simple," said Rappaport. "We have something that works. We have something that keeps people alive, and until we have an alternative, this is what we need to use."

Shapiro-Lacks, who has cerebral palsy, recently testified at a New York City Council hearing about not being able to access a straw on an outing with her husband.

"My husband has had to hold the cup to my mouth in order for me to drink in a manner that draws public attention," she said. "This compromises my privacy and dignity."

Starbucks is important because it sets an example for other companies who plan to ban straws, Shapiro-Lacks said.

"If we do reach a good solution with Starbucks, that will be major. And they're if they're off track, it sets a very poor example," she said.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect that an open letter to the Seattle City Council was co-authored by several groups.

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Disability rights groups voice issues with Starbucks' plastic straw ban as company responds

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An official from Starbucks reached out to disability rights activists on Saturday, the day before a planned protest against its recent ban on plastic straws, in what several disability rights groups said was the start of a direct conversation about the ban.

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Aquariums and marine mammal theme parks like SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, and Canada's Marineland are part of a billion-dollar industry built on the suffering of intelligent social beings who are denied everything that's natural and important to them.

Wild orcas and other dolphins live in large, complex social groups and swim vast distances every day in the open ocean. In captivity, they can only swim in endless circles inside tanks that, to them, are the equivalent of bathtubs and they're denied the opportunity to engage in almost any natural behavior. They are forced to perform meaningless tricks and are often torn away from family members when they're shuffled between parks. Many die far short of their species' natural life expectancy.

Families Torn Apart

Countless marine animals (even the original Shamu) were taken from their rightful ocean homes and placed in tanks. Tilikum, the orca who lashed out and killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and two other people, died in a concrete prison 33 years after he was taken away from his Icelandic family. Lolita, torn away from her family when she was just a baby, has spent half a century in the same tank at the Miami Seaquarium. Some countries continue to capture wild dolphins and whales.

Captivity's Tragic Consequences

Frequently housed with incompatible tankmates, dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals are often drugged in order to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior and relieve the endless monotony of swimming in circles. They break their teeth chewing on the metal bars and concrete sides of their tanks and are forced to perform tricks for tourists in exchange for food-all in the name of entertainment.

While wild female orcas can live to be more than 100 years old, orcas at SeaWorld often die by the time they reach their teens and rarely approach even the average life expectancy of wild orcas. More than 40 orcas have died at SeaWorld from causes such as bacterial infections and fractured skulls. More than 300 other dolphins and whales along with approximately 400 pinnipeds have also died at the parks.

While Marineland can no longer breed whales and dolphins or confine new ones-thanks to Canada's recent ban on their captivity-it's still imprisoning the animals currently languishing there. Dozens of dolphins, whales, and walruses have died there-including a walrus named Apollo who recently suffered a heart attack. An orca named Kiska-who was abducted from her family in the ocean as a baby 40 years ago-is confined in isolation and can do nothing but swim in endless circles inside her cramped tank.

The Trouble With 'Interactive' Programs

Touch tanks as well as "swim with dolphins" and "paint with dolphins" programs allow the public to pet, kiss, paint with, or even ride these animals. Such programs invade their already diminished worlds and are intrusive, stressful, and even dangerous for them, as well as being risky for human participants.

Animals in "petting pools" are frequently exposed to foreign bacteria and other pathogens, and they can become anxious, frustrated, aggressive, and even neurotic as a result of being confined to shallow tanks and exposed to constant interaction with humans. Members of the public have been injured at SeaWorld's dolphin-petting pools.

Even programs that enable people to swim with dolphins in nature can be invasive. Boats and swimmers may chase, harass, and scare them, interfering with their natural feeding, resting, migrating, and playing behavior.

Poor Government Regulations

Captive marine mammals have some federal protections in the U.S., but enforcement is lax. There are simply too many animal exhibitors for the limited number of U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors-as of February 2020, there were 104 inspectors for 12,851 facilities. Even when exhibitors are cited for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act, they're rarely assessed fines or meaningful penalties.

Keeping Dolphins Free

In nature, orcas work cooperatively in search of food. They share complex relationships in a matrilineal society and-in some populations-rarely leave their mother's pod. They have group-specific food preferences and behavior. These attributes, along with their pods' unique dialects, are considered a form of culture that is unrivaled by any species other than humans.

Other dolphins, too, maintain dynamic relationships within a large social network. They live with up to a few dozen others in a pod and can swim as many as 60 miles each day and dive to depths of nearly 1,500 feet in nature.

The world is moving away from keeping intelligent, sensitive cetaceans in captivity. In the U.S., the National Aquarium is building the dolphins in its care a seaside sanctuary-a safe ocean cove in which captive marine mammals can be released into a protected area of the sea to dive deep, feel the ocean currents, and finally live like they should, all while still receiving care, food, and veterinary support. Two whales have been moved from a marine park in China to a seaside sanctuary in Iceland, and The Whale Sanctuary Project just announced plans for a seaside sanctuary for rescued orcas and belugas in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Governments around the world are also recognizing that dolphins (including orcas) and other cetaceans do not belong in tanks. Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Croatia have all banned the practice of keeping cetaceans in captivity. In 2013, India's Ministry of Environment & Forests banned the practice of keeping dolphins captive for public entertainment. Other countries, including Brazil, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, and Norway, have highly restrictive standards that make it nearly impossible to keep cetaceans in captivity. The last dolphinarium in the U.K. closed more than 20 years ago.

What You Can Do

Please don't visit marine parks, and never buy tickets to roadside zoos or aquariums that keep ocean animals in captivity. Encourage your local aquarium to create more space for rehabilitating (and releasing) injured wildlife by refusing to breed more animals.

You can also leaflet at local roadside aquariums or marine parks, pressure officials to avoid subsidizing these facilities with taxpayer money, write letters to the editor of local publications, and support legislation that prohibits the capture or restricts the display of marine mammals.
Please join PETA in urging SeaWorld and other marine parks to stop using animals and to relocate the orcas, bottlenose dolphins, and other animals to seaside sanctuaries, where they can thrive in the enrichment and diversity of the sea while still receiving the care that they require.

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Aquariums and Marine Parks are no safe havens for marine mammals like dolphins and whales. Learn more on how you can help animals and not support these facilities.

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Screen school: watch, listen and learn

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It is an issue many parents will have grappled with. Is the peace you get by handing your child a touchscreen or sitting them in front of the TV worth the undefined damage you worry it's causing? The subject resurfaced last week with one study claiming that screen time was linked with increased BMI and another finding it adversely affected children's emotional well-being.

The headlines may have struck a chord, but each study faced different criticisms. So just what can we say about screen time?

First of all, lumping all screens into one category is not helpful. "Screen time is a really enticing measure because it's simple - it's usually described as the number of hours a day using screen-based technology. But it's completely meaningless," says Pete Etchells at Bath Spa University, UK, who studies the effects of video games on behaviour. "It doesn't say anything about what you're using that time for."

When you separate the different types of screen out, the effects start to vary. Passively watching TV is not the same as learning to read on a touchscreen, which is not the same as killing monsters on a console. For instance, a recent longitudinal study of 11,000 British children found that those who watched TV for 3 hours or more a day at age 5 had a small increase in behavioural problems two years later compared with those who watched for under an hour. But they found no effects at all for those who played computer games.

Watch and learn

It's not just the type of screen that matters, but what is on that screen. "The best research suggests that the content children view is the best predictor of cognitive effects," says Heather Kirkorian who studies cognitive development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Children will learn from what they watch, whether that means learning letters and numbers, slapstick humour or aggressive behaviour," she says, adding that children who watch age-appropriate, educational TV programmes often do better on tests of school readiness.

When it comes to physical effects, a number of studies have found similar results to the latest research, which shows that increased screen time is associated with a rise in BMI. But it can be hard to tease apart whether screen time actually causes the effects or whether they are linked in some other way. "It is impossible to determine with certainty that TV is causing obesity, and it is likely that other factors are involved in the complex problem of childhood obesity," says Kirkorian.

The rise of portable devices has compounded the issue. According to one study, 40 per cent of children aged 8 and younger in the US had tablets in their homes in 2013 compared to 8 per cent in 2011. Rosie Flewitt who studies Early Years and Primary Education at the Institute of Education in London says touchscreens are particularly motivating for children, allowing them to use a tool they can see is important to adults. "There is an unquestionable body of research showing that new technologies can engage children," she says. Her own studies have shown that children who struggle to learn using books often made more progress with iPads.

Motivating multimedia

Flewitt's research in schools also found that iPads made children more cooperative and helped quieter kids to speak up. She thinks that is partly because children receive immediate feedback, and because the devices are multimedia. "You don't need to be able to read words to access knowledge - you can follow icons, hear words spoken," she says.

A survey of more than 1000 parents with children aged 3 to 5 and their teachers, out this month, backs up the idea that tablets can promote learning. The study found that all the children enjoy reading more when they look at stories using books and a touchscreen compared to just books.

Importantly, the performance of children from low socio-economic backgrounds who use both at home is less likely to be below average at school than if they only look at books.

What is becoming clear is that it's not the technologies themselves we should be worried out but how they are used and how people interact with them. The advantages seen in the school environment can be translated into the home - if you choose your children's digital distraction wisely.

A lot of it is common sense. Don't unthinkingly hand over your device. There are educational apps whose benefits are backed up by research, says Flewitt. Consider the type of screen time, says Etchells. Five hours sitting in front of the TV is not the same as 5 hours of some TV, a couple of hours playing on Dance Dance Revolution or some other kind of active game, followed by a Skype session with a grandparent.

And take heart&colon; this generation's iPad is another's Jane Austen. "It's a new era," says Flewitt. There is a lot of scepticism just like there was when novels took off in the 18th century, she says.

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Children benefit from the right sort of screen time

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It is an issue many parents will have grappled with. Is the peace you get by handing your child a touchscreen or sitting them in front of the TV worth the undefined damage you worry it's causing? The subject resurfaced last week with one study claiming that screen time was linked with increased BMI and another finding it adversely affected children's emotional well-being.

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Gift this Article Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it

Senate File 756 was recently introduced in the Minnesota Senate. It would make the unrequested distribution of plastic straws by places of accommodation a petty misdemeanor. The passage of this legislation would be a significant affront to the rights of Minnesotans living with disabilities.

Over the past few years, the environmentalist lobby has made much progress with accomplishments such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Now, faced with a different political climate and the current occupant of the White House, they are taking matters into their own hands where they can, including advocating for cutting pollution like plastic waste. But they are ignoring the unintended consequences, including in the case of plastic straw bans, which in part became popular because of a viral video of a sea turtle that was injured by one.

While protecting our natural resources is important, straw bans are severely misguided. In their shortsighted rush to ban plastic straws, people have missed two critical facts.

First, according to a study published in Marine Policy, straws account for less than 0.03 percent by weight of plastic pollution entering the oceans every year, so the straw ban is symbolic at best.

Second, this is a quality-of-life issue for individuals with disabilities. Able-bodied people see straws as ubiquitous and they don't think about how essential these simple devices are for anyone with a disability.

Without straws, it's impossible for millions of disabled people to go anywhere without worrying about being able to drink, about becoming dehydrated, spilling their drinks or aspirating liquid into their lungs. Individuals with autism also experience oral sensory problems that often are alleviated by the use of a straw.

Where able-bodied people see waste, my community sees a simple device that opens up the world to people with disabilities.

Proponents of the bans will suggest that we use alternatives to plastic straws, such as paper, metal, glass or biodegradable straws. But all of those options have major drawbacks for people with disabilities. For example, metal straws are unusable for people with tremors or sensory issues. Paper straws do not work because they often disintegrate before an individual can finish and they don't handle heat well. Straws made of sugar cane are problematic for diabetics.

Others have suggested that we carry around straws, instead of getting them from restaurants, but that has problems of its own because it's another expense for disabled people, who are already likely to suffer lower income and extremely high medical costs. Plus, there's no way for those straws to be kept sanitary.

The authors argue that the bill language doesn't actually explicitly ban plastic straws, and that one can request a straw or establishments can use any other sort of straw. But business owners aren't going to buy paper straws for some people and plastic straws for others. They're going to get one or the other because of the economic advantages. If plastic straws are more heavily regulated, which one do you think they're going to buy?

The burden of reducing plastic waste by a measly 0.03 percent should not fall on disabled people, who already face barriers to participating in the daily activities of their communities. Yes, we should reduce pollution, but it is unethical to force already marginalized groups to pay the price. We need to search for alternative environmentally friendly solutions. Blanket plastic straw bans are irresponsible, unnecessary, unreasonable and immoral.
Noah McCourt, of Waconia, is policy director of the Minnesota Autism Council and a member of the Governor's Council on Disabilities. He has chaired the state subcommittee on children's mental health since fall 2017.

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OPINION EXCHANGE | Blanket bans on plastic straws: Irresponsible, unnecessary, immoral

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Gift this Article Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it Senate File 756 was recently introduced in the Minnesota Senate. It would make the unrequested distribution of plastic straws by places of accommodation a petty misdemeanor. The passage of this legislation would be a significant affront to the rights of Minnesotans living with disabilities.

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What is WATER POLLUTION? | What Causes Water Pollution? | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz

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Trash . . . . . In Space? has 563 reviews and 0 ratings. Reviewer shashplay wrote: "Thank you this is so helpful for my 5 grade research 😇"

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SeaWorld plans to spend upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars to build an expanded killer whale environment and programs to protect the creatures in the wild, the company announced Friday.

This announcement comes two days after SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. released a report showing a significant drop in revenue for the first half of 2014. The company has also come under fire from animal-rights activists who claim the company was mistreating its killer whales.

In addition to the new habitat, SeaWorld is pledging $10 million in matching funds for killer whale research. The company said it is embarking on a multi-million dollar partnership focused on ocean health, the leading concern for all killer whales and marine mammals. The total investment will be hundreds of millions of dollars, officials told NBC 7.

SeaWorld San Diego will be first park to debut the new killer whale environments, named the Blue World project, with a planned total water volume of 10 million gallons, nearly twice as much as the existing facility. The new environment will also provide the world's largest underwater viewing experience for guests.

"Our guests will be able to walk alongside the whales as if they were at the shore, watch them interact at the depths found in the ocean, or a birds-eye view from above," Jim Atchison, chief executive officer and president of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., said in Friday's announcement.

PETA Foundation Director of Animal Law Jared Goodman called the announcement "a desperate drop-in-the-bucket move to try to turn back the hands of time."

In a written statement obtained by NBC 7, Goodman said, "It will not save the company. What could save it would be the recognition that it needs not to make larger tanks but to turn the orcas out in seaside sanctuaries so that they can feel and experience the ocean again, hear their families, and one day be reunited with them. A bigger prison is still a prison."

Images: Changes Coming for SeaWorld San Diego's Orca Exhibit

At a special announcement in San Diego, SeaWorld lead veterinarian Dr. Christopher Dold said the park has invited a number of experts to be part of an advisory panel to help design the project.

Plans will include a fast-water current. "A treadmill for killer whales," Dold said. "The whales can swim through this and be exercised and stimulated."

Each animal will react differently but they will all explore it and staffers will monitor their reactions, Dold said.

The announcement comes midway through a challenging year for the major theme park. Officials have launched a new publicity campaign to combat the effects of the documentary "Blackfish," which focuses on claims of whale mistreatment. The park also successfully fought a proposed bill in California that would ban using killer whales as performers.

In June, dozens of riders stranded for hours hundreds of feet off the ground in the park's iconic SkyTower ride. Then, in July, a controversial anti-SeaWorld ad was unveiled in time to greet Comic-Con crowds in San Diego.

City Council President Todd Gloria and other city leaders attended Friday's announcement.

The city has a vested interest in how SeaWorld San Diego conducts business because the 190-acre theme park sits on city-owned property in Mission Bay Park.

The city earns revenue in a number of ways from ticket to alcohol sales - an estimated $14 million a year.

It's also one of the city's largest employers with a staff of 2,500 to 4,500 depending on the season.

"This new habitat enriches the experiences for our visitors to our region expanding on their appreciation for killer whales and all marine life and our environment as a whole ," Gloria said. "I think we can all agree that's an important message and one that's worth investing in.
-NBC San Diego's R. Stickney contributed to this report. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that the new environment will cost upwards of $10 million. SeaWorld says the project will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

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SeaWorld to Expand Killer Whale Environments

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Sea World plans to spend hundreds of millions to build an expanded killer whale environment and programs to protect the creatures in the wild, the company announced Friday. to build an expanded killer whale environment and programs to protect killer whales in the wild, the company announced Friday

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Twenty-one years ago in Costa Rica, three girls brought Judy Avey-Arroyo a surprise. They stood at her gate with a baby sloth whose mother had been hit by a car. Avey-Arroyo wanted to help, but she was unsure how to care for the tiny sloth. She owned a hotel and had no training in the care of wild animals. Looking for information, she contacted zoos. But even they didn't know much about these peaceful tree-dwellers.

Avey-Arroyo named the baby sloth Buttercup. She gave Buttercup leaves that she'd seen sloths eating in the surrounding rainforest. The sloth hungrily crunched them up. With Avey-Arroyo's care, Buttercup survived.

After her success, more people brought Avey-Arroyo injured and orphaned sloths they had found. She then opened a rescue center. Today, the Sloth Sanctuary has saved more than 500 animals.

Fit for the Forest

Sloths live in the rainforests of Central America and South America. There, they hang on to branches with curved claws. There are two main types of sloths. You can tell them apart by the number of claws they have on their front paws.

Sloths rarely move. They spend their time napping and nibbling on leaves. Their slow, quiet ways make it difficult for jaguars and other predators to detect them.

Adult sloths are covered in shaggy green-tinted fur. The color comes from algae growing in their hair. The algae's smell hides a sloths' natural scent from predators. It also helps them blend in with the treetops.

Sloths are amazingly adapted to life in their habitat. "They're masters of the rainforest," says Becky Cliffe, a scientist at the sanctuary. But some still arrive at the center needing help.

Shrinking Habitat

Costa Rica's increasing human population means that the rainforest--and the sloths--isn't as isolated as it used to be. Humans can cause a lot of problems for the animals, says Cliffe. Deforestation is chief among them. When trees are cut down, adult sloths can fall and break bones. Sloths living in deforested areas can run into human-made dangers. Some sloths suffer burns while climbing on power lines. Others are hit by cars or attacked by dogs.

At the center, workers care for the injured animals. Their goal is to return the sloths to the wild once the creatures are healthy enough. But some are too severely wounded to survive on their own. These animals remain at the center for the rest of their lives.

The sanctuary also cares for orphaned sloths whose mothers died or abandoned them. Why their mothers leave them is a mystery, says Cliffe. "Most of the babies are seemingly healthy and are found alone on the ground."

Infants who have lost their mothers before they're 6 months old can never live on their own: Their mothers haven't taught them the skills for surviving in the rainforest. Unfortunately, people don't know how to teach them.

"We desperately need to learn more about sloths," says Cliffe.

Sloth Sleuths

To gather data, Cliffe is outfitting some of the animals with high-tech backpacks. They hold electronic devices she calls daily diaries. The diaries contain cameras, compasses, and various sensors. They tell Cliffe what the sloths eat, where their favorite trees are, how far they roam, and when they mate.

Cliffe hopes that a deeper understanding of sloths will help people learn how to better protect them. She thinks more knowledge might also make it possible to teach sloths raised by people how to survive in the wild.

We have a lot to learn about sloths. But we can learn lessons from them too. Avey-Arroyo tries to live by the following sloth-inspired advice: "Live in peace and harmony, and chew your food slowly."

words to know

rainforest--a dense forest in a wet region

predator--an animal that hunts and eats other animals

algae--plant-like organisms without leaves or roots adapt-to develop traits for surviving in a particular habitat

deforestation--removal of trees so the land can be used for something else, like farming

Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth

LENGTH: 40-77 centimeters (16 to 30 inches)

WEIGHT: 2.5-5.5 kilograms (5.5 to 12 pounds)

APPEARANCE: Gray-brown coat with a pate patch on the forehead. Three claws on the front paws.

DIET: Exclusively leaves

RANGE:

Hoffmann's Two-Toed Sloth

LENGTH: 54-70 centimeters (21 to 28 inches)

WEIGHT: 4-8 kilograms (9 to 18 pounds)

APPEARANCE: Brown coat with a pale patch on the throat. Two claws on the front paws.

DIET: Leaves, fruits, and flowers

RANGE:

LIFE SCIENCE

Lexile Level 790; Guided Reading Level P

OBJECTIVE

Learn how and why the sloth sanctuary rescues injured and orphaned sloths.

SET UP

1. Use the Internet to obtain and print a photo depicting deforestation.

2. Write the following statements on the board:

a. Tropical rainforests are home to more than 50 percent of all species on the planet.

b. Sixty percent of the world's rainforests are protected.

c. Human activity is the primary cause of rainforest destruction.

BEFORE READING

1. Project the deforestation photo. Ask: What do you observe? (Answers will vary but may include trees cut down and cutting caused by humans.)

2. Have students preview the Words to Know box on page 4. Ask: Which word represents what you observed in the photo? (deforestation)

3. Ask students to write whether each statement on the board is true or false. Give them five minutes to discuss their reasoning with a partner.

4. Tally and discuss the correct answers (a- true; b false: only 11% are protected; c -true).

AFTER READING

* Why is the sloth sanctuary needed? (Mysterious sloth behavior and human-related hazards can result in sloths being injured or orphaned.)

RESOURCE

For more on rainforests, visit: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/rainforest/rainforest.asp.

READING AND LITERACY CONNECTION

Go to www.scholastic.com/superscience to download the skills sheet "Sloths in Danger." Students identify cause-and-effect relationships within the text.

Common Core State Standard Reading Informational Text: 3

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Saving sloths: a sanctuary in Costa Rica rescues injured and orphaned sloths.

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Free Online Library: Saving sloths: a sanctuary in Costa Rica rescues injured and orphaned sloths.(life science, Sloth Sanctuary, Cover story) by "SuperScience"; Science and technology, general Education Family and marriage Animal sanctuaries Aims and objectives Sloths Behavior Protection and preservation

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No longer are zoo habitats with green tile walls and floors, looking more like a large bathroom than an animal's natural environment, the norm. Today, many zoologic institutions strive to create habitats for their collections that are hospitable and stimulating.

In his Oct. 11 AVMA Animal Welfare Forum presentation, "Steering the ark toward Eden: facility design for animal well-being," zoo design expert Jon C. Coe explained how zoological habitats can enhance animals' lives.

In the 1970s, large, lushly landscaped displays modeled after natural settings replaced the sterile, tiled enclosures. The shift toward naturalistic settings was followed by a rather hands-off approach to husbandry. Naturalistic displays were considered by many to be stimulating enough for the captive animals.

Coe noted that, although this approach worked well, it did not stop animals from growing bored with their environment. Boredom can have harmful effects, he added.

"Some people think the key to zoo animal welfare is to provide large, natural enclosures," said Coe, senior principal at CLR Design in Philadelphia. "An exhibit may look great, but it isn't doing much for the animal unless it also incorporates a choice of behavioral opportunities, variety, and novelty."

Behavioral and physical problems were once thought to be unrelated to an animal's environment. Yet there is growing evidence of a link between these problems and a lack of physical activity and inhospitable habitats. Research has also shown that providing captive animals with choices through an enriched environment lowers stress levels.

Several zoo exhibits over this past decade have done just that. The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Sea World Florida allow some of their animals to search for and catch their food. Orangutans at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., are able to travel across the zoo on overhead ropes to visit friends and potential mates.

One recent innovation brought to the United States from Europe is the rotating exhibit. In traditional displays, animals might spend their entire lives in the same space. The rotation concept allows the animals to visit several areas each day. Gorillas at the Louisville Zoo, for instance, can choose between large, naturalistic outdoor habitats or a circular arrangement of indoor rooms.

Rotation exhibits are in the works at zoos in California, Washington state, and Sydney, Australia.

Stimulating environments enhance animal well-being by promoting activity and curiosity, resulting in improved physical and mental fitness. These exhibits aren't inexpensive, however, because additional staff with greater expertise are needed, and mechanical failure is a risk. But the benefits to animal well-being far outweigh the costs, according to Coe.

In addition, zoos in Honolulu and Australia are planning elephant exhibits featuring large pools in which the animals can participate in low impact aerobic exercise.

Coe advocates more research into these activity-based zoo exhibits to more accurately assess their effects on animal health and well-being. He envisions the next stage in the evolution of zoologic designs to be when the "monkeys really do run the monkey house."

In today's paradigm, animals are entirely dependent upon their human keepers. Yet for millions of years, ancestors of today's captive animals prospered in a world of fierce competition. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that captive primates can lower their stress levels by taking control of the situation.

Coe is looking forward to the day when captive species can acquire their food through foraging or simulated hunting, and can customize their own environments, as when bears and elephants trigger fans or cooling showers without the aid of their human keepers.

These kinds of environments, Coe noted, will have their greatest applicability in wildlife sanctuaries and those institutions that reintroduce animals into the wild.

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Designing zoo habitats that promote animal well-being

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Many zoologic institutions strive to create habitats for their collections that are hospitable and stimulating.

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I never quite fell in love with smartwatches, but I do credit my brief time with one for sparking the most positive change to my life for years: relegating my smartphone to the hallway.

With only one plug socket by my bed, and no space for an adaptor, I had to choose one device to win the hallowed bedside charging position. Thanks to my desire to eke out one final hour of standing time to goose my activity tracking, the watch won.

It turns out that keeping your bedroom a phone-free zone is a really, really good thing. Within days, I was reading more in the evening, and getting out of bed faster in the morning. Within weeks, I was sleeping noticeably better, and feeling fewer symptoms of my anxiety disorder at night.

Not that any of this should have surprised me. There's a growing body of evidence that pulling out your phone in bed is one of the worst things you can do.

Matthew Walker, UC Berkley professor and author of Why We Sleep, places the blame on light in general, and screens in particular: "Stay away from screens, especially those LED screens - they emit blue light that actually puts the breaks on melatonin. And those blue-light emitting devices fool your brain into thinking that it's still daytime, even though it's nighttime and you want to get to sleep."

Some phones now attempt to compensate for the blue light emission. Since 2016, iPhones have had an optional feature, Night Shift, which changes the colour balance of the phone after sunset. As an optional feature, though, with a sliding scale of intensity, it's not really clear whether it actually works: even Apple will only go so far as to note that "this may help you get a better night's sleep".

And anyway, the physiological effects of blue light are only one reason to keep devices out of the bedroom. Far worse - in my experience, at least - is the psychological damage.

In short, social media sucks, and if you have a phone near your bed, it all but guarantees that some social network will intrude into your consciousness in those precious minutes before sleep. A study published in 2017 in the journal Sleep found that "social media use in the 30 minutes before bed is independently associated with disturbed sleep among young adults". And the trend seems to be linear: the more social media use there is, the more likely sleep is to be disturbed.

It feels telling that I exiled my phone from my bedroom around the same time I began reading the horror bestseller House of Leaves, yet still found myself with fewer sleepless nights. Although, admittedly, what nightmares there were were much worse until I moved on to lighter fare.

Lest it sound like I'm presenting myself as a virtuously technology-free ascetic, living a life of paper, ink and face-to-face conversations, don't worry: the phone has been replaced with a Kindle.

In fact, the starkest biggest advantage of changing my habits? I get out of bed quicker. Not because I've had more sleep, though - just that, well, I've still got to check my notifications within seconds of waking up. Now, though, that involves getting on my feet first. Look, it's a start, OK?

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My bedroom is a phone-free zone and I feel so much better for it | Alex Hern

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I never quite fell in love with smartwatches, but I do credit my brief time with one for sparking the most positive change to my life for years: relegating my smartphone to the hallway. With only one plug socket by my bed, and no space for an adaptor, I had to choose one device to win the hallowed bedside charging position.

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Growing public concern has led to calls to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. But can that have a meaningful effect?

Plastic waste, mostly in the form of tiny particles, floats in huge blobs that together cover as much as 40 percent of the Earth's ocean surface.

In California, a bill to ban straws unless requested at dine-in restaurants is awaiting a signature from the governor. Other states such as Hawaii, cities such as Seattle and New York, and corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks are also considering or have initiated plastic phase-out plans.

Here, Jim Leape, co-director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, and Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, both at Stanford University, discuss the path to reducing ocean plastic pollution. Leape has long been a leader in ocean conservation efforts. Criddle has evaluated use of microorganisms to biodegrade plastic materials and to synthesize biodegradable bioplastics from waste feedstocks.

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Can banning plastic straws save the oceans?

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Growing public concern has led to calls to ban single-use plastics, most notably straws. But can that have a meaningful effect? Plastic waste, mostly in the form of tiny particles, floats in huge blobs that together cover as much as 40 percent of the Earth's ocean surface.

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Why NASA Scientists Are Heading Underwater

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Why NASA Scientists Are Heading Underwater has 300 reviews and 0 ratings. Reviewer ethan300 wrote: ”#TEAMOCEAN”

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Conservation Status: IUCN Red List – VulnerableThreats to Survival: Habitat loss and fragmentation; poaching; human-elephant conflict; climate change A Long History of InvolvementAn umbrella species and ecosystem engineer, the conservation of the African elephant is of global significance. For more…

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At the Monkey Park wildlife-rehab center near Tamarindo, Costa Rica, volunteers clean animal cages, wash dirty dishes, and even prepare the animals' meals.

"It's a labor of love," said Cinde Jeheber, a California native and frequent volunteer at the park. One of her duties might be cutting up fruit for the white-faced monkeys or slicing beef parts to feed to the resident ocelot.

"To be surrounded by all these amazing animals that might someday be released back into the wild-I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said. "Plus, I get to feed an ocelot!"

Yet Monkey Park and other such facilities are facing an unprecedented crunch as Costa Rica struggles with how to care for its captive wildlife, most of which will soon be without a home.

In July, the government announced controversial plans to close the country's two public zoos, citing concerns about animal captivity and welfare. More than 400 animals currently residing in the zoos will be transferred to private animal-rescue centers around the country, where those that are able will be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

"We are getting rid of the cages and reinforcing the idea of interacting with biodiversity in botanical parks in a natural way," Environment Minister René Castro said at a press conference to announce the planned closures in July. ( See pictures of seven energy-smart zoos and aquariums.)

"We don't want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way unless it is to rescue or save them."

While animal-rights groups have praised the government's decision, a new law that makes keeping wildlife as pets illegal has resulted in the inundation of many of the same animal-rescue centers that will be receiving the zoos' former residents.

Already in 2013, the rescue centers have taken in more than 2,000 new animals-that's more than they usually get in a year.

"We have received so many animals this year that we have been forced to turn away animals," said Maria Pia Martin, wildlife veterinarian at Kids Saving the Rainforest, a rescue center near Manuel Antonio National Park. (See rain forest pictures.)

"The idea of turning down an animal is quite difficult. But we need to prioritize who we can save in order to do the best for them."

Rescue Centers Strapped

Most of Costa Rica's animal-rescue centers are nonprofits that receive little to no government funding. Many operate with limited budgets and have a finite amount of space, making expansion difficult.

Officials from the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), which oversees the country's zoos and rescue centers, say the planned zoo closings and the new law are further steps to ensure the long-term health of the country's incredible biodiversity-Costa Rica is home to 5 percent of all animal species on the planet. Yet, those same officials also recognize they have a serious problem on their hands.

Jose-Joaquin Calvo, wildlife manager for MINAE's National System of Conservation Areas, calls the situation an "emergency" and said his organization and others are working to house the animals.

Since the no-wildlife-as-pets law passed in December, MINAE has created a loophole that allows longtime pet owners to keep their pets, at least for now. The government is also working with wildlife experts and conservation groups, including Humane Society International, to write protocols that will help establish best practices for the facilities.

"The government has recognized the crisis and is trying to educate the public so they don't further inundate the rescue centers," said Cynthia Dent, regional director of Humane Society International, which is working through a U.S. State Department agreement to establish model rescue centers throughout Central America.

"We're also in the process of evaluating the more than 200 facilities around the country that house [wild] animals."

Making Do With Little

In the short term, however, the overcrowded rescue centers continue to struggle, coping as best they can with limited resources.

For example, many are turning to volunteers: These short-term, unpaid staffers, who can range from high school students to retirees, pay a fee in exchange for food, housing, and the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Costa Rica's most adorable-and often endangered-species.

Other centers are making room for more critters. "Since the law took effect, we've had to build three new cages to host the new animals because we don't have a place to relocate them all," said Adriana Aguilar Borbon, marketing manager for Proyecto Asis, a facility in the Arenal region.

"We have eight acres-it's a large property, but not big enough. It's going to be even more difficult finding a place for all the animals from the zoos."

While Costa Ricans try to figure out the most effective way to move forward, everyone seems to agree that the country's wildlife is their priority. (See more Costa Rica pictures.)

Said the Humane Society's Dent, "The more effective the rescue centers are at rehabilitating and releasing the animals, the better opportunity visitors will have at catching [a] glimpse of Costa Rica's wildlife in its natural environment."

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Costa Rica Closes Zoos-Where Will the Animals Go?

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Costa Rica's animal-rescue facilities are facing a crunch as much of the country's captive wildlife will soon be out of a home.

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The possibility of keeping large sharks in captivity has been of great interest to many public aquariums, which seemed unlikely because they need more delicate care than most other fish. Until lately, the only species that lived in captivity were some species like leopard sharks and horned sharks, among others which are benthic animals and not very large.

THE CHALLENGES OF THE CAPTIVITY

The shark species most wanted by aquariums is the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which has awakened the fear and fascination since its representation (exaggerated) in the 1975 film JAWS. The reality is that attempts to keep them in a huge tank in front of hundreds of curious eyes have not been very successful. In general, large species such as the Carcharodon carcharias are difficult to catch and transport. Their sharp senses are disturbed with the use of structures and machines, to take them out of the water, their weight can damage their organs while carrying them, because their cartilaginous skeleton does not provide the support needed for transport.

Besides, if an aquarium wants a great white shark in their tanks, it must fit a space large enough and adequate to its needs. The life of a shark in an aquarium also includes satisfying its feeding needs.

It is very expensive to keep sharks in captivity which is also another reason why they often aren't found in aquariums. They require saltwater tanks with an enough room to move around, and they consume large amounts of food daily.

In 2004, the Monterey Bay Aquarium managed to condition a space for a great white shark, and it stayed there for six months, after which it was released back into its natural habitat. The attempt was made for the first time in 1980 when the same aquarium kept an individual of the same species in captivity but unfortunately died after 11 days at the facilities. That time the conditions were not adequately met.

To guarantee an optimal life development in captivity, it is important that aquariums or any place that keep sharks fulfill these conditions:

1. Sharks can move comfortably during their transportation to their next habitat.

2. Sharks natural movements and reactions are not limited or restricted. Some shark species like the great white shark are susceptible to stress if they do not execute physical activities.

3. The tank that houses the shark should be adequate and free of obstacles that hinder any of its movements.

4. The environment should not have human artifacts, machines or tools that stimulate their sense of electroreception.

UNFORTUNATE CASES

Although some small species are prone to survive in aquariums, it is dangerous to use small places to exhibit or keep them. There have been cases of people selling sharks illegally to people who do not have the skills to keep a shark alive and healthy. Sometimes, when the young ones grow, space can become more limited, and those who own them are forced to make some adverse decisions for the animals, such as their release into the sea without previously experienced life in the wild.

Sharks are not domestic animals, so their care is more special than dogs cats or ornament fish. Keeping an individual involves an enormous investment of time and money and requires the knowledge about their life and care. Therefore it is an important responsibility.

PROSPECTS OF A LIFE IN CAPTIVITY.

Captivity is not an ideal condition for any animal, but this view changes when it comes to threatened species. In the case of sharks, many of them face serious dangers, and it is important to take measures to protect and preserve such species.

Life in captivity may be favorable to their survival to some degree. For example, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has made efforts to provide information on the species and it is a pioneer in exhibiting white sharks. However, some organizations disagree with the latter practice, and the aquarium has not keep white sharks again.

If there is an advantage of having sharks within human limits, it is the possibility to investigate their biological, physiological and health conditions that allow an assessment and subsequent establishment of conservation measures for the affected species. However, many experts agree that sharks in captivity don't follow the usual behavior that they would in the wild. Therefore observing them in captivity to learn about how their life in the wild isn't very useful at all.

It should not be forgotten that sharks are not "made" to live indoors. They need space and freedom like all animals. If it is not strictly useful for the survival of the species, do not support its captivity.
Sources:
www.peta.org/blog/great-white-shark-dies-after-just-three-days-in-aquarium/

http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/experience/explore/programs-activities/animal-interactions/journey-with-gentle-giants/swim-with-whale-sharks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharks_in_captivity
BioExpedition Publishing © 2017.

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Sharks are not made for captivity. Most species do not do well in captivity and their life span get severely shorten.

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Watch purified YouTube videos. Just for teachers, professors, social influencers, homeschoolers, and parents...like you.

How To Use ViewPure?

Let's use the actual video below to see the differences. We have always felt that videos speak louder than words. See below.

As you have seen, ViewPure removes all distracting comments and side-bar related videos. Which makes the videos you use for your school or social media group purified without all the distractions or "inappropriate content".

What can it be used for?

Honestly, what can it not be used for? Common uses include:

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Memorable URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY vs viewpure.com/BabyDebate)

YouTube search with a cleaner UI and filtered results

Cleaner interface to view YouTube videos

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ViewPure has been used by teachers, students, college professors, educators, parents, homeschoolers, social influencers, organizers, and more.

How do I purify a video?

Step 1: Find a YouTube video you like.
Step 2: Paste it into the field on the homepage that says "Enter YouTube URL or search term..."
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Take the tour for more information.

How do I purify a video using the Bookmarklet?

Step 1: Install the Bookmarklet into your Bookmarks in your Browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Android, and more)

Purify Youtube: Drag this Purify button to your bookmarks. Click the bookmark on any Youtube page to purify!

Step 2: Find a YouTube video you like and click the ViewPure Bookmarklet
Step 3: The Bookmarklet will take you to the "purified" page on ViewPure.com to watch your video...free of YouTube distractions. Yeah!

Why are there still ads?

Our videos don't have ads. But some other parts of the site do. They help pay for domain fees, server costs, Clicky Analytics, and other maintenance costs so we can keep ViewPure going.

Some videos will always have ads, no matter where they are viewed or embedded. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done from ViewPure, however, at least there aren't trolls and distasteful comments, right?

What is the Viewpure Membership Area?

The Viewpure Members Area is the place where viewpure can give you additional tools and resources. The Members Area is FREE. There is a lot of cool stuff in there for clean viewing of videos. You'll love it.

This is the link to the FREE Signup Here: https://members.viewpure.com/signup

Why was my custom URL rejected?

Your custom URL has to be both alphanumeric (A-Z, 0-9, no special characters) and available. In addition it cannot be exactly 11 characters, to avoid conflicts with YouTube IDs (which are 11 characters long).

If you are sure your custom URL follows the rules, then it's likely that somebody else already took the custom URL you wanted, in which case try variations such as viewpure.com/TheCustomURL or viewpure.com/CustomURL2.

How do I use the filters?

Click the dropdown select menu to select between the three main filters for searches:

SafeSearch: Controls the content you want shown in search results (default: strict)

Sort By: Controls how the results are sorted (default: relevance)

Results Per Page: Controls how many results are shown at once (default: 12)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch purified YouTube videos. Just for teachers, professors, social influencers, homeschoolers, and parents...like you. Let's use the actual video below to see the differences. We have always felt that videos speak louder than words. See below. As you have seen, ViewPure removes all distracting comments and side-bar related videos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Watch purified YouTube videos. Just for teachers, professors, social influencers, homeschoolers, and parents...like you.

How To Use ViewPure?

Let's use the actual video below to see the differences. We have always felt that videos speak louder than words. See below.

As you have seen, ViewPure removes all distracting comments and side-bar related videos. Which makes the videos you use for your school or social media group purified without all the distractions or "inappropriate content".

What can it be used for?

Honestly, what can it not be used for? Common uses include:

Removing inappropriate ads and comments from videos to show kids

Removing unwanted related videos at the end to show students

Memorable URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY vs viewpure.com/BabyDebate)

YouTube search with a cleaner UI and filtered results

Cleaner interface to view YouTube videos

The list goes on and on - but you will find a use for ViewPure.

ViewPure has been used by teachers, students, college professors, educators, parents, homeschoolers, social influencers, organizers, and more.

How do I purify a video?

Step 1: Find a YouTube video you like.
Step 2: Paste it into the field on the homepage that says "Enter YouTube URL or search term..."
Step 3: Click Purify and enjoy.

Take the tour for more information.

How do I purify a video using the Bookmarklet?

Step 1: Install the Bookmarklet into your Bookmarks in your Browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Android, and more)

Purify Youtube: Drag this Purify button to your bookmarks. Click the bookmark on any Youtube page to purify!

Step 2: Find a YouTube video you like and click the ViewPure Bookmarklet
Step 3: The Bookmarklet will take you to the "purified" page on ViewPure.com to watch your video...free of YouTube distractions. Yeah!

Why are there still ads?

Our videos don't have ads. But some other parts of the site do. They help pay for domain fees, server costs, Clicky Analytics, and other maintenance costs so we can keep ViewPure going.

Some videos will always have ads, no matter where they are viewed or embedded. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done from ViewPure, however, at least there aren't trolls and distasteful comments, right?

What is the Viewpure Membership Area?

The Viewpure Members Area is the place where viewpure can give you additional tools and resources. The Members Area is FREE. There is a lot of cool stuff in there for clean viewing of videos. You'll love it.

This is the link to the FREE Signup Here: https://members.viewpure.com/signup

Why was my custom URL rejected?

Your custom URL has to be both alphanumeric (A-Z, 0-9, no special characters) and available. In addition it cannot be exactly 11 characters, to avoid conflicts with YouTube IDs (which are 11 characters long).

If you are sure your custom URL follows the rules, then it's likely that somebody else already took the custom URL you wanted, in which case try variations such as viewpure.com/TheCustomURL or viewpure.com/CustomURL2.

How do I use the filters?

Click the dropdown select menu to select between the three main filters for searches:

SafeSearch: Controls the content you want shown in search results (default: strict)

Sort By: Controls how the results are sorted (default: relevance)

Results Per Page: Controls how many results are shown at once (default: 12)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch purified YouTube videos. Just for teachers, professors, social influencers, homeschoolers, and parents...like you. Let's use the actual video below to see the differences. We have always felt that videos speak louder than words. See below. As you have seen, ViewPure removes all distracting comments and side-bar related videos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Living under sea: Japanese visionaries unveil underwater city plan

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Will people ever live in underwater cities? Japanese construction firm says it is possible by 2030. The visionaries revealed a $25 billion deep-sea eco-city plan called Ocean Spiral for 5,000 people that will produce energy from sea resources.

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Mystic Aquarium offers a wide range of exciting guest experiences. Whether you want to come face-to-face with a green sea turtle, get hands on with sharks in our touch tank, feed our cownose rays, visit our belugas, seals, and sea lions in their outdoor habitats, roam our marsh trek, learn about ways you can help fight water pollution, or meet some of our amazing animal ambassadors in a personalized, private encounter, Mystic Aquarium has something for everyone.

Ready to dive in? Explore our interactive galleries and exhibits to see what Mystic Aquarium has for you.

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Mystic Aquarium offers a wide range of exciting guest experiences. Whether you want to come face-to-face with a green sea turtle, get hands on with sharks in our touch tank, feed our cownose rays, visit our belugas, seals, and sea lions in their outdoor habitats, roam our marsh trek, learn about ways you can help fight water pollution, or meet some of our amazing animal ambassadors in a personalized, private encounter, Mystic Aquarium has something for everyone.

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Visiting the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park helps the giant rock iguanas of the West Indies, which are the most endangered group of lizards in the world. Our rock iguana breeding program has been so successful that a new facility was built to accommodate the growing population.

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Animals in Entertainment: Circuses, SeaWorld, and Beyond | PETA

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Animals in entertainment suffer immensely. Find out how PETA is putting an end to elephant rides, horseraces, roadside zoos, and safari parks.

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The Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Program has played an important role in the continued recovery of the southern sea otter population with our research, rescue, rehabilitation, and surrogacy work.

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Sharks | Animals | Monterey Bay Aquarium

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What makes a shark a shark? Discover the spectacular spectrum of sharks - there are over 500 species. Learn all about sharks with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, including the threats sharks face today.

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This is the holiday season in the United States. People are buying gifts and carrying them home, usually in plastic shopping bags. They are only a small amount of the huge number of disposable plastic bags that are used all year long to contain groceries and other items.

Janet Larsen directs research for the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. She says too many plastic bags end up as litter, polluting waterways.

"They get caught in bushes and trees. In storm water systems, they end up clogging up sewers."

In an effort to keep plastic bags out of the environment, California recently became the first state to ban businesses from giving new plastic bags to customers. Some other states and cities charge a small amount of money for every bag given out. That is meant to encourage people to bring their own bags when they go shopping.

Mark Daniels is senior vice president for environmental policy at Hilex Poly, one of the country's largest plastic bag manufacturers and recyclers. He says people should be able to get new plastic bags without paying. Mr. Daniels says they are a good environmental choice.

"Every single scientific litter study that has been done always show that plastic retail are a fraction of one percent."

Some environmentalists claim that plastic bags are clogging landfills. However, Mark Daniels points to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency that says that is not always true.

"All plastic bags, not just retail bags, are 4/10ths of one percent the waste stream."

Five years ago, Washington D.C. placed a 5-cent fee on every plastic bag given out by businesses in the city. The money is being used to clean up the local Anacostia watershed.

And the effort is making a difference. Brian Van Wye heads storm waterprogram implementation at the city's Department of the Environment. He says once people started to pay for plastic bags, they used less of them. Fewer bags ended up in the waterways.

"The stream clean-up groups are telling us that they've seen a 60 percent reduction in the disposal bags that they find while they're doing stream cleanups."

He also says that's helping to save water life.

"We also know that plastic bags, they break down over time. It's something aquatic life will consume and ingest and that can cause serious harm and potentially death for aquatic life like fish and turtles."

But customers who say they need shopping bags aren't always happy about paying for them. At a Washington restaurant, Bill Ford says he has to use a bag to carry out his lunch.

"I don't know why some people need to pay because, some people, a small minority of people are throwing stuff into rivers and waterways."

Still, Carol Powers, who also paid for a bag, approves of Washington's program.

"It seems kind of silly to pay five cents for a bag, but if that's what it takes to help save the environment, then it's a good idea."

Hilex Poly and other manufacturers are recycling the bags. Mark Daniels says that is a better alternative than taxing or banning them.

"We reprocess it, we clean it, we shred it, we make new post-consumer recycle product and put that back into the manufacturing of new bags."

But Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute doesn't think that's the answer.

"The plastic bag industry has often used recycling as a deterrent for communities that, even when residents are saying, we want to limit these. It really doesn't help to minimize the problems. What we would advocate for would be a washable, reusable bag to take the place of all those plastic bags."

Bags like the one Carol Chastang uses to carry her lunch...

"This is my contribution to keeping the environment cleaner and safer."

More than 18 million Americans now live in communities that tax or ban plastic bags, and that number is expected to go up again next year.

I'm Anne Ball.
This story came from VOA reporter Deborah Block. Marsha James wrote it for VOA Learning English. Jeri Watson was the editor.
______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

litter - n. things that have been thrown away and are lying on the ground in a public place

disposable - n. something that is made to be thrown away after it is used once

clog - v. to slowly form a block in (something, such as a pipe or street) so that things cannot move through quickly or easily

alternative - adj. offering or expressing a choice.
Now it's your turn to use these Words in this Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on your use of vocabulary and grammar.

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This is the holiday season in the United States. People are buying gifts and carrying them home, usually in plastic shopping bags. They are only a small amount of the huge number of disposable plastic bags that are used all year long to contain groceries and other items.

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Little boy in the dark playing with a digital tablet or iPad, the touch screen 's shine as a main light source. (iStock) Keywords: Child, Toddler, Dark, Night, Computer Monitor, Little Boys, Using Computer, Playful, Education, Computer, Digital Tablet, Glowing, Computer Equipment, Playing, Equipment, modern times, Lifestyles, Technology, Illuminated, Caucasian, Lying Down, 2-3 Years, Touch Screen, Multimedia, iPhone, iPad, screen, children, kids, kid, boy, young, (iStock)

Comment Gift Article
Youngsters who spend too much time staring at televisions and computers may be more depressed than those who abstain completely, but kids who enjoy screen time in moderation may be the happiest of all, a recent analysis suggests.

Many pediatricians recommend that parents limit screen time to less than two hours a day because excessive use of television, computers and mobile devices is linked to obesity and other health problems and is also thought to impair cognitive development.

In the new study, researchers analyzed data from earlier studies involving more than 125,000 participants and found evidence that limiting screen time makes sense for children and young teens. Youth who spent at least five hours a day staring at screens were 80 percent more likely to be depressed than their peers who spent no time in front of screens.

There was, however, little difference in depression risk between children who didn't have any screen time and those who got about two hours a day.

And the connection between screen time and depression was only statistically meaningful for children younger than 14, the study found. Screen time didn't appear connected to depression in older teens.

Overall, in smaller doses, screen time appeared to be a good thing. Compared with children who had no screen time at all, those who got a half-hour daily were 8 percent less likely to be depressed, and kids allowed an hour a day had 12 percent lower odds.

"The finding of the lower depression risk with a relatively low quantity of screen time may suggest that exposure to screen/media, when in moderation, can have potentially positive impacts on adolescents' mental health," said senior study author Yao Shuqiao of the Medical Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Hunan, China.

Longer screen time may mean fewer hours in the day for more productive or active endeavors, whether exercise or interacting with friends, and may negatively affect physical and mental health, Shuqiao added by e-mail.

"We suggest that parents may consider limiting their children's screen time to under two hours a day, preferably about one hour," Shuqiao said.

It's also possible that the type of screen time matters, said Larry Rosen, a professor emeritus at California State University at Dominguez Hills, who wasn't involved in the study.

While passive activities such as watching television may be linked to a greater depression risk, active pursuits such as texting on mobile phones or chatting on social media don't necessarily carry the same risk, Rosen said by e-mail.

It's not surprising that the teens who had only moderate amounts of screen time had a lower risk of depression, said Gary Goldfield, a psychology researcher at the University of Ottawa, who wasn't involved in the study.

"People with such low levels of screen time are probably engaged in many other activities, such as organized sport, dance, music or other hobbies that involve interpersonal interaction, which may protect them from depression," Goldfield said by e-mail.

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Moderate amounts of screen time may be good for kids, a new study finds

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Comment Gift Article Youngsters who spend too much time staring at televisions and computers may be more depressed than those who abstain completely, but kids who enjoy screen time in moderation may be the happiest of all, a recent analysis suggests.

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Environmental groups and concerned members of the public are attempting to make plastic straws a thing of the past. But many alternatives present other problems for the planet or are unsuitable for people with disabilities, critics say.

Plastic straw bans have made their way into both local and national stages with a movement that gained traction last year. California governor Jerry Brown signed legislation aimed at reducing straw waste, while Seattle has banned all plastic utensils from businesses.

Starbucks will get rid of its straws by 2020, and McDonalds has phased out plastic straws in their UK restaurants, replacing them with paper straws.

Plastic straws are bad for the planet because they "cannot be recycled because of their weight," and thus contribute to the eight million tons of plastic trash that flow every year into the world's oceans, said Dr. Tony Walker, assistant professor of environmental science at Dalhousie University in Canada, to USA TODAY.

Critics have called the government bans too oppressive and have said the statistic many of these bans are based on, that Americans throw away 500 million drinking straws daily, is outdated and unverified.

Over 300 million metric tons of single use plastics - which include plastic bags, cutlery, and yes, straws - are produced annually, and 50% are discarded after a single-use, according to Walker.

But finding a good alternative has proven tricky, with advocates for people with disabilities as well as environmental activists finding fault with many options.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Communications Director Lawrence Carter-Long told USA TODAY that reusable straws don't work "as well as plastic straws" for people with disabilities.

The disabilities affected by the plastic straw ban "run the gamut," he said, ranging from people with quadriplegia to people with down syndrome or Parkinson's.
That anti-straw movement?:Editorial: Plastic straws ban is quite a straw man It's all based on one 9-year-old's suspect statistic
Most straws pose injury risks, and are expensive, says the Center for Disability Rights.

A 60-year-old U.K. woman with mobility issues died in July after using a metal straw while drinking from a glass with a fixed lid. When she accidentally fell onto the straw, it impaled her left eye socket and pierced her brain.

And two of the most common straw alternatives - paper and metal - have drawn criticism for environmental experts such as Walker.

Paper straws use a lot of raw materials, and because of their single-use nature, do not lessen one's carbon footprint, Walker told USA TODAY.

Stainless steel, on the other hand, uses a fair amount of energy as well as mining resources to make.
Dangers: Laws: McDonald's to test plastic-straw alternatives in U.S. later this year Metal drinking straw fatally impales woman through her eye after fall
"[Single use plastic] straws have been described as a 'gateway plastic', which if curbed, can help change the behavior of consumers and retailers to reduce other SUP items," Walker said in a 2018 study.
Want to be eco-friendly?:20 ways you can save the planet this summer
To be sure, most of the straws use energy or materials that are less than beneficial for the environment. But if you keep them on your person and use them whenever possible, Walker says, you should have a net positive impact.

Forgoing a plastic straw for a reusable one will definitely not singlehandedly save the environment. But if you do not have disabilities and want to cut down on plastic usage, a reusable straw might be for you.

Paper is not included in the below list of good alternatives. Why? Mostly, because it isn't much better for the environment than plastic straws are. They are still a single-use waste item, similar to paper bags.

Here are five of the best options for people who want to stop using plastic straws:

1. Metal

Pros: Metal straws are arguably the most popular of the reusable straws. They come in many varieties, including curved, straight and silicon capped. There's also evidence that metal straws make drinks taste better, and they can beeasily packed and carried around.

Cons: Although there are a variety of metal straws, some of which are cheaper, metal straws tend to be more expensive than other alternatives. They also conduct heat, making them possibly unpleasant to use with hot or cold beverages. Metal straws are also hard to clean, and bacteria or mold can grow inside a dirty straw.

2. Glass

Pros: Glass straws are clear, allowing for easy cleaning - and are dishwasher safe as well. They're also hypoallergenic, safe for people with sensitivities.

Cons: Glass straws break easily - so they may not be the best option for children. Glass is also a conductor of hot and cold liquids, but it maintains similar temperature to the vessel you're drinking out of.

3. Silicon

Pros: Silicone is flexible and soft, meaning these straws don't pose a risk of injury. They also don't leak tiny particles into what you're drinking - something that metal and plastic straws tend to do when they're under heat.It's alsogreat for kids who like to bite down on their straws.

Cons: Silicon isn't known as the most aesthetically pleasing of reusable straws. Make sure to clean them, for the same reason as metal straws.

4. Bamboo
Follow Elinor Aspegren on Twitter: @elinoraspegren.
Pros: Bamboo straws don't conduct heat or cold, so they're a great option for people sensitiveto that. You can also use them whenever you want to pretend you're on vacation.

Cons: These kinds of straws are the hardest of the straws to clean and can have a little bit of a chalky aftertaste. Also, the absorbent bamboo material can soften, warp, and crack if left soaking in liquid.

5. No straw

Pros: Go strawless - You'll be saving money and saving the planet. "Over 95% [of people] are quite okay without straws," Walker says.

Cons: This can cause some spillage, so this may not be the best option for children.

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Plastic straws are trash. Are there alternatives that don't suck?

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Environmental groups and concerned members of the public are attempting to make plastic straws a thing of the past. But many alternatives present other problems for the planet or are unsuitable for people with disabilities, critics say. Plastic straw bans have made their way into both local and national stages with a movement that gained traction last year.

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Each white dot represents an individual piece of tracked orbital debris. This image shows the Low Earth Orbit, which is the region from the Earth's surface to 1,240 miles and contains the most space junk.

NASA Johnson Space Center

On a clear night, you can look in the sky and see the moon and stars. You might even see the blinking light of a working satellite as it flies past, on its way around the Earth.

And, even though you cannot see it, you are also looking at the largest junkyard in the solar system.

Higher than the highest clouds but much closer than the moon, the bulk of the junkyard stretches from the Earth's surface to 20,000 miles overhead. There are tens of millions of pieces of rubbish there. Some of the pieces are rocks and dust from passing comets, but most of them are manmade and called "orbital debris" (pronounced duh-BREE).

There are some unusual things up there, like a camera that floated away from astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams in December 2006. Other astronauts have lost tools like wrenches and screwdrivers. In 1965 astronaut Ed White even lost a spare glove. Most of the junk, however, comes from large satellites and rockets that fell apart after they stopped working.

Together, all the space junk would weigh about 11 million pounds on Earth, or more than 3,000 cars. The largest piece is a part of a rocket about the size of a minivan. The smallest piece would fit on your pinkie fingernail with room to spare.

"It's like a classic environmental problem, like water pollution or air pollution," says Nicholas Johnson. Johnson is the Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. His job is to keep track of the orbiting garbage.

The junkyard is a serious problem for the future of spaceflight.

"You've got multimillion satellites in orbit all the time, and manned space flights," says Joe Gambrell, who helps keep track of both working and broken-down satellites. His main tool is the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, which is part of the U.S. military. Gambrell works at the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. "If you don't track debris, you risk some kind of collision," he adds.

In 2007, the space junkyard grew by more than 100,000 pieces. That's more than any other year since people started launching satellites into space. The problem of space junk is not going away, and scientists are watching closely.

Danger in Orbit

A "satellite" is any object that orbits another object, held close by gravity. The moon is a satellite of the Earth, and the Earth is a satellite of the sun. These are natural satellites. Manmade satellites, which are built on Earth and launched into space, are used for communications, scientific studies and military applications.

In the last 50 years, human beings have launched thousands of artificial satellites into space. When a satellite stops working, it usually falls back toward the Earth and burns up in the atmosphere. Satellites at high altitudes, however, sometimes remain in Earth's orbit.

Later, they may fall apart or explode into thousands of smaller pieces. The higher the satellite, the longer it stays in orbit, and the more likely it is to break apart. The pieces may stay in orbit for years, decades or even centuries.

At the NASA Ames Research Center, scientists simulate what would happen were a tiny piece of space junk to hit a spacecraft.

NASA

Space junk races around the Earth at breakneck speeds. Most pieces fly through space at more than 20 times the speed that sound travels on Earth. Going that fast, even the smallest pieces mean big trouble for spacecraft. For example, a tiny marble in orbit around the Earth can have as much energy as a bowling ball going 500 miles per hour, or a car going 30 miles per hour.

A tiny fleck of paint struck and cracked one window of the space shuttle Challenger while it was in space in 1983. The shuttle returned to Earth safely from that mission.

NASA Johnson Space Center

In 1983, a small gouge appeared in one window of the space shuttle Challenger while it was in space. When the shuttle returned to Earth and scientists analyzed the window, they found that the crack was caused by a tiny, orbiting fleck of paint. If the shuttle had been struck by a larger piece of junk, the astronauts may have been in danger.

Many other satellites and space shuttles have also shown damage from tiny pieces of trash. When the space shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth last August, its radiator panels had small holes from space garbage. Last year, two satellites had to be redirected to avoid collisions with big pieces of junk.

The U.S. Space Surveillance Network and NASA work together to keep track of the largest pieces. When the shuttle is in orbit, for example, their attention is on nearby junk that may get in the way. If there is even a small chance of a collision, then the shuttle changes direction.

Watching the garbage

About 17,000 pieces of garbage are larger than 4 inches, which is slightly smaller than a softball. The Space Surveillance Network keeps a list of all these pieces, using dozens of telescopes and antennas on Earth and in space to watch them. Because all the pieces are in motion all the time, keeping track is difficult (but not impossible).

Monitoring the space junk is a problem of energy and motion. To keep track of the junk, the scientists have to know two things: where the garbage is now, and where it is going to be in the future.

This antenna, located in the Mojave Desert, California, can use radio to detect tiny pieces of junk, if they're not too high.

NASA Johnson Space Center

To find out where a piece is now, scientists use telescopes and high-powered antennas to watch it fly through space. Every day, scientists must make sure each piece is where they expect to find it. A "lost piece" could mean serious danger for a working satellite or space shuttle.

To find out where the piece is going, scientists measure its speed and direction as it crosses the sky. Some of the pieces move in an almost perfect circle around the Earth. Other pieces move in elliptical orbits, which means they are sometimes closer to Earth and sometimes farther as they fly. The measurement of direction is complicated because junk can move north or south, east or west, and up or down.

By knowing the location, speed and direction of each big piece of junk, the scientists can predict where all the pieces will go. (Similarly, in baseball, an outfielder has to predict where a pop fly will land, if she wants to catch it. In soccer, a goalie has to predict where a ball will go, so he can block it.)

"We're always looking about four days into the future, tracking objects which might come close," says Johnson.

There are tens of millions of pieces smaller than softballs. Because there are so many small pieces, "We can't [keep track] of them all," Johnson says. Instead of watching each piece individually, scientists use telescopes and antennas to watch one patch of sky and count the number of pieces that pass overhead. With that small measurement, they can use a computer program to get a good idea of what the whole sky looks like.

Keeping track of all the junk is necessary to ensure that astronauts and working satellites can be safe. Like other environmental problems, space junk will get worse without careful monitoring and attention. In the future, pieces of junk will probably hit each other, making even more trash.

The more garbage that remains in orbit, the greater the risk to space flights. What can be done about the problem of space junk? The large pieces of junk cannot be brought back to Earth, Johnson says, because the technology is too expensive. Instead, he says, we should try to stop adding new garbage. For example, engineers are changing the way they build spacecraft.

"How you build your satellite can minimize debris," Gambrell says.

A solution will require international cooperation. Last year, the United Nations General Assembly approved guidelines for how to reduce the risk of space junk. Johnson says that spacefaring countries came together because "the environment was getting worse every year."

If countries work together to control the amount of trash we send into space, Johnson says, we can keep the problem under control. In the future, perhaps we can even clean up the mess.

"In time, either technology or economics will allow us to go out and [improve] the environment," he says.

Stephen Ornes lives in Nashville, Tenn., and his family has two rabbits, six chickens and a cat. He has written for Science News Explores since 2008 on topics including lightning, feral pigs, big bubbles and space junk.

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Each white dot represents an individual piece of tracked orbital debris. This image shows the Low Earth Orbit, which is the region from the Earth's surface to 1,240 miles and contains the most space junk. NASA Johnson Space Center On a clear night, you can look in the sky and see the moon and stars.

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Indian boy, 5, becomes youngest to trek to Mount Everest Base Camp

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Harshit Saumitra, from New Delhi, India, spent ten days trekking 45 miles to reach the famous camp and is now hoping to register his name in the Guinness Book of Records.

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Aquariums support conservation and promote education through meaningful encounters
By Bruce Carlson
I am seated in front of a massive window that holds back 6.3 million gallons of sea water at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. It's a Thursday afternoon and about 125 people are in this gallery, including several dozen children seated on the floor, mesmerized by the amazing creatures just on the other side of the glass. We are watching two whale sharks being fed while a narrator explains that they are plankton feeders. The kids are enthralled; not only by the whale sharks, but also by the thousands of other animals they have access to in these exhibits. During the past five years, more than 11 million people have had this same experience. I am certain that more than just one of the millions of children who have been here will decide to dedicate their lives to marine biology and conservation as a result of their trip to the aquarium.

Scuba Diving readers are among the lucky few who have seen and interacted with the magnificent creatures that live in the ocean. An even smaller group has had up-close encounters with the largest animals in the sea: whales, dolphins, whale sharks and manta rays. These encounters are unpredictable and brief, yet they are experiences that make a lifelong impression on the people who have them. And not only does the sport of diving require specific training and physical prowess, the trips to dive in the places where these most interesting creatures live cost a considerable sum. Airfare, boat charters, gear rentals and more make these encounters a luxury many people cannot afford. But thanks to places like the Georgia Aquarium, the thrill of seeing a whale shark or a manta ray is no longer an exclusive experience, but rather an accessible encounter for the masses.

What aquariums and zoos do best is help bring people and animals closer together. And the more we learn about animals, the more we care about them and their environments. So how could a place like this not encourage people to be active in the conservation of these creatures? As I write this, I can see the impact of this tremendous educational and empowering experience in the eyes of these young children.

But the impact goes beyond education. The revenue generated from guest attendance at many zoological parks and aquariums around the world is used to support research and conservation. For instance, the Georgia Aquarium has provided research grants to scientists in the U.S. and Mexico to document the aggregation of whale sharks that appears each year off the town of Holbox on the Yucatan peninsula. From 2003-2010, more than 700 whale sharks were tagged and photographed, and over many years this data will give us a good understanding of population dynamics of whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Aerial surveys funded by the aquarium have also contributed valuable data on where to establish boundaries for the new Whale Shark Biosphere Preserve created in Holbox in 2009. The new preserve will help protect whale sharks from possible exploitation and ensure that their food supply -- plankton and fish eggs -- is not endangered from pollution.

This is just one example of how aquariums give back to nature. Over from 2005-2010, aquariums and zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums provided nearly $89 million to more than 3,700 conservation projects all over the world. These programs for species ranging from tiny Banggai cardinal fish in Indonesia to great white sharks off California to beluga whales in Alaska are giving the animals a better chance to thrive in the wild.

When people ask me whether or not large animals, like whale sharks, should be kept in aquariums or zoos, I tell them to ask the children at the aquarium that day. I am sure they would give you a resounding "yes." The awe they are feeling will turn into appreciation and respect for living creatures they might otherwise have never known.
Bruce Carlson was the Chief Science Officer at the Georgia Aquarium from 2002-2011. A diver since 1967, he is also the former Director of the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu.
Large Marine Animals Do Not Belong in Bath Tubs
By Kim McCoy
Captive marine animals are often referred to as "ambassadors for their kind," as though they have some choice in the matter or this is somehow a noble pursuit. My question is always: What did these innocent beings do to deserve the extreme trauma of a potentially lethal wild capture (yes, these still happen routinely around the world) followed by a life sentence in a liquid prison that is unnatural in every conceivable way; an environment rife with stress, boredom, frustration of natural instincts, forced human interactions, increased mortality rates and decreased quality of life? Wouldn't they be much better ambassadors in the wild?

With startlingly few exceptions, most aquariums worldwide (and certainly entities such as casinos and marine "abusement" parks) exist exclusively for the purpose of generating profits through commercial exploitation. Animals are regarded as expendable commodities, high death and illness rates are anticipated costs of doing business, and the underlying message is that confinement of animals for profit and human entertainment is acceptable.

While nearly all aquariums attempt to justify this exploitation under the guise of conservation, education and research, only a tiny percentage actually conduct legitimate conservation programs. Even then, the money spent on conservation represents a fraction of the overall income generated off the backs of these animals and begs the question: Wouldn't the money spent finding ways to keep animals alive in artificial environments be better spent solving conservation issues in their natural habitats in the first place?

The standard argument is that aquariums are necessary because they educate people and create awareness of the plight of wild animals, resulting in a call to action. But there is no solid evidence that viewing captive animals translates directly into any sort of practical conservation action. To the contrary, viewing animals in unnaturally small, often chlorinated enclosures desensitizes people to the cruelty inherent in their removal from the wild. It encourages the false notion of animals in isolation that are dependent upon humans for survival, rather than integral elements of ocean ecosystems that are fully competent to care for themselves. More important, it discourages the correct view of marine animals as sentient beings with their own intrinsic value, deserving of the right to live their lives free from human interference.

Aquariums and the research conducted therein teach us nothing of migratory or foraging patterns, actual life spans or complex natural behaviors exhibited by large marine animals in the wild. How, for example, is a young child supposed to learn, by looking into a concrete and Plexiglas enclosure only 30 feet deep, that whale sharks routinely dive to almost 5,000 feet? That child sees an animal swimming in endless circles. Whale sharks can live for up to 150 years in the wild, yet we applaud facilities that can keep them alive for three to 10 years in captivity, as if that is somehow an accomplishment.

No man-made enclosure can adequately simulate the tides, the biodiversity, or the sheer vastness and freedom of the open ocean in order to meet the complex physical and psychological needs of large captive animals. Enclosures are designed for human convenience and comfort, not the animals' well being, and even the best-designed enclosures frustrate and confuse critical senses relied upon in the wild for navigation, danger avoidance or locating prey, such as dolphin echolocation or a shark's ability to detect and interpret vibrations and electrical activity.

While it is legitimate to conclude that some facilities are more or less damaging than others, the lives led by large captive marine animals are so contrary to the natural experiences of their wild counterparts - and the purported benefits of confinement are such a stretch - that it is simply unforgivable to keep these animals in captivity.

Wouldn't we all be much better off funneling the billions of dollars spent supporting commercial captive enterprises into learning about our oceans through more compassionate and accurate means, such as observation in the wild (with responsible operators), virtual reality simulations, books, DVDs and/or IMAX theatres? Don't we owe it to our children, to the animals and to our planet to move forward in a way that inflicts no harm?
Kim McCoy is the Executive Director of Big Life Foundation, and was the Director of Campaigns for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a nonprofit organization specializing in international ocean wildlife conservation, from 2007-2009. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com Editor's Note: This story was originally published in Scuba Diving magazine in 2010.

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Should big marine animals like killer whales and whale sharks be kept in aquariums or at parks like SeaWorld? Two experts debate the pros and cons.

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Reintroduction programs, by which animals raised or rehabilitated in AZA-accredited zoos or aquariums are released into their natural habitats, are powerful tools used for stabilizing, reestablishing, or increasing in-situ animal populations that have suffered significant declines. Reintroductions may include animals that have spent some of their early life-stages being cared for in a "headstart" program that gives them a greater chance of survival than those born in the wild, those brought in for rehabilitation from illness or injury, those moved from one area for release elsewhere, or those that are offspring of animals that have had several generations cared for by AZA-accredited institutions.

Examples of AZA Reintroduction Programs

Asian wild horse: Equus ferus przewalskii, also known as takhi and Przewalski's horse, roamed the grassland steppes of Europe and Asia for millennia. But by the late 1960's, it was driven to extinction in the wild due to human persecution, grazing competition, and high mortality from harsh winters. Over the next several decades, zoos worldwide bred rescued individuals and worked with in-country partners to reintroduce the descendants back to the wild. Today, there are more than 500 Asian wild horses running free in Mongolia and China. In 2014, the Asian Wild Horse SSP launched the True Wild Horse Initiative to support in situ research and conservation efforts for Asian wild horses.

Black-footed Ferrets: In 1987, 18 of the remaining black-footed ferrets were placed into the care of AZA-accredited institutions as well as partner organizations and agencies. Due to the efforts of the AZA Black-footed Ferret SSP Program and their partners, these animals have successfully reproduced and thousands have been reintroduced into their historic range since 1991. Learn more about this species' road to recovery.

California Condors: In 1982, only 22 California condors existed in the wild. Conservation breeding and management of these animals in AZA-accredited institutions, overseen by the California Condor SSP, increased this population to almost 200 birds within 20 years. By 2014, their population totaled 425 animals, including 219 living in the wild. To learn more about the condor's ex-situ rearing efforts visit the San Diego Zoo website. Visit the USFWS Endangered Species Program to view a video of this success story.

Ohio River Basin Freshwater Mussels: Freshwater mussels are an imperiled group of North American animals with an estimated 43% of the species found in the Ohio River basin. In 2001, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the Wilds, Ohio State University, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department founded the Freshwater Mussel Conservation and Research Center. This Center has developed innovative conservation methods which have yielded the exceptional propagation, culture, translocation, and reintroduction of numerous state and federally listed freshwater mussel species back into Ohio's streams, rivers, and lakes.

Golden Lion Tamarin: In 2003, the previously Critically Endangered golden lion tamarin was downlisted by the IUCN to Endangered after nearly thirty years of conservation efforts involving the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program (GLTCP) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park and the Associação Mico-Leao-Dourado in Rio de Janeiro. New populations were established in Brazil's União Biological Reserve through the translocation of 47 individuals in six isolated groups from their original isolated habitats. This reintroduction program has also contributed to the protection of 3,100 hectares of forests within the tamarins' range.

Karner Blue Butterfly: While healthy populations of the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly remain in a handful of its historic range states, the species disappeared from Ohio in 1992. In 1998, the Toledo Zoological Gardens became the first institution to breed the Karner blue butterfly for reintroduction into the wild at restored sites and later offered assistance to the Detroit Zoological Park with releasing butterflies to a site in southeast Michigan.

Oregon Spotted Frog: In 2014, the Oregon spotted frog was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act, after having been lost from almost 80% of its historic range. The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, working with the Oregon Spotted Frog Recovery Team in Canada on a headstart program, bred this species for the first time in 2010 and released tadpoles and metamorphs into native habitat. Other partners, led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, are engaged in its recovery in the United States, including the Oregon Zoo, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and Woodland Park Zoo.

Palila: The palila is an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper species that has suffered population declines due to the destruction of the dry forests it inhabits. Efforts to expand the palila population back to its historic range at Pu'u Mali have included successful releases of birds bred at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center as part of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program run by San Diego Zoo Global, as well translocation of wild birds by the US Geological Survey.

Red Wolf: Red wolf populations had declined significantly by the 1960s due to intensive predator control programs and loss of habitat. 14 wolves out of a remnant population found along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana became the founders of a successful breeding program involving AZA-accredited institutions and the AZA Red Wolf SSP.

Wyoming Toad: The Wyoming toad was officially classified as Extinct in the Wild in 1994, when only one ex-situ population remained. This population was brought into the care of AZA-accredited institutions and, under the supervision of the Wyoming Toad SSP, it successfully managed to produce tadpoles and toadlets that continue to be reintroduced into the wild. AZA institutions and their partners continue to conduct regular releases of this species, as wild populations of the Wyoming toad are not yet self-sustaining.

More Reintroduction Projects

To learn about other reintroduction projects AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are studying, developing, or conducting, explore the Conservation and Research Database. For reintroduction-related research projects, select "Research" as the project category, "Species and/or Habitat Conservation" as the keyword category, and "Reintroduction and Translocation" as the keyword. For field projects, select "Field Conservation" as the project category, "Ex Situ-Related" as the keyword category, and "Reintroduction" as the keyword.

Reintroduction-related Resources

AZA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) play key roles in advancing the science of reintroduction programs in which AZA Animal Programs or its accredited institutions participate. Numerous reference materials and tools have been developed to advance the science and success of reintroductions.

AZA Guidelines for Reintroduction of Animals

AZA asserts that the scientific and ethical complexity of reintroduction necessitates guidelines for those who plan, conduct, fund, regulate and publicize reintroductions and in 1992 developed a bibliography that identified a variety of documents addressing reintroduction guidelines. These guidelines are often contradictory and AZA has suggested that sincere consideration be given to all bibliographic sources and guidelines during the planning stages of reintroduction, and that reintroduction be regarded as science, with surveys of the pertinent literature, interdisciplinary participation, formulation of testable hypotheses and goals, thorough documentation, rapid publication of results, and review of the program by independent referees be incorporated. Read more about the AZA Guidelines for Reintroduction of Animals.

IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group

The Reintroduction Specialist Group (RSG) promotes the reintroduction of viable populations of animals and plants back to their natural ecosystems, contributing to conservation efforts worldwide. The RSG manages a network of global voluntary members to provide reintroduction practitioners with tools such as reintroduction guidelines, networking resources, and publications to provide a means for distributing information on reintroduction projects. Practitioners are encouraged to explore the RSG's website for the most current resources about reintroduction and other conservation translocation efforts.

Avian Reintroduction and Translocation Database

In 2008, Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens established an Avian Reintroduction and Translocation Database (ARTD) to centralize information about the avian species, release sites, and release events that take place around the world. The database describes every aspect of the reintroduction effort for each species including the variables that impact the efficacy of releases, species biology and ecology, habitat suitability, demography, and genetics.

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Reintroduction programs, by which animals raised or rehabilitated in AZA-accredited zoos or aquariums are released into their natural habitats, are powerful tools used for stabilizing, reestablishing, or increasing in-situ animal populations that have suffered significant declines.

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Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston isn't out of grade school yet, but later this month he'll drive his own custom-built monster truck at a monster truck show in Wildwood, N.J.. Lane Huszar was riding bulls by age 10. And Jay Cramer began competing in motocross races at the age of 4.

These kids are all doing what some may call extreme sports with their parents' permission. Sometimes, injuries happen: Cramer once broke his arm during racing practice when his bike sputtered just before a jump and then broke it again just months later. He is now recovering. His father said his son wants to return to racing and hopes to be cleared by doctors to participate again by Thanksgiving.

"We take every precaution we can to keep him safe," Cramer's father, Jason Cramer, told "20/20? after the first accident. He noted that his son wears a protective neck brace, a Kevlar vest and other equipment when he rides. "He could have broken his arm playing football too. It's just a risk that you take when you're involved in what could be a contact sport."

Would you let your child participate in an extreme sport? Vote below and learn more about these incredible children and their parents Friday on "20/20? at a special time, 9 p.m. ET.

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Extreme Sports for Kids: Would You Let Your Child Do Them?

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Get breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news.

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Real sanctuaries are safe, comfortable places for animals to live after they've been rescued from not-so-nice places like circuses or laboratories. People can sometimes visit these sanctuaries, which is an awesome way to learn about and see animals without supporting businesses that hurt them, like roadside zoos or wildlife parks. Roadside zoos and wildlife parks use animals to make money. It's confusing because they sometimes call themselves "sanctuaries" or "rescues" to bring in more customers, because they know that people don't want to visit roadside zoos, but they're being dishonest when they do that.

It's important not to get these horrible places confused with actual sanctuaries. But how can you tell the difference? It's easy! There are a few simple questions you can ask about a place to figure out whether it's helping or hurting animals the animals who live there.

You can find answers to these questions by browsing a facility's website and social media pages (your parents can help):

1. How are animals housed?

Real sanctuaries make sure that an animal's living space is as close to their natural habitat as possible. Animals should live with others of their own kind so they can have friends. It's mean to keep them all alone in small, dirty pens with concrete floors and nothing to do-and you should stay away from places like that.

2. What kinds of activities do the animals get to do?

The animals' living area should have lots of ways for them to play and enjoy themselves! For example, there should be a large structure for chimpanzees to climb on, water for bears to soak and splash in, and large fields for roaming and exploring. Animals need these things if they're going to be healthy, happy, and comfortable.

Animals should also live with others of the same species so they can communicate with each another easily and form relationships and groups. In many sanctuaries, the animals who already live there help teach the newcomers how to get back in touch with their natural instincts and enjoy life again.

3. How big is the facility?

Animals should be given enough space to explore, roam, climb, and forage. And a real sanctuary NEVER takes the animals out of the facility to show them off.

4. Are visitors allowed to touch or hold the animals?

True wild-animal sanctuaries (with big cats, bears, primates, or wolves) NEVER allow visitors to touch or hold the animals, even babies, and that includes taking photos with them. This would be scary for the animals and dangerous to the visitors, too!

5. Where did the animals come from?

The animals who live there probably came from a place where they were mistreated, so they have a sad and painful past. The staff will want to share each animal's story so that visitors can learn about the various places that hurt animals (like laboratories, circuses, and roadside zoos). Real sanctuaries provide animals with a permanent home for the rest of their life. They NEVER trade, borrow, or loan animals.

6. Does the facility breed animals?

Sanctuaries NEVER breed animals, meaning that they don't make any of the animals have babies. Places that do breed animals are using them to make money-that's not right, and that's not a sanctuary.

7. What is it like to visit a sanctuary?

Most sanctuaries only allow very limited visits. Usually a guide takes people on a small tour of the place and doesn't let them walk around by themselves.

8. Is it accredited?

True sanctuaries are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), a group that makes sure sanctuaries follow strict rules to protect the animals who live there, like the ones listed above.
*****
All living, feeling beings deserve a comfortable place to live where people aren't always staring at them. A true sanctuary puts the needs and wants of the animals first. So if you care about animals, NEVER visit a roadside zoo or a wildlife park, and explain to your friends and family why places like that are bad for animals!

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8 Ways to Tell a REAL Sanctuary From a Roadside Zoo | PETA Kids

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Roadside zoo or animal sanctuary? This list will explain the difference-so you can figure out if a place is hurting or helping animals.

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From Australia to the U.K., and all across the U.S., politicians and corporations are pondering banning or taxing plastic bags.

A hefty surcharge that began in 2003 in Ireland has spurred the public there to spurn plastic bags almost completely in favor of reusable cloth totes.

Plastic sacks are also taxed in Italy and Belgium. Grocery shoppers must pay for the bags in Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. Spain, Norway, and now the U.K. are considering a ban or tax as well.

The political action in the U.K. on single-use plastic bags follows similar gestures earlier this year in Australia.

There a national ban or tax is being hotly debated, though the state of South Australia, which includes the city of Adelaide, has promised a ban on free single-use bags by year's end no matter what.

The state's premier, Mike Rann, listed familiar reasons for the ban: The bags contribute to greenhouse gases, clog up landfills, litter streets and streams, and kill wildlife.

Banished Bags

Unsightly pollution appears to be behind China's January announcement of a countrywide ban on the thinnest totes and a tax on others. It begins June 1, two months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Taiwan taxes the bags, and the cities of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Mumbai, India, ban them to prevent flood-inducing storm-drain clogs during monsoon season.

Once jokingly called the "national flower," thin plastic bags have been banned in South Africa since 2003; thicker ones are taxed. Similar measures exist in Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

In the U.S., the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, California, ban the bags and promote reusable and compostable sacks. Elsewhere in the state supermarkets are required to take back and recycle the bags.

Similar take-back and recycle initiatives are on the books or under consideration in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.

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Plastic-Bag Bans Gaining Momentum Around the World

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From Australia to the U.K., plastic bags seem to be going out of style.

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Stephen Ornes lives in Nashville, Tenn., and his family has two rabbits, six chickens and a cat. He has written for Science News Explores since 2008 on topics including lightning, feral pigs, big bubbles and space junk.

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Every messy kid gets told to clean up his or her room. City governments send out trucks and crews to clean up roads and parks. Now, scientists say if we want

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Thirteen-year-old Jordan Romero is now the youngest climber to reach the top of the world, Mount Everest.

On Saturday, Jordan reached the summit with his dad, a paramedic, his dad's girlfriend, and three Nepalese sherpas. The young Californian has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world's seven continents. He summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at age 9.

When he got to the top of Everest, Romero called his mom.

"He says, 'Mom, I'm calling you from the top of the world,'" a giddy Leigh Anne Drake told The Associated Press from California, where she had been watching her son's progress minute by minute on his blog, which showed his ascent on map that displayed a GPS tracker

Jordan's feat is sure to fuel a debate about teenagers pushing the limits of achievement.

The Nepalese government would not give the family permission to climb Everest from Nepal, citing Jordan's age. To make the ascent, Jordan's team went from the Chinese side, a more difficult approach, but where there is no age restriction.

The issue of age arose on May 16, too, when Australian Jessica Watson, at 16, became the youngest person to sail around the world solo, non-stop and unassisted. She spent seven months at sea alone.

Jessica was the latest of several teens making solo circumnavigations of the globe. It's reached the point where the World Speed Sailing Record Council has abolished its "youngest" category, in an effort to discourage such attempts.

Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old Californian, is currently five months into her own solo sail around the world. She landed in Cape Town, South Africa on May 21. Her teenage brother, Zac, completed an around the world solo sail, last year.

"I wouldn't let her go at 13, or at 14 or at 15," Laurence Sunderland told the Los Angeles Times last year. "There's a strength factor and they need to be mentally grounded in what this entails. It's not a frivolous thing. The ocean is terrifying and you have to be prepared for all the adversities that it throws at you."

A Dutch judge stopped a 13-year-old girl from trying to sail around the world last year. The Dutch Child Protection Agency had asked that Laura be placed under state custody, calling her plan to spend about two years circumnavigating the world aboard a 26-foot boat "irresponsible."

Arguably, the risks associated with sailing alone in the open ocean are not the same as climbing with a team up Everest.

Nonetheless, the risks of climbing Everest were underscored by the challenges faced by 22-year-old Bonita Norris. This past week, she became the youngest Briton to reach the summit. Following the feat, however, she stumbled on the way down in an area known as a "dead zone" where climbers shouldn't stay more than a few hours. She lost the use of both legs and her feet were frozen. She was rescued by a team and carried part way down.

"I do everything in my power to make sure people come back safe, but there is no such thing as a risk-free climb," Kenton Cool, the 36-year-old professional mountaineer whose climbing company helped rescue Norris and to achieve her dream, told the Guardian.

Jordan Romero's blog says that he's "flat on his belly" at a camp at 25,000 feet, recovering from his ascent. "The effort he put out in this last ... 48 hours is, you're not going to believe the story when you see it and read about it," wrote one of the members of his team.

In December, Jordan plans to finish his quest to climb the highest peak on every continent. The last summit is in Antarctica.

RELATED:

[ Editor's note: In the original headline and summary Jordan Romero's first name was misspelled.]

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Jordan Romero, 13, summits Everest: How young is too young?

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Thirteen-year-old Jordan Romero is now the youngest climber to reach the top of the world, Mount Everest. On Saturday, Jordan reached the summit with his dad, a paramedic, his dad's girlfriend, and three Nepalese sherpas. The young Californian has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world's seven continents.

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Costa Rican Environment Ministry officials yesterday announced the closing of its two national zoos, the Simon Bolivar zoo and Santa Ana Conservation Center. But they're not just shuttering; they're going to become wild botanical gardens, with animals allowed to prance in and out as they please. And the officials plan to release as many of the current zoo animals back into the wild as possible. It's the latest in an impressive line of conservationist initiatives pushed by the Environment Ministry.

Reintroduction of zoo animals into the wild is not, actually, a simple task at all. Very few species have been successfully reintroduced; among the few winners are the black-footed ferret, California condor, and the grey wolf. But there are far more problems; many reintroduced animals have adjusted to zoo life too thoroughly to be successful in the wild (especially if they were born in the zoo). Some animals may spread microbes or viruses picked up thanks to close proximity with other animals (including humans) they wouldn't normally be in contact with. Reintroduction is far from impossible, but it's also not nearly as simple as opening a cage door and saying "you're free now!"

Costa Rica's Environment Ministry has said that animals which cannot be reintroduced will be sent to rescue centers. There's no more information than this; which rescue centers? What are the criteria for reintroduction?

Fundazoo, the national organization in charge of zoos, requested to block the closing of the zoos, arguing that the government is breaking a contract with more than a decade left on it. The more persuasive argument is that only the zoos have the specialists in zoology, nutrition, and veterinary medicine required to care for these animals during the move.

It's a fascinating idea; zoos certainly have mixed records from a conservation perspective. Many species survive only thanks to zoos, much quality research has been done at zoos, and many people have been educated about conservation and zoology thanks to zoos. But they're also still cages for animals, which is the side of the debate taken by the Environment Ministry of Costa Rica. Costa Rica, not for nothing, has become an unlikely star of the conservation movement, having already banned circuses and all sport hunting within its borders.

[via AP]

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Costa Rica To Close Its Zoos And Release Animals Into The Wild

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The silky anteater, shown here, could be climbing trees in its native forests soon.

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The Nashville Zoo was pitched a new idea for an exhibit, thanks to 19 Williamson County high school students.

The students, who are involved in the ACE (architecture, construction or engineering) Mentor Program, presented the plan for a native Tennessee wildlife exhibit to Dale McGinnity, curator of Ectotherms, at the Nashville Zoo on April 22.

"If the Zoo goes forward with their concept, the thinking these young professionals-to-be have done, as well as the detailed preliminary narratives, site plans and 3-D model they've created, will hopefully help better refine the educational exhibit and aid in securing the funds necessary to build it," team leader Brittany Shepherd, an estimating engineer with Turner Construction Company and representative of the Nashville ACE affiliate, said in a prepared statement.

The Tennessee Aquatic Conservation Center would provide a look at the state's wildlife before European immigrants arrived and focus on endangered species. It would also include a facility for breeding and scientific studies, and be open for patrons to view.

The team included Lukas Barr, Jonathon Cole, Ryley Fodra, Stedman Howard, Claudia Santiago, Elijah Slaughter, Seth Thomason and Cross Yang of Independence High School; Nicholas Buhl, A.J. Fekete and William Woods of Centennial High School; Matthew Crispi of Summit High School; Lillian Powell of Page High School; and Jack Butler, Kyra Frank, Jacob Hunter, Francis Nunez, Austin Pytleski and Matthew Yeomans of Franklin High School.

Mentor companies were Turner Construction, Envision Advantage, Johnson Johnson Crabtree Architects, Littlejohn and Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates.

For more information about the ACE Mentor Program, visit www.acementor.org.

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Williamson high school students pitch exhibit to zoo

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Williamson high school students pitched an idea for an exhibit to the Nashville Zoo.

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The Extreme Sports Addiction [Infographic]

"The more fearful a certain sport makes you, the greater the release of chemicals. The greater the release of these chemicals, the greater the addiction-like symptoms." -Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, Professor Emeritus, University of Delaware CHASING THE HIGH WHAT IS THE E TREME SPORTS ADDICTION? What is it that drives risk-takers to pursue dangerous situations willingly and repeatedly? Who are they and what makes them keep going back for more? Does this "addiction factor" contribute to the advancement of action sports as well? Krush takes you behind the scenes of the extreme sports addiction to give you some answers! WHAT ARE THEY ADDICTED TO? THE ADRENALINE RUSH Adrenaline, aka Epinephrine A hormone released from the adrenal gland in the body when faced with stressful or dangerous situations (fight or flight response), elevating your heart rate and giving you a boost of energy and alertness. It can give people a sense of superhuman strength, HO speed, and other abilities that allow them to respond to traumatic situations. OH но The release of adrenaline (the adrenaline rush) stimulates the brain's reward system, triggering the release of dopamine... THE REWARDING BUZZ Dopamine A chemical in the brain that is responsible for the "high" or euphoric feeling you experience when you overcome danger or perceived extreme risk. When dopamine is HO released it provides feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Chronic risk-takers or extreme sports enthusiasts tend to have a higher saturation of dopamine in the brain. HO DOPAMINE LEVEL IN RISK-TAKERS VS. NON RISK-TAKERS Normal Level Risk-taker -the amount of dopamine released in the brain due to a rewarding experience + "In high novelty-seeking individuals, the brain is less able to regulate dopamine [thus releasing a greater amount], and this may lead these individuals to be particularly responsive to novel and rewarding situations that normally induce dopamine release." -Dr. David H. Zald, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University THE EUPHORIC FEELING DOPAMINE GIVES EXTREME SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS WHEN IT FLOODS THE BLOODSTREAM WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE ? "TYPE I" 10-15% | * Type T (for thrill-seeking) personality types of the population are classified as Type T. can be described as "risk-takers and adventurers who seek excitement and stimulation wherever they can find or create it." (Psychologist Frank Farley) * These types of people tend to seek out unique experiences, the theory being that they need to stimulate low dopamine levels. Sensation-seeking trait is about bU% genetic THE DANGEROUS SIDE OF TYPE T PERSONALITIES DRUG ABUSE ALCOHOL ABUSE GAMBLING Using stimulating drugs such as amphetamines or cocaine synthetically raises the amount of dopamine in the brain, producing a short-lived artificial high. EXTREME SPORTS ADDICTION LEADS TO PROGRESSION THE ENDLESS PURSUIT... * Sensation seekers can become addicted to the "high" they get from the adrenaline and dopamine rush. This addiction drives them to chase the next high repeatedly. * Tolerance builds as the body gets used to the same rush over and over, which is why extreme sports athletes are constantly pushing the envelope and upping the ante. "You need risk to trigger reward and the body gets used to risk. In other words, just like drug addicts who need to take more and more of a substance to get back to the level of high they desire, action sports addicts need to up their danger quotient to achieve the same effect." -Dr. Greg Berns, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT BIG THING, THE NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE TRICK, IS WHAT DRIVES THE CONSTANT PROGRESSION OF EXTREME SPORTS A FEW EXAMPLES... THEN NOW fmx 2X WHAT'S NEXT Ist Backflip Double Backflip 2006 2002 skydiving WIHAT'S NEXT Became a sport BASE Jumping Wing Suit Flying 128,000 ft. jump mid-1950's 2012 snowhoarding Double Alley-Oop Rodeo & Double McTwist 1260 2012 McTwists & 1080's 720's & 900's 1998 2005 3.5x SPINS 2x FLIPS WHAT'S NEXT 15 IL 11.5 t HALFPIPE WALL HEIGHTS HALFPIPE TRICKS & AIR HEIGHT WITH EXTREME SPORTS ATHLETES CONTINUING TO CHASE THE ELUSIVE HIGH AND PUSH THE BOUNDARIES, IT'S NO WONDER WE VE SEEN THE TRICKS BECOME INSANELY MORE TECHNICAL AND THE LEVEL OF RISK RAPIDLY INCREASING. WE CAN ONLY WONDER, WHERE WILL THE EXTREME SPORTS ADDICTION TAKE US NEXT? SOURCES KRUSH K http://www.jneurosci.org http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7802751.stm https://dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=23620 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748420/pdf/nihms85634.pdf https://dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=23620 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-177868123/action-sports-participation-consumer.html http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1869106,00.html?iref=werecommend?id=perma_share http://www.livestrong.com/article/532699-dopamine-sports/ http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2008/12/risk-takers-drug-abusers-driven-by-decreased-ability-to-process-dopamine-69546/ -seekers-chasing-a-craving/ w.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-playing-field/200803/the-addicitve-nature-adrenaline-sport .ca/2012/01/thrill- http://www. http://www. http://www.summitpost.org/living-on-the-edge-extreme-sports-and-their-role-in-society/214107 http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_13126284 http://www.springerlink.com/content/j7578873352trx0g/ http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/extreme-sports-whats-appeal?page=2 .charlatan. "The more fearful a certain sport makes you, the greater the release of chemicals. The greater the release of these chemicals, the greater the addiction-like symptoms." -Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, Professor Emeritus, University of Delaware CHASING THE HIGH WHAT IS THE E TREME SPORTS ADDICTION? What is it that drives risk-takers to pursue dangerous situations willingly and repeatedly? Who are they and what makes them keep going back for more? Does this "addiction factor" contribute to the advancement of action sports as well? Krush takes you behind the scenes of the extreme sports addiction to give you some answers! WHAT ARE THEY ADDICTED TO? THE ADRENALINE RUSH Adrenaline, aka Epinephrine A hormone released from the adrenal gland in the body when faced with stressful or dangerous situations (fight or flight response), elevating your heart rate and giving you a boost of energy and alertness. It can give people a sense of superhuman strength, HO speed, and other abilities that allow them to respond to traumatic situations. OH но The release of adrenaline (the adrenaline rush) stimulates the brain's reward system, triggering the release of dopamine... THE REWARDING BUZZ Dopamine A chemical in the brain that is responsible for the "high" or euphoric feeling you experience when you overcome danger or perceived extreme risk. When dopamine is HO released it provides feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Chronic risk-takers or extreme sports enthusiasts tend to have a higher saturation of dopamine in the brain. HO DOPAMINE LEVEL IN RISK-TAKERS VS. NON RISK-TAKERS Normal Level Risk-taker -the amount of dopamine released in the brain due to a rewarding experience + "In high novelty-seeking individuals, the brain is less able to regulate dopamine [thus releasing a greater amount], and this may lead these individuals to be particularly responsive to novel and rewarding situations that normally induce dopamine release." -Dr. David H. Zald, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University THE EUPHORIC FEELING DOPAMINE GIVES EXTREME SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS WHEN IT FLOODS THE BLOODSTREAM WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE ? "TYPE I" 10-15% | * Type T (for thrill-seeking) personality types of the population are classified as Type T. can be described as "risk-takers and adventurers who seek excitement and stimulation wherever they can find or create it." (Psychologist Frank Farley) * These types of people tend to seek out unique experiences, the theory being that they need to stimulate low dopamine levels. Sensation-seeking trait is about bU% genetic THE DANGEROUS SIDE OF TYPE T PERSONALITIES DRUG ABUSE ALCOHOL ABUSE GAMBLING Using stimulating drugs such as amphetamines or cocaine synthetically raises the amount of dopamine in the brain, producing a short-lived artificial high. EXTREME SPORTS ADDICTION LEADS TO PROGRESSION THE ENDLESS PURSUIT... * Sensation seekers can become addicted to the "high" they get from the adrenaline and dopamine rush. This addiction drives them to chase the next high repeatedly. * Tolerance builds as the body gets used to the same rush over and over, which is why extreme sports athletes are constantly pushing the envelope and upping the ante. "You need risk to trigger reward and the body gets used to risk. In other words, just like drug addicts who need to take more and more of a substance to get back to the level of high they desire, action sports addicts need to up their danger quotient to achieve the same effect." -Dr. Greg Berns, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT BIG THING, THE NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE TRICK, IS WHAT DRIVES THE CONSTANT PROGRESSION OF EXTREME SPORTS A FEW EXAMPLES... THEN NOW fmx 2X WHAT'S NEXT Ist Backflip Double Backflip 2006 2002 skydiving WIHAT'S NEXT Became a sport BASE Jumping Wing Suit Flying 128,000 ft. jump mid-1950's 2012 snowhoarding Double Alley-Oop Rodeo & Double McTwist 1260 2012 McTwists & 1080's 720's & 900's 1998 2005 3.5x SPINS 2x FLIPS WHAT'S NEXT 15 IL 11.5 t HALFPIPE WALL HEIGHTS HALFPIPE TRICKS & AIR HEIGHT WITH EXTREME SPORTS ATHLETES CONTINUING TO CHASE THE ELUSIVE HIGH AND PUSH THE BOUNDARIES, IT'S NO WONDER WE VE SEEN THE TRICKS BECOME INSANELY MORE TECHNICAL AND THE LEVEL OF RISK RAPIDLY INCREASING. WE CAN ONLY WONDER, WHERE WILL THE EXTREME SPORTS ADDICTION TAKE US NEXT? SOURCES KRUSH K http://www.jneurosci.org http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7802751.stm https://dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=23620 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748420/pdf/nihms85634.pdf https://dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=23620 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-177868123/action-sports-participation-consumer.html http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1869106,00.html?iref=werecommend?id=perma_share http://www.livestrong.com/article/532699-dopamine-sports/ http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2008/12/risk-takers-drug-abusers-driven-by-decreased-ability-to-process-dopamine-69546/ -seekers-chasing-a-craving/ w.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-playing-field/200803/the-addicitve-nature-adrenaline-sport .ca/2012/01/thrill- http://www. http://www. http://www.summitpost.org/living-on-the-edge-extreme-sports-and-their-role-in-society/214107 http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_13126284 http://www.springerlink.com/content/j7578873352trx0g/ http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/extreme-sports-whats-appeal?page=2 .charlatan.

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The Extreme Sports Addiction [Infographic]

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What is it that drives risk-takers to pursue dangerous situations willingly and repeatedly? Who are they and what makes them keep going back for more?

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Sand tiger sharks are also known as sand tigers and gray nurse sharks. Like all sharks, they breathe underwater, through their gills. But sand tigers have one unique habit. They are the only sharks that come to the surface to gulp air, but not to breathe. The air ends up in its stomach. The air makes the shark more buoyant, so it can float motionless in the water as it watches for prey.

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Sand tiger sharks are also known as sand tigers and gray nurse sharks. Like all sharks, they breathe underwater, through their gills. But sand tigers have one unique habit. They are the only sharks that come to the surface to gulp air, but not to breathe. The air ends up in its stomach.

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Becoming too connected used to be an issue kids had with stuffed animals and pacifiers. Now it's a matter of smart phones and tablets. And whether this is a positive development remains to be seen.

Sure, growing up in the technology age has its fair share of benefits: instant access to endless educational possibilities and preparation for the jobs of the future, just to name a couple. But it also exposes young people to a host of issues far less benign than anything even the Velveteen Rabbit could throw at you. From radiation exposure and childhood obesity to cyberbullying and sex crimes, kids these days must run a gauntlet of technological issues in order to get into a good college, earn a decent wage and ultimately lead a happy, healthy, prosperous life.

Among the important decisions parents must therefore make - along with screen-time limits and whether to monitor social media - is when to give a child his or her own cell phone. Is there an ideal age? What parental rules and restrictions should accompany the privilege? And, perhaps most importantly, should phones be allowed at school?

Researchers from the London School of Economics found that students in high schools with cell-phone bans received about a week's worth of additional education each year and scored over 6% better on standardized tests. But how far can we extrapolate such findings, both in terms of younger children and beyond school grounds?

For additional insight that may help guide parents, we posed one simple question - "should kids have cell phones?" - to a panel of leading experts in the fields of education, family studies and technology. You can check out their bios and responses below. And if you'd like to join the discussion, you can share your thoughts in the comments section at the end of the page.

Why Kids Should Not Have Cell Phones
Highlights:

"Infants, toddlers and preschoolers should not have cell phones. The argument has a few simple points - cell phones are expensive, screen time is bad for kids this age, and the kids don't know what to do with the phones."
Ross Hunter // Director, Washington State Department of Early Learning

"There are several reasons why kids should not have cell phones. Kids with cell phones are likely to spend too much time on them, keeping them from doing more productive things like exercising and reading. There is increasing evidence of addiction to electronic devices, which like any other kind of addiction is destructive. Many kids with cell phones lose sleep because of talking at night or because of being anxious that they do not miss a call, and as a result suffer from headaches and sleepiness during the day, which interferes with learning at school."
David O. Carpenter // Director, Institute for Health and the Environment & Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany

"Kids should not have cell phones. I may be alone on this, but I don't see a real need for them, and I certainly don't see the benefits for young children. I actually know of a five-year-old child who owns a cell phone. Children's excessive use of cell phones can lead to issues with both health and safety."
Georgia S. Thompson // Vice President of the Programs and Affiliate Network, National Black Child Development Institute

"We go to great lengths to protect the child brain with car seats and bike helmets, yet we are exposing them now to an agent that many governments control/ban/restrict. Due to their thinner skulls and unique physiology, children can receive twice as much radiation into their brain and up to ten times as much into their skull compared at an adult. Children's developing brains are the most vulnerable."
Theodora Scarato // Clinical Social Worker & Director of Public Affairs and Educational Programs, Environmental Health Trust
Why Kids Should Have Cell Phones
Highlights:

"As digital natives, many kids begin using technology at a very young age. Having a cell phone seems to be a natural extension of that. Does that mean a kindergarten student should have one? No. Does it mean it should be automatically ruled out? No. Rather than simply answering no or yes to a child having a cell phone, one must consider the purpose for having it. As kids and society become more technologically savvy, the answer will often be yes, a cell phone will be a benefit for the child."
Jan Urbanski - Director of Safe and Humane Schools in the Institute on Family & Neighborhood Life at Clemson University
"I think age 9 is a good time for a cell phone-the student is in the 3rd or 4th grade and they are learning about the world. However, it is key for students to be given training around using a cell phone. For example, students should know about turning on/off the cell phone in school as well as lowering or muting the volume of the ringer during classes."
Beth Rosenberg // Director, Tech Kids Unlimited
"The real issue is not a question of yes or not but instead one of how. In other words, what we should be focusing on is whether young people are using cell phones responsibly and judiciously and how well we are teaching them to do both."
Robert Crosnoe // Chair of the Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin & President-Elect, Society for Research on Adolescence
Why It's a Situational Decision
Highlights:
"If the question were whether teens should have cell phones, I would answer yes in most circumstances. However, children are receiving cell phones at younger and younger ages, and I am not a fan of elementary school children owning cell phones. While there is not a magic age or a one-size-fits-all for when a child is ready for a cell phone, there is often little reason to rush toward ownership. While children may very well need access to technology at school, there are a variety of devices (tablets, for example) that can allow internet access without opening a young child up to the continued distraction and pressure to be 'always available,' which is what cell phone ownership often demands."
Patti Agatston // President, International Bullying Prevention Association & Co-author, "Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age"
"To answer this question, I consulted a 16-year-old who uses her phone extensively for texting and social media. I expected a resounding "yes" from her, but her first reaction was "No, it's too distracting and addictive." But then she began to think of the positive uses - ability to reach parents easily, consulting with friends about homework, etc. - and she concluded that it's a complicated question. I agree. The answer varies by the age of children and their needs."
Joan W. Almon // Co-founder and Director of Programs, Alliance for Childhood
"It depends on a multitude of factors. For example, how old is the child? A two-year-old does not need a cell phone, but a six-year-old might. So now ask yourself why does the child need a phone? If s/he is a child that is left alone often either at home or at series of scheduled practices/events, having such a tool can be quite handy for the family as well as make everyone feel safe. If having a phone is simply a fashion, social, or economic statement, I would say no."
Christopher P. Brown // Professor of Education, University of Texas at Austin
Image: g-stockstudio / iStock.

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Should Kids Have Cell Phones? Experts Pick Sides

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Becoming too connected used to be an issue kids had with stuffed animals and pacifiers. Now it's a matter of smart phones and tablets. And whether this is a positive development remains to be seen.

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As children, our crazy imaginations wander into what certain adventures would be like, but as we get older we soon forget about those dreams and get caught up in our everyday lives. However, the storyline goes a little different for Jordan Romero.

When Jordan was a very young boy, he had seen a painting hanging in his school depicting the seven continent's highest peaks, including Mt. Everest and dreamed of going there. And sure enough at the age of thirteen, he had climbed it! Not only did Jordan climb Mt. Everest, but he climbed six of the seven highest points on each continent.

Jordan Romero, 13, explained, "When I got to the top (of Mt. Everest) I raised my arms and pumped my fist. I was really proud."

We all have no doubt that his next adventure on the Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest peak at 16,067 ft., will be a success great enough to beat the world record of the youngest person to climb the seven highest peaks on the seven continents. He already accomplished being the youngest kid, ever, to climb Mt. Everest!

For those of you who are wondering, Jordan climbed Mt. Everest with a team. The Everest team, who were the first family to stand together on the summit consisted of Jordon, his father, his step mom, and the Sherpas (Ang, Dawa, and Kharma).

In his interview with Kids News, Inc., Jordan stated many times that his team was truly amazing and without their support, none of this would be possible. Jordan shared his confidence in his team and in himself about climbing.

"I don't really have any fears about climbing. I know that our team is prepared and that I have trained for what we are doing. I know that we are ready and that we will take care of each other. I know the consequences of mistakes and I have a big respect for the mountain."

Jordan's team really believed in him and never doubted his abilities for a second. Because of the faith in his team, Jordan did not fear climbing Mt. Everest, and he was confident his team would make all the right, and safe, decisions.

He further revealed, "I am aware of the dangers, but I never feel in danger because my team is so prepared. I try to remember that it is all for fun. I trust my team and know that we will make safe decisions."

But what was the most difficult aspect of the journey, Kids News, Inc. reporters wanted to know?

Jordan replied, "I think the toughest thing was being away from home for so long. I really missed my Mom, my sister and my friends."

Jordan recalled, though he had the support of his team, his first line of support was from his family.

He added, "When I first came home from school and told my Dad what I wanted to do, he said ok, but that it would take a lot of training and commitment to get there. Having my Dad and Karen with me only made our summit success that much sweeter. We are the first family ever to reach the top of Mt. Everest.

We have climbed six of the seven summits together. That kind of experience has made us a really great team, something you usually don't see in the mountain climbing world."

But how can someone so young be able to grasp so much about climbing and its dangers?

Jordan replied, "Age has very little impact on your ability to climb. It really is all about the right preparation, your experience and capabilities as a climber, and for me, the team you climb with. My whole family believes, and we have proven, the safest and most successful way to climb is as a team that knows each other well."

He further revealed, "We really never felt in danger, and if we did, we were prepared to turn back at any time."

To ensure his success, Jordan packed his lucky rabbit's foot plus, he adds, "a pair of kangaroo testicles for my little friend Nigel, a cross form my grandfather and a beaded necklace from my friend Doug. Also, I had some good luck seeds and rice that were blessed by a Monk near the base camp."

Jordan found it interesting to learn about the people and culture around Mt. Everest. He joked, "It is obviously very different from Big Bear Lake, CA!"

He also got to experience how little oxygen there really was up that high in the mountains.

"I think the thing that surprised me the most was just how little oxygen there really is when you are up that high. It is the oxygen factor and the weather that make it hard to reach the top of Mt. Everest," he stated.

For a boy as young as thirteen, his mature thoughts and actions should help him succeed all throughout his life

Even though the final part of the climb took 15 hours, Jordan Romero said that it was worth it.

"Everest is the highest mountain in the World, and the last summit from Camp three to the top was particularly hard because of the elevation and the lack of oxygen. Also, it was really, really cold, he exclaimed."

At the top of Mt. Everest when Jordan raised his arms and pumped his fist, the feeling that rushed through him must have been so overwhelming!

He recalled, "I was really proud that I accomplished my goal. And, it was really cool to call my Mom and say I am standing on top of the world!"

Not only does Jordan want to climb all seven of the world's highest summits, but he also wants to climb the highest points in each of the USA's fifty states.

Kids News, Inc. was interested in how to train for such a feat. Jordan shared his training with us:

"We basically trained four years to summit Mt. Everest. It was definitely most challenging because of the lack of oxygen as you got to the top. And, mentally you always have to be prepared. We have tremendous respect for the mountains we climb. The main reason we were so successful is that we don't take risks.

We really are a team, and that is the biggest help mentally and physically. Hours and hours a week training went into this, and it is hard to estimate the hours. My entire life is outdoors and training," he explained.

In addition to training, Jordan enjoys other outdoor sports with his family.

"As a family, adventure is our life, and work and bills, just get in the way a bit. At this point, I enjoy everything from snow shoe racing, standup paddling, down-hill mountain biking.... and alpine and freestyle skiing is a great way for me to be in the elements and mountains 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is much like an office job. But, it's all about passion for the outdoors," he stated.

Jordan uses his first hand experiences to inspire kids all over the world to be healthy, get outside, and accomplish their dreams regardless of how impossible they may seem.

He emphasized, "I want to talk to schools and kids and help them set goals...I want to show other kids that they can set BIG goals themselves and reach them.

I have spoken at a number of schools and now through social media have reached thousands of kids who are watching along and cheering and telling me that I have inspired them to find a goal for themselves

I want to use the publicity around climbing to show kids the benefits of being healthy and being outdoors. It's working and it was not even dependent upon me reaching the summit. I've already touched the lives of kids all over the world!"

Not only has Jordan reached kids by his accomplishments, but he reached them through his journey, as well.

"I have gotten hundreds of e-mails and people tweeting throughout the entire climb. Most everyone was very supportive, which made me feel great. This is a great opportunity for me to reach out to kids. I see myself as a role model to show kids they can set goals...big goals and find adults and friends who can help them reach their goals.

Kids should get outside, be healthy, eat and drink healthy. Take one step toward their goal every day. I am proud of my accomplishments and hopefully it shows kids they can do whatever they dream.

My big message to them is to Find your own Everest. Whatever interests you or motivates you, learn all you can about it, find experts to help you experience, and make sure you are prepared before you do anything. Also, have fun!" He concluded.

The story of Jordan Romero is truly inspiring for kids. We expect to see a lot of great things come out of what he has done, and what he will succeed with in the future.

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Jordan Romero: Reaching the Top - The Youngest Kid to Climb Mount Everest

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As children, our crazy imaginations wander into what certain adventures would be like, but as we get older we soon forget about those dreams and get caught up in our everyday lives. However, the storyline goes a little different for Jordan Romero.

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With food sources decimated in Puget Sound, orcas are disappearing

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With food sources decimated in Puget Sound, orcas are disappearing

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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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Much of the chatter during Sunday's Super Bowl will undoubtedly be about how the rhetoric is heating up over long-term head injuries in football. But Coloradans needn't look any further than our own backyard mountains for discussion on a similarly dangerous development.

Snowmobiler Caleb Moore died Thursday from injuries to his heart and brain after a violent crash during last weekend's Winter X Games in Aspen in which his 450-pound snowmobile landed on top of him during a competition.

Just hours before his accident, Moore told The Denver Post that his snowmobiling career was launched "after barely a month of practice."

As a trend, most snow sports for amateurs have ostensibly gotten safer over the last decade, with helmet use up over 171 percent and 67 percent of skiers and snowboarders opting to protect their heads, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Despite that, serious injuries on the slopes have increased while the number of annual skier days has decreased by more than 6 million.

While the NSAA cites just a one in a million chance of incurring a serious injury on the slopes, the movement on the mountains is still to be better, higher, faster and more daring and treacherous recreationally, in competition, in the backcountry - and perhaps with less experience - than ever before.

There were 54 in-bounds skiing and snowboarding fatalities nationwide in the 2011-12 season, plus 51 serious injuries. In the 2002-03 season, there were 37 fatalities and 33 serious injuries.

Chris Nowinski, a former WWE wrestler and founding executive director of the nonprofit Sports Legacy Institute, which aims to advance the study, treatment, and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes, says while safety is the purpose of helmets, they actually encourage risk-taking behavior "because they can limit immediate consequences like pain and lacerations."

The International Ski Federation has made significant changes in equipment rules in order to make the sport safer for professionals, but while athletes are competing at the same venues as past generations with more secure measures in place, the risks are still larger as the push in competition is to go bigger. The 100 miles per hour World Cup downhill ski barrier was broken for the first time during the Wengen downhill in Switzerland last month, for one. And Powder magazine recently questioned the future of women's slopestyle after most of the U.S. team was sidelined with injuries like concussions and a torn ACL at last year's U.S. Grand Prix.

Über-snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the halfpipe, Shaun White is roundly praised as a showman with tremendously intricate skills, although he also has the benefit of sponsors to pay for a state-of-the-art, incredibly safe practice facility. In a 2010 "60 Minutes" profile, he gave a tour of his training camp, which includes a foam pit and 500-foot super pipe in the San Juan Mountains, which was built expressly for him by a sponsor and only accessible by helicopter. Most other athletes might have the benefit of safer equipment, but they still don't have that kind of entrée to such protective care.

Access to safer equipment also tends to make more casual snow riders feel perhaps prematurely qualified to attempt to emulate their professional icons. The popularity of events like the Winter X Games in Aspen, Burton Open in Vail and the Dew Tour in Breckenridge and extreme athletes like Tanner Hall help contribute to a precarious culture that some argue is getting out of hand.

Ted Mahon, a career skier who has skied all of Colorado's fourteeners as well as climbed Mount Everest, said that while in all sports there is a progression wherein prior generations try to build on the accomplishments of their predecessors, "in the case of skiing, the progression has gotten to a point where to move forward to the next level, the margin of error has grown very thin."

He also believes that much of the field at events such as the X Games is just too young to understand the gravity of their attempts towards X gold.

"If you're 16 and they dangle prize money, sponsorships and the chance to star in a Red Bull video, it's no wonder the kids want to do it," Mahon said.

Gadgets like GoPros, the helmet cameras that Men's Fitness magazine praises as "just the device to capture whatever it is that gets your adrenaline pumping" aid and abet tweens and adolescents who try imitating the extraordinary tricks they see in competitions and commercials in an effort to impress their actual and social-media friends - while in terrain parks. Without age minimums and extra monitoring from ski patrol in the parks, the chance of injury is great.

Still, two-time extreme skiing world champion Chris Davenport commends the ski industry as a whole, including the resorts, for trying to make the sport safer and thinks families who ski recreationally aren't doing it much different today than, say, 20 years ago. Yet he agrees there's an alarming inclination on the professional side to push the envelope to near-fatal extremes.

"You have to do the new trick, go bigger in the pipe, flip the snowmobile - this is what keeps franchises like the X Games going. Otherwise it wouldn't be as interesting."

Mahon agrees, and believes to an extent that contenders like Moore are just answering the demand of the crowds - and likely ESPN.

"People watch snowmobiling because they know there's going to be a crash. It's not such an interesting event," Mahon said. "It's actually kind of silly. Everyone's just waiting for the wipeout."

Nowinski believes the biggest concern with events like the X Games is that there's no one setting limits to the risks athletes can take.

"If the sport's leadership doesn't have a firm hand in telling athletes not to kill themselves and to take reasonable risks instead, there's no limit to how much damage they can do to themselves," Nowinski said.

National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell is attempting to make that league safer after a highly publicized spate of head injuries and suicides, even if some players and fans don't necessarily appreciate the increased number of fines and flags for hits that referees deem dangerous.

Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard told CBSSports.com that while he thinks Goodell is killing the league, he still worries "there's going to be a death on the field one day because of the direction we're taking." Ultimately, he said he agrees that something has to be done about player safety.

Tanner Hall last year told HBO's "Real Sports" that "a lot of the consequences can be death because that's just where the progression of skiing is going," but he wasn't on the same page as Pollard about whether he thought that any kind of intervention was in order.

"The answer is to keep going," Hall said.

Whether the prize is the highest ratings on ESPN, the most lucrative energy drink endorsement deal or the best amateur GoPro video to share on Facebook on Twitter, one thing is clear: Few appear to be interested in applying the brakes.
Meredith C. Carroll of Aspen writes a weekly column in The Denver Post. Contact her at meredithccarroll@hotmail.com or on Twitter @mccarroll.

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M. Carroll: Extreme sports: Higher, faster and more treacherous

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M. Carroll: Extreme sports: Higher, faster and more treacherous

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Sharks are scary creatures that we need to get rid of, right? Wrong. Sharks are totally important. See how some peeps are trying to save em.

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Unsightly plastic bottles, bags and other trash give just a hint of the largely unseen problem of plastic pollution. Scientists have found tiny bits of it throughout the ocean. The bad news: Sea life can’t tell the difference between plastic and food.

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Why Zoos Matter

We at the Saint Louis Zoo are passionate about the work we do. We not only care about the work we're doing, we are fostering animals that are threatened or endangered and supporting their perpetuation into the future.

Making a Difference

The world around us is changing fast. Species of wildlife are facing global extinction on a massive scale. About 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals are now threatened with extinction, and fully half of the world's primates - our closest relatives - teeter on the edge of existence. We face the loss of one in eight of all bird species. Overall, the extinction rate has increased a hundred-fold over the last century, and today we estimate that over 18,000 species face oblivion. Zoos are in a unique position to make a difference. Zoos are focused on offering the very best possible nutrition, enrichment and environment for animals in their care.

The many committed people at zoos care deeply about animals, working with an incredible variety of species, from one-celled creatures to elephants. Our research on behavior, reproductive biology, nutrition, animal health and genetics is valuable to wildlife managers, field researchers and other scientists.

For example, the Saint Louis Zoo has been doing a mother/infant bonding study with antelope and other hoofed animals at Red Rocks for 14 years. The data we've gathered - how often and when a species typically nurses, who initiates nursing, proximity, grooming, nuzzling - has provided information to field researchers that would be hard to come by otherwise.

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Zoo professionals are experts on breeding small populations of endangered species. That knowledge, too, has become valuable to scientists working with wildlife populations. Nowadays animals in wild habitats are often found in small, fragmented groups because of agriculture, logging or other human activity.

We collaborate with organizations worldwide on conservation breeding, habitat preservation, community development, public education and research.

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From Forest Park and Missouri streams to the Horn of Africa or the coastline of Peru, the Zoo is taking a holistic approach to wildlife conservation. While the Zoo has been involved in helping save endangered species for decades, our goal today is create a sustainable future for wildlife and for people around the world. Ultimately, we need to help save the ecosystems on which animals and humans depend. WildCare Institute addresses three key ingredients in conservation success: wildlife management and recovery, conservation science, and support of the human populations that coexist with wildlife.

Connecting people to animals

People learn at zoos. They learn in our formal classes, lectures, camps, teacher workshops, distance learning, zoo tours, overnights and outreach programs. Informally they learn from keeper chats, docent volunteers, interpreters, signage and special exhibits. Most important, they learn from observing zoo animals.

On a scale of 1 to 10, our visitors rate their educational experience at the Saint Louis Zoo as a 9.1.

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Zoos are a place where families can have unique experiences together every time they visit. Today's families are more conscious than ever of the need to teach their children about the natural world and respect for living creatures.

Why do people come to the zoo?

Why do zoos matter?

Because we care.

We want to keep this planet's amazing wildlife around for future generations.

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The Saint Louis Zoo is dedicated to saving species and bringing people and wildlife together. Home to over 16,000 animals, many of which are endangered, entry is free every day for everyone, an important part of our commitment to people and animals - always.

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The easiest way to get a grip on how much money Nepal takes in from tourism is to take a close look at what the Everest tourist spends. You might be surprised how quickly the numbers climb.

If you're one of the 25,000 annual Everest tourists, getting into Nepal for more than a three-day stay will only run you $30 [source: Nepal Tourism Board]. But that's just the beginning of the tab. If you want to climb one of the major Himalayan mountains, you need a government-issued climbing permit. Although you can hike more than a hundred of the smaller peaks for free, who wants to play in the sandbox when the beach is next door?

Mountains taller than 21,300 feet (6,501 meters) are premium property. That base height costs $1,000 and increases $500 for every 1,640 feet (500 meters). Since Mount Everest stands at a staggering 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), the permit will run around $3350.

Now that you've got your permit, you're ready to start climbing, right? Not quite. If you want to take the most common route to the top of Everest, you'll owe the Nepal government a $25,000 royalty fee for yourself or up to $70,000 for a seven-person expedition crew [source: Nepal Mountain News].

Can't afford it? Wait until the off-season. To increase Everest tourism during the colder months of the year, the Nepalese government announced in 2007 that it was trying to cut royalty fees for people interested in climbing Everest during fall and winter. If the proposed plan goes into effect, a September through November climb will be 50 percent off the regular price and one from December to February will be 75 percent lower. If you're lured into the sales price, Nepal winds up raking in off-season tourism money.

Once you get to the Khumbu region, there are other expenses as well, such as lodging, food and any additional supplies that aren't covered in your expedition fees. In addition to trekking businesses, more than 300 hotels and lodges have sprung up from the tourism, many of which are owned by the local Sherpa people [source: Reid and Kendrick]. Some people turn their homes into tea houses, or overnight lodging, for tourists who want a more "authentic" Himalayan experience. Hundreds of Nepalese men from other areas swarm into Khumbu as well, hoping to get work as porters on expeditions, hauling trekking equipment up Everest slopes on their backs. Even the high-altitude Buddhist monasteries draw income from passing tourists.

However, tourism carries its own price as well in the form of environmental destruction. Read on to learn about the environmental repercussions of Mount Everest tourism.

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How has Mount Everest tourism affected Nepal?

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The easiest way to get a grip on how much money Nepal takes in from tourism is to take a close look at what the Everest tourist spends. You might be surprised how quickly the numbers climb.

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During the San Francisco X Games, MomsTeam talked to moms of some of the top athletes, who shared their experiences in the world of "extreme" sports and advice on what other parents should know to help them decide if these sports are right for their child.

A Generation Gap?

If you don't know much about the new sports that have kids across the country jumping, spinning and riding every chance they get, relax! You are not alone. Despite having moved into mainstream culture, they are still very generational, with most parents knowing only what they learn from their kids. As a result, parents usually have lots of questions, like: Are these sports safe? Where do I take my kids to learn? How do I buy the proper equipment? Can you really make a living as an extreme athlete and how do I know if my child is good enough to compete?

Some of what moms told us was not surprising, including the very real risk of injuries. Every parent had a story about stitches or broken bones, but, as they pointed out, so does the parent of a football or soccer player. On the other hand, we were surprised when moms told us about how close many had become to their teenagers as a result of their support and involvement in their child's choice of a non-traditional sport. Both the mothers and the athletes helped explain why many kids are drawn "alternative" sports instead of more traditional sports.

Family Support is Key

The mothers we spoke with, all who have children competing at these X Games, had to make tough decisions and sacrifices to help their kids reach this level of competition. In some cases they travel the country with their child to attend competitions, spending considerable time away from the rest of the family. The moms confess to having had concerns when their kids first began these sports about the possibility of injuries. And many of them had little knowledge, let along first hand experience, about sports like skateboarding or in-line skating. But once it became clear to them that this was what their child loved doing and that they had the talent, they committed themselves and their time to helping their children fulfill their dreams.

Debby Pastrana is the mother of 16-year-old Moto X freestyle phenom and gold medallist in the 1999 and 2000 X Games, Travis Pastrana. In this, one of the most dangerous sports at the X Games, where riders fly 35 feet in the air and perform extremely difficult tricks on a motorcycle, Debby has had to face her fears as a parent and rise above them to support her son's dream. "Its hard, it's very hard. Travis has broken over 20 bones and been in a wheelchair for two and half months when they weren't sure if he would be paralyzed. It was the hardest thing as a parent, but you see your kid who tries and it's in their heart. As a parent, if you see this in your child, you have to support it. You have to. And if you don't support them then lots of things are going to be worse. Because then they feel the friction of that and don't want to go against you. We are in it 100%, I've been with him every step of the way. When he's hurt and in rehab, he never complains, and that's when you know [that he's committed]," explained Pastrana.

On the other hand, some parents still don't see extreme sports as real athletic competition and, as a result, don't respect the path their child has chosen. One parent, who didn't want to give her name, shared with us how a lack of support can really harm a parent/child relationship. While both parents have decided to support their child's decision to become a professional bike stunt rider, one parent continues to belittle the sport and has yet to attend any competitions. This has caused a lot of pain for their child and has seriously strained family relationships.

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Getting Involved In "Extreme Sports": Advice From Parents Of Top Extreme Athletes

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During the San Francisco X Games, MomsTeam talked to moms of some of the top athletes, who shared their experiences in the world of "extreme" sports and advice on what other parents should know to help them decide if these sports are

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Before we even got off the boat, we saw their shadowy figures in the clear water below.

As Norman Eiley, our boat driver, prepared to cast anchor, a handful of sharks and stingrays swam beneath the boat's wake. The 15 high school students I was traveling with started to squeal. "I never get to see sharks in the water!" said Emma Cooper-Mullin, 17, from Irvington, N.Y., with fins and snorkel in hand. "I really want to swim with one."

Holding a nurse shark at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize.

AmbergrisCaye.com

Within minutes, we were all in the water, making that dream come true. For the next hour, we snorkeled with a handful of nurse sharks and southern stingrays at Shark Ray Alley-a shallow sandbar just south of Ambergris Caye, an island in northern Belize. Shark Ray Alley is part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. It is illegal to catch fish there. Instead, tourism is the main draw.

Every day, boats full of tourists arrive at Shark Ray Alley, where tour guides feed chunks of fish guts to the animals. As a result, the area's sharks and rays-some bigger than we are-have become so used to people that they'll swim right up to you and even let you touch them.

And that's the problem. Just days before we snorkeled at Shark Ray Alley, Norman told me, a fisherman from the mainland had cruised in at 4 in the morning, caught 9 or 10 nurse sharks, and killed them to sell their fins and meat.

"People noticed them missing that day," Norman said. "They were complaining-no sharks, no sharks, no sharks. Nobody has ever done something like this before on a large scale."
Underwater national parks
Marine reserves, or sanctuaries, are supposed to prevent such incidents from happening. Like national parks under water, marine reserves are set up to protect designated areas of the ocean from fishing, instead favoring research, education, and tourism.

Published research on the benefits of marine reserves worldwide has exploded in recent years, says Jim Bohnsack, a fisheries biologist at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Miami. "The scientific community is 99 percent supportive of marine reserves," he says. "They work for protecting biodiversity and protecting resources."

The idea is that a carefully designed network of protected areas should help the health of the entire ocean. Fish and other creatures can grow up safely inside reserves before spilling over the edges, where they become fair game for fishermen.

The Hol Chan Marine Reserve protects fish and other sea creatures.

AmbergrisCaye.com

"It's like an insurance policy," Bohnsack says. "If you make mistakes, you have something in the bank, like a savings account, that can help resupply areas that have been overfished."

In support of marine reserves, Bohnsack points to evidence that bigger fish tend to lay more eggs. So, fish inside reserves should be more likely to produce even more fish with stronger genes. In theory, everyone wins, including fishermen and conservationists.

"It's like having your cake and eating it, too," Bohnsack says.
Boosting conservation
Marine reserves also make sense economically, says Charles Acosta, an ecologist at Northern Kentucky University. By tracking lobsters, queen conch, and other animals with radio technology and using mathematical models to analyze population patterns, Acosta and his colleagues have come up with dollar figures to show fishermen that conservation will actually boost their business in the long run.

Acosta's work has contributed to a debate over what marine reserves should look like. "One of our biggest, most important results has been that there is a limit that you cannot go below in terms of size of reserve," he says. "If the reserve is too small, it will have no effect at all."

A southern stingray.

AmbergrisCaye.com

Still, plans to create marine reserves are often controversial, especially in places like the Florida Keys, where the fishing industry has a lot of money at stake.

And even after reserves are established, enforcement is often difficult and more expensive than most developing countries can afford. At Hol Chan, a ranger zooms around all day long, collecting fees from snorkelers and divers who visit the area.

You can pay a fine of up to $500 if you get caught stealing even a piece of coral. Other reserves rely more on word-of-mouth and the honor principle for protection.
Sharks in the wild
Unfortunately, those kinds of systems can backfire, as the recent incident at Shark Ray Alley demonstrates. "To have all those sharks living in one place is setting them up for something like this to happen," said Norman, who is also treasurer of the Belizean Tour Guide Association. He is now determined to track down and punish the shark poachers and to revise enforcement policies in Belize. "We all depended on the honesty of fishermen," he said.

Besides, Norman added, maybe it's better not to turn shark sightings into humdrum, everyday events. "It used to be when you saw a nurse shark it was like, 'Wow!,'" he said. "But after going to Shark Ray Alley, it's like 'Oh, there's another one.' The element of surprise has changed."

Given a choice between seeing a shark by chance in the wild and seeing a shark at a place like Sting Ray Alley, most of the students in our group reluctantly agreed. "I guess I would rather see sharks when no one else was around than at Shark Ray Alley," Emma said on the boat ride back to Ambergris Caye.

Her classmate Cheryl Berman, an 18-year-old senior from Armonk, N.Y., wasn't so sure. "I think both are pretty cool."
Going Deeper: Additional Information Word Find: Swimming with Sharks Questions about the Article

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Journal Reports: Energy Big Issues

Should There Be a Price on Carbon?

October 5, 2012 at 4:01 AM ET

That question divides even those who agree the government needs to pursue clean-energy policies. Three experts debate the issue.

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Many cities around the globe have already banned the ubiquitous bags from stores, and activists are pushing for bans elsewhere. But skeptics say that science doesn't support the idea that plastic bags do any genuine harm.

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Everest - South Col Route

Everest is still the ultimate summit for any mountaineer. The accomplishment of standing on its apex is not diminished by recent popularity. No one can climb Everest for you. Despite what some believe, terms such as "short-roping" do not apply. This is a mountaineer's climb, demanding skill and self-awareness. Our team will take on this challenge in a competent and focused manner, using the collective experience of elite Sherpa high-altitude mountaineers under Wally Berg's leadership. We will approach the climb with all the dedication, humility and organization necessary to succeed on the highest summit on Earth.

Each of our team members will benefit from the same level of support and equipment, and each will have the goal of standing on the top of Everest. We do not believe in the "tiered" pricing for various categories of team membership that has become the hallmark of the strictly commercial expeditions to Everest in recent years.

Berg Adventures is the only company to readily offer fall expeditions. The notion that Everest cannot be climbed in the fall is a relatively recent one. Wally Berg noted that when he first climbed Everest in October 1992 there were 7 different expeditions on the mountain and 36 people reached the summit between Sept. 25 and October 15! In the past few years when we have gone in the fall we have had the mountain to ourselves. See our archived dispatches, including the exciting account of Kit Deslaurier's ski descent of Everest in October 2006.

Making Your Everest Dream a Reality

Proper preparation and organization are the keys to success on Everest. We have the time and expertise to make your Everest dream come true and we are readily available to help you navigate along your road to the top of the world.

If you are serious about climbing Mount Everest, contact the BAI office to discuss a strategy that will get your training and plans headed in the right direction. If Everest is something that you've always dreamed of, but you don't know if it is for you, we would love to discuss your options. We can help you answer the questions you may have: Is Everest right for me? What relevant experience do I have? What should be my next step?

Qualifications and Training

At over 29,000ft/8,840m, Everest requires climbers to have a very high level of fitness. Begin training for the expedition as early as possible before departure to ensure that you are in top condition.

Overall fitness, with a focus on increasing endurance, is important to your success. Running, fast walking, swimming, cycling, soccer, basketball, and other sports can be ideal for aerobic training. You will want to practice hiking with a weighted pack (approximately 40lbs), going uphill as much as possible. Weight your pack with jugs of water during training ascents. By dumping out the water before coming down, you can reduce the strain on your knees.

Conditions

Everest is extreme, but it can be a surprisingly pleasant place to camp and live during the spring and fall seasons when we will be there. Life at base camp is simple, but you will be well cared for by the best cooks and support staff around. That said, weather conditions are highly variable on Everest - from warm, sunny days to cold, windy and snowy ones. Experience camping at high altitudes and in low temperatures is necessary before you go because it teaches you how to adjust your gear and manage your body temperature. Selection of the proper equipment for climbing and camping on Everest is imperative. We are happy to help you find the gear that will best protect you from the elements and will help you manage your clothing and gear for the expedition. Everest is uncompromising, but if you are well prepared you will surely appreciate how spectacular it is.

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Climb Mt. Everest with Berg Adventures: Trip Description

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Trip description for Berg Adventures International expedition to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak. Led by 4 time Everest summitter Wally Berg, founder of Berg Adventures International

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Owl attacks on Dutch town- Residents in the northern Dutch town of Purmerend have been advised to take umbrellas out at night after a series of attacks by an owl. Dozens of residents have suffered head injuries over the past three weeks because of a European eagle owl. Two runners were attacked on Tuesday, with one requiring stitches for five separate head wounds. The European eagle owl's usual prey are small mammals and birds. One of the sites of the attacks has been a home for the disabled. A Spokeswoman for the home said that residents and workers had suffered at least 15 separate attacks by the nocturnal bird, which remains still on site. During the day there is no problem for the town, but at night people now only go outside armed with umbrellas, helmets and hats, to protect themselves.

Animals rescued from overcrowded zoo in Mexico- More than 100 animals have been rescued from an overcrowded private zoo in Mexico, after complaints from visitors. Mexican environmental officials raided the zoo after many visitors had complained about the potential danger. The officials found overcrowded and cramped cages piled on top of each other and unsafe conditions for visitors. Among the animals rescued were lions, tigers, jaguars, pumas, bears, buffalos and camels. The zoo in Tehuacan in the south east of Mexico City is owned by Sergio Gomez (senior Mexican politician). Officials said they had seized 101 of the 240 animals held at the zoo.their hands into the cages. However the officials say they are trying their hardest to find suitable homes for the animals.

The animals were kept in terrible and unsafe conditions and lacked proper care and had no proper ventilation, the animals were cramped together which was making the animals aggressive. Visitors were also not properly protected and said that they could insert

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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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Bull sharks are the most dangerous sharks in the world, according to many experts. This is because they’re an aggressive species of shark, and they tend to hunt in waters where people often swim: along tropical shorelines. Bull sharks live throughout the world, in shallow, warm ocean waters. They’ve…

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Untitled infographic by calopes - Infogram

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The main argument to be against a ban of plastic bags is they are useful and help carrying things. Some people think that a ban is not necessary if people take care and dispose plastic bags in the right places. Investing in recycling systems and environme

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Forget Mars, we should go back to the MOON says Chris Hadfield

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EXCLUSIVE: Canadian former astronaut Chris Hadfield (shown) told MailOnline that current plans to go to Mars are too ambitious - at least at the moment.