Nat Geo executive says exploration inspires care about the planet

A senior National Geographic Society executive has called for giving explorers the chance to cross new frontiers and make new discoveries, stressing that exploration has brought advancements to humanity and inspired care about the planet. "Just as exploration can left an ancient ship off the bottom of the ocean, just as exploration can bring history back to life, exploration can change the world, it can inspire people to care about the planet," Terry Gracia, the Executive Vice President for Mission Programs for the National Geographic Society, said during a lecture on Wednesday at Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed's Majlis at Al Bateen Palace. "There are men and women who are in some of the most remote places on this planet enduring some of the harshest conditions, unimaginable conditions in order to find what is truly important, in order to save what is truly important," Mr. Garcia said. "And then there are many who are ready to go if only they had the means and I would hope that all of us together would, as great men and women have done throughout the centuries, send them forth. Who knows what they might find, who knows what's left to be discovered?" The lecture, titled "The New Age of Exploration", was attended by His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Mr. Garcia, who is responsible for the National Geographic Society's Core Mission Programs and has guided the significant expansion of those programs during the past decade, said many humans were hired-wired to explore. "None of the other mammals move like we do. There's a kind of madness to it, or maybe it's not madness, maybe it's genetic or perhaps it's biological. In fact, some scientists now believe the urge to explore, the need to explore, is actually encoded in our genes," the senior executive said. He added that about 20 percent of humans had a gene dubbed by researchers as the "restless gene", which inclined its carriers to take more risk and push the limits. "The personality of the explorer tends to be someone who is very determined, very focused. Some of them are obsessed if not a little crazed. They're all brave. Some are optimistic to the point of self-delusion and they're all addicted to the adventure," he said. The National Geographic Society has a number of documentary channels which broadcast in 170 countries. The Society's magazine is published in 38 languages, including Arabic. Mr. Garcia said, however, that one of the core missions of the National Geographic Society was to send exploration teams around the world to explore the natural world and the human heritage through anthropological and cultural investigation of human societies as well as archaeological research. He said one major area of exploration was oceans, pointing out that new technologies have allowed the Society's teams to explore deep oceans and marine archaeology. "Ship wrecks are time capsules of human history," he said. "In fact I would say that there is more human history beneath the surface of the ocean than in all of the museums on land and we now have the technology to find it. We have only scratched the surface. We have only explored 5 percent of the ocean. Mr. Garcia, who was appointed in June 2010 by President Obama to serve on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, said another frontier that was open for new discoveries was what he termed "inner space". "Today one of the most exciting frontiers is the realm of microbiology and mitochondria," he said. "It's a world a medicines that are derived from rain forests, plants and creatures and secrets that have been locked in our genes for millennia," he said. Mr. Garcia also touched on current research on human history as part of the National Geographic's Genographic Project, which was launched six years ago with a goal of charting human migrations throughout history. He said migratory history is determined through the study of certain genetic markers. "(Tracking genetic markers) can actually take us back, and it can tell any person in this room about their deep ancestry 100,000 to 120,000 years ago. What happened after you left Africa? Where did your ancestors go? Where they stopped along the way? Up to the end of their journey," he said. Mr. Garcia said that a National Geographic archaeologist named Jeffery Rose was working in the Arabian Peninsula to study ancient artifacts dating more than 100,000 years ago, which brings back the date at which humans are thought to have left Africa by millennia. "There is a notion that modern human expansion began in Africa and then spread to the rest of the world," Mr. Garcia said. "Well, actually the archaeologist Jeffery Rose says it began in Arabia or maybe it began in Africa, then to Arabia and then spread to the rest of the world." Mr. Garcia pointed out that genetics have also given birth to a new science called "de-extinction". "There are actually scientists who say that we might be able to bring back an animal that we had hunted to extinction," he said. Mr. Garcia also discussed outer space exploration and plans to send people to orbit Mars by 2018. The lecture was also attended by H.H. Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman, H.H. Sheikh Rashid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Qaiwain, Mohammed Ahmed Al-Murr, Speaker of the Federal National Council, H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor and Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Court, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Executive Council member, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, HRH Prince Hashem bin Al Hussein, and HRH Prince Faisal bin Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. Also in attendance were government officials, diplomats, dignitaries and citizens.