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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, April 2009
On newsstands March 24
Features and additional Web content at ngm.nationalgeographic.com
Feature stories:
THE SHE-KING OF EGYPT (Cover Story), by Chip Brown, photographed by Kenneth Garrett (Page 88)
What motivated Hatshepsut to rule ancient Egypt as a man while her stepson stood in the shadows? Hatshepsut, pharaoh from 1479 to 1458 B.C., never made it a secret that she was a woman, but in the early days of her reign she seemed to look for ways to synthesize images of queen and king. As time went on, she seems to have decided it was easier to sidestep gender altogether and she had herself depicted solely as a male king. Now, her mummy and true story have come to light.
AUSTRALIA GOES DRY, by Robert Draper, photographed by Amy Toensing (Page 34)
What will happen when the climate starts to change, the rivers dry up and a whole way of life comes to an end? The people of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin are finding out right now as the country faces a devastating drought.
CHANGING RAINS, by Elizabeth Kolbert (Page 60)
As the planet warms, look for more precipitation where it's already wet and for deeper drought where water is scarce. Several reports predict that over the next few decades climate change will emerge as a significant source of political instability and unrest. Water shortages, in particular, are likely to cause international tensions. Writer Elizabeth Kolbert is author of the book "Field Notes from a Catastrophe."
POLAR BEAR PARADISE, by Bruce Barcott, photographed by Paul Nicklen (Page 66)
The rich wildlife of Svalbard, Norway's Arctic archipelago, faces a creeping thaw. From March 1979 to March 2008 the average ice area in the Barents Sea declined by 30 percent. In 2007 and 2008 the sea-ice extent dipped to the lowest on record. The wildlife that thrives here has adapted to one of the toughest habitats on earth. As climate change forces a retreat of the summer ice pack, Svalbard's birds, fish and mammals will be forced to adapt even further.
NEW FAITH IN RUSSIA, by Serge Schmemann, photographed by Gerd Ludwig (Page 112)
Driven underground for 75 years, the Russian Orthodox Church — the church of the tsars —now enjoys favored status. After the communist collapse in 1991, the number of people claiming a religious affiliation surged. The Russian Orthodox Church began to thrive, and its communities more than tripled by 2004. Vladimir Putin has said the church is as vital to Russia's security as its nuclear shield.
RACE TO SAVE THE FROGS, by Jennifer S. Holland, photographed by Joel Sartore (Page 138)
We are witnessing a mass extinction. An exotic fungus is delivering a fatal blow to many amphibians already hit by habitat loss, pollution and climate change. But unprecedented research and rescue efforts may offer a lifeline to species on the edge.
Departments:
April's Departments section reports on the findings of the Early Bird Project; the impact of crude oil spills 20 years after the Exxon Valdez accident; chickens, the new urban livestock of choice; and phenology, the study of the timing of nature's cycles, a science that is gaining visibility as climate change blurs seasonal lines.
National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining on-the-ground reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. In 2008 it won three National Magazine Awards, for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting. In 2007 it won two National Magazine Awards, for General Excellence and Photography. Its Web site won a 2008 Webby Award for best magazine Web site.
National Geographic magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world's largest nonprofit educational and scientific organizations. Published in English and 31 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $4.95 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call to apply for membership in the Society. The magazine's Web site is at ngm.nationalgeographic.com.
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Contacts:
Beth Foster
202-857-7543
befoster@ngs.org
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