Fourteen Scientists and Activists Who Are Changing the World

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Every year, the National Geographic Society honors scientists, wildlife experts and others for their work. Each honoree receives a ten thousand dollar award to help them with their research and future projects. This week we learn about the latest National Geographic Emerging Explorers.

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STEVE EMBER: One of the honorees is searching for life in faraway places.

KEVIN HAND: “The big picture for me and many of my colleagues is the search for life beyond Earth. So if we’ve learned anything about life here on Earth, it’s that in general where you find the liquid water, you find life.”

STEVE EMBER: That is Kevin Hand, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist who works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. This lab works with the American space agency on projects including looking for life in outer space. Kevin Hand is assiting with plans to send an orbital device to Europa, a moon of the planet Jupiter. Space agency officials hope to launch the device in about twenty-twenty.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Europa is covered in ice. Under the ice are deep oceans, which could be home to living organisms. However, this moon is not easy to explore. Depending on its orbit, Europa can be over nine hundred million kilometers from Earth. Its environment is freezing, with intense radiation and no atmosphere.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Kevin Hand and coworker Robert Carlson have recreated an environment like Europa in a laboratory to study its conditions. Mister Hand also has visited extreme places on Earth to see how organisms survive in cold climates. This could help experts know what to look for when looking for possible life forms on Europa.

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STEVE EMBER: The work of several Emerging Explorers aims to improve the lives of people in different ways. Juan Martinez grew up in poverty in the city of Los Angeles. In high school, he won a trip to learn about nature in the Teton Science Schools program in Wyoming. He says experiencing the wilderness and mountains changed his life.

Today, Mister Martinez campaigns to get young people, especially at-risk youth, interested in nature and the outdoors. He works with groups like the Sierra Club to get young people interested in the environment. And, he heads the Natural Leaders Network of the Children and Nature Network. The group creates links between environmental organizations, businesses, government and individuals to connect children with nature.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Jennifer Burney is an environmental scientist. She has studied links between climate change, food production and food security. She is especially interested in how people can use new technologies to create a better, more sustainable food system.

One of her projects is in northern Benin. She has worked with the Solar Electric Light Fund to build a water supply system for farming. Energy from the sun provides power for the project.