COVER: Humanity’s actions have committed us to a warming climate and limited our options for mitigation. Although there is no turning back, some paths are still open to avoid catastrophic climate change and reduce its impacts. We must act now to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and change our approaches to growing food, consuming products, and managing ecosystems to avoid a dire future. See page 1392.
Illustration: Myriam Wares
CAROLINE ASH
JAMES MORTON TURNER
“Sunday Morning” takes us to Dauphin Island off the Gulf coast of Alabama. Videographer: Scot Miller.
Dauphin Island is a town in Alabama, on the Gulf Coast island of the same name. It’s known for stretches of white sand, like Public Beach. At the entrance to Mobile Bay, 19th-century Fort Gaines features original cannons and a blacksmith shop. Migrating birds can be seen in the forest, dunes and swamp of the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Estuarium offers aquariums and a living marsh boardwalk.
Dive beneath the waves and experience the ocean through the eyes of a turtle, seal and shark.
Hawaii is home to the largest hard-shelled sea turtles in the world.
Hawaiian green sea turtles, or honu, are native to Hawaii. They are the largest hard–shelled sea turtle in the world, reaching lengths of four feet and weights over 300 pounds. Out of the seven types of sea turtle, the Hawaiian green sea turtle is the most common turtle in Hawaii.
Reptiles are a class of vertebrates made up mostly of snakes, turtles, lizards, and crocodilians. These animals are most easily recognized by their dry, scaly skin. Almost all reptiles are cold-blooded, and most lay eggs—though some, like the boa constrictor, give birth to live young. Instead of possessing gills like fish or amphibians, reptiles have lungs for breathing.
Turtle evolution has caused many problems for scientists over the years due to multiple fossil discoveries seeming to contradict each other with different turtle features evolving independently on different turtle ancestors. However, although there is still work to be done this video sets out to explain what is known so far.
Boomers Daily 