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Category Archives: National Geographic

Jack Black Stars In “How To Take A Selfie”

October 31, 2016 DReynolds

I never knew my selfie picture technique needed so much improvement until the day that I spent with Jack Black filming for Years of Living Dangerously.

When it came time to take selfies, I naturally used the same technique that I have had since I first owned a smartphone in 6th grade. The picture below is me using my tried and true technique:

After just a couple of shots, it was clear that Jack was tiring of my amateur selfie antics:

And thus, he insisted he take the selfie operation over by announcing that he wanted to teach me his patented selfie technique, the best approach to selfies ever created:

Notice Jack’s use of the index finger curling around the top, and the phone resting on the pinky finger below, and the two middle fingers cradling the phone like only a professional selfie taker can do. And what you don’t see is the rapid fire use of his thumb. I have to admit that Jack’s technique changes everything:

Clearly, his technique was that of a professional selfie picture taker and his pictures, including this one, came out fantastic:

He also taught me the same technique can be employed to not only take “serious” selfies, but silly ones too:

And if this world class selfie taking technique was not enough, Jack was also generous in teaching me what he called “The Clint Eastwood Squint”?! Here he is taking the shot, and below it, the outcome:

In case you were worried, following our fantastic selfie teaching session, Jack did return my phone to me having blessed it with his own technique, which for all I know may have come from The Land of Kickapoo:

To see more of Jack, as well as yours truly, please tune into the Miami Episode (Gathering Storm, Saving Miami) on Wednesday November 2nd on The National Geographic Channel for Years of Living Dangerously. And don’t forget to watch the first episode starring David Letterman from India, which premieres tonight, and to set your DVR for the entire series of Years of Living Dangerously. It has been called “the most important television series ever” for good reason and while Jack does not cover his selfie technique in our episode, he sure does explain what’s happening to South Florida and why we must all work together to solve the climate change crisis before it is too late.

Climate Change, Delaney Reynolds, Gathering Storm, Global Warming, Ian Somerhalder, Jack Black, Miami, Miamisearise.com, National Geographic, Nikki Reed, Saving Miami, Sea Level Rise, Sea Rise, South Beach, Tenacious D, The National Geographic Channel, The Sink or Swim Project, Years of Living Dangerously, YEARS Project

It’s Now or Never

October 27, 2016 DReynolds

October 2016 is a month that I will never, ever forget and it’s not even over yet.

Earlier this month I was honored to share a presentation with my entire school, Palmer Trinity, during a convocation on Civic Engagement. As I prepared my presentation the week prior to the event, little did I know that I would be asked to be engaged in civics in a way I’d never imagined at this point in my life, when I received an email from Secretary Hilary Clinton’s Press Secretary that simply read ‘Call me ASAP’.

When we connected I was asked to introduce Secretary Clinton and Vice President Al Gore at a Global Warming focused rally here in Miami and as part of the day not only got to speak to the entire audience of gosh knows how many thousands of people but also had the honor of meeting and speaking with both Secretary Clinton and Vice President Gore. It was surreal talking about climate change with both of them and, needless to say, an honor.

The excitement this month continues when I participate in a live webinar entitled Changing Tides: Local Solutions & Engagement as part of the Ahead of the Tide series from CAVU at 4 PM on Thursday October 27th. I will be joined by Coral Gables Mayor James Cason, Valencia Gunder, Founder of the Make the Homeless Smile organization, and Scott Eastman, a Marine Scientist at the School of Natural Resources & Environment at the University of Florida, as well as our host and moderator Caroline Lewis of The CLEO Institute. Thursday’s focus will be on local, multi-tiered efforts to address sea level rise and what needs to happen next to build more resilient communities and protect the most vulnerable areas, people and wildlife.

To tune in and watch or participate in our webinar, sign up by clicking here!

Red Carpet Live Stream for Years of Living Dangerously’s Gathering Storm Staring Jack Black

At 6 pm, following the Ahead of the Tide webinar, join me and NBC6 Meteorologist Adam Berg LIVE from the red carpet at the historic Tower Theater here in Miami as we live stream interviews of many of the people that will appear in Gathering Storm including politicians, educators, the world’s leading climate scientists and advocates and the film’s Executive Producer. Enjoy a peak behind the scenes on how the film was made, what it was like working with actor/musician Jack Black, as well as what South Florida’s future looks like as seas rise, and what you can do about it.

Please share the link with your friends and plan to tune in for this LIVE event on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/thesinkorswimproject

Years of Living Dangerously will premiere publically this Sunday, October 30th, on the National Geographic Channel with the season’s first episode starting David Letterman from India and will then move to its permanent spot on Wednesdays starting on November 2nd when the episode that I am in, Gathering Storm, appears and that stars Jack Black, as well as Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed in the episodes piece on superstorms and our future facing more and larger monster hurricanes. Nat Geo Channel is broadcast in 171 Countries and 45 languages to nearly 500 Million televisions and I hope that yours will be one of them. Please join me in watching every episode and by sharing them with your friends and family. Years of Living Dangerously has been called ‘the most important show on television’ and won the Emmy for Best Non-Fiction for good reason. We all need to watch these shows and then take action in our communities and all over the world.

I want to close this blog by thanking Secretary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta for the honor of being included in your recent events, but especially for bringing attention to climate change and its impact here in South Florida. Soon America will have its first female President and when that happens, please keep South Florida in mind in all you do, as we need all of the help possible so as to avoid a future under water.

I also very much want to thank Executive Producer Joel Bach from The Years Project (Years of Living Dangerously) and especially Jon Meyersohn, the Co-Executive Producer from Years of Living Dangerously, for including me and my work with The Sink or Swim Project in your landmark work but, most importantly, for bringing global attention to Miami and South Florida’s future and what will happen if our society does not stop pumping carbon into our atmosphere and oceans. To you and the entire Years family, thank you.

2016, Ahead of the Tide, Al Gore, CAVU, Civic Engagement, CLEO Institute, climate, Climate Change, Climate Reality Leadership Training, Delaney Reynolds, Eco Warrior, FIU, Florida, Florida Keys, Global Warming, Hillary Clinton, Ian Somerhalder, Jack Black, John Podesta, Miami, miamiecowarrior, miamisearise, Miamisearise.com, National Geographic, Nikki Reed, Palmer Trinity, Politics, Sea Level Rise, Sea Rise, Secretary of State, South Miami, State of Florida, The Sink or Swim Project, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, University of Miami, Years of Living Dangerously

We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat

June 27, 2016 DReynolds

I love sharks.

All sorts of sharks. Nurse Sharks, Mako Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Black Tips, Great Whites, Spinners and my favorite, the Crocodile Shark, to name just a few. With ‘Shark Week’ starting tonight on television I’d like to share some of my own shark related adventures with you while also telling you about some of my science heroes as a way to thank them for the amazing work they are doing for our planet.

My fascination with sharks led me to go on my first shark tagging trip with the University of Miami’s Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC) through my school, Palmer Trinity, when I was in sixth grade. In honor of the fact that Shark Week begins tonight on The Discovery Channel and National Geographic, I’d like to share some incredible pictures from my last shark tagging adventure with you, as well as tell you a bit about the program and the inspiring people who are involved including two of my science heroes.

The SRC Program was created in 2010 by the University of Miami’s Roni Avissar (Professor at and Dean of the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science), Dr. Kenny Broad (Professor at and Chair of UM’s Department of Marine Ecosystems and Society), and Dr. Neil Hammerschlag (Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Ecosystems and Society and Director of the Shark Research & Conservation Program).

The SRC Program allows students and others to learn about these awesome animals up close and to participate in real shark research by testing their nictitating membranes, taking fin clip samples, measuring their length and helping place identification tags on them before they are safely released back into the wild. Between my school’s affiliation with the University of Miami’s SRC and my participation in the University’s Summer Scholars Program I’ve been fortunate to go on three tagging trips, thus far, and each one was absolutely incredible.

Last summer I was far away from South Florida and any thoughts of shark tagging when my family visited Washington D.C.’s many museums and sights. Upon check-in at our hotel we learned that, coincidentally, we were staying across the street from the Headquarters of the National Geographic Society, so naturally we had to add a visit to their offices to our list of things to do. I am sure glad we did because not only were their exhibits great fun to see but it was an incredible surprise to walk around the building’s exterior and come across a huge photograph of Dr. Hammerschlag standing on the sea floor with a 12′ long Tiger Shark swimming above him! I guess even though I was in Washington I was never really that far from the SCS, the sharks or Dr. Hammerschlag’s fine work.

Dr. Neil Hammerschlag (in the orange shirt above) is a marine ecologist whose research centers broadly on the behavioral ecology, conservation biology, and the movement ecology of marine predators, primarily sharks. Dr. Hammerschlag’s research includes investigating interactions between sharks and their prey, identifying and learning about shark habitats, studying the impact of urbanization on sharks including the impacts of over fishing on their ecosystems and how sharks respond to climate change. Dr. Hammerschlag is not only an educator and research scientist but also an inventor. For example, using ultra sound technology and techniques that he’s invented he studies pregnant sharks without harming them as would have been the case in the past.

My most recent shark tagging trip was even more exciting and humbling than is normally the case because not just one, but two, of my science heroes were on board that day. In addition to Dr. Hammerschlag we were joined by none other than Philippe Cousteau who was aboard to film a segment on shark tagging for his Xploration Awesome Planet television show (that’s Philippe in the blue shirt) on FOX and Hulu.

Philippe Cousteau is a world renowned adventurer, educator, filmmaker and author. He is the grandson the iconic Jacques Cousteau and part of perhaps the most important family in all of marine biology. Philippe is also the founder of EarthEcho International which he created to “inspire young people worldwide to act now for a sustainable future.” I am deeply proud to be a member of Philippe’s inaugural EarthEcho International Youth Council and for him to be with us on my last shark tagging trip was something I will always remember.

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So with Shark Week upon us I hope that you will tune in and watch these cutting edge research educators do their thing.

Dr. Hammerschlag will be premiering in tonight’s Tiger Beach and will also star in Air Jaws: Night Stalker on Tuesday June 28th, both on the Discovery Channel. He will also star (along with the sharks!) in Mega Hammerhead on the National Geographic Channel on June 30th. I also hope that you will tune in and watch Philippe Cousteau’s Nuclear Sharks on the Discovery Channel when it premieres on June 30th.

Allow me to end this post with a special thanks and shout out to a few folks from Palmer Trinity including Dr. Caroline Hammerschlag who was also on the most recent tagging trip my school participated in a couple of months ago. You see, she’s not only an amazing scientist and educator but also a professor at Palmer Trinity and, as I sometimes call her, Mrs. Dr. Hammerschlag, Neil’s wife.

I’m also excited to mention that she; Traci Holstein, our school’s wonderful Science Department Chairperson; and Coach Clint Jones took a small group of Palmer students, myself included, on an absolutely epic Marine Biology Expedition to Hawaii this past Spring. We hiked a volcano, went night diving with Giant Manta Rays, explored nesting sea turtle habitats on black sand beaches and followed Pacific porpoises among other incredible adventures but that, as they say, will be the subject of another post one day.

Thanks to both Palmer and the University of Miami for making such incredible, and indelible, education available and don’t forget to catch some of my heroes on television this week, Shark Week 2016!

black tip shark, Clint Jones, crocodile shark, Delaney Reynolds, Discovery, Dr. Caroline Hammerschlag, Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, EarthEcho International, Great White Shark, Jaws, Kenny Broad, Lemon Shark, mako shark, Miami, Miamisearise.com, National Geographic, Nurse Shark, Our Echo, Palmer Trinity School, Philippe Cousteau, Roni Avissar, Sea Level Rise, Shark, Shark Research & Conservation Program, Shark Week, Shark Week 2016, spinner shark, The Discovery Channel, The Sink or Swim Project, Tiger Shark, Traci Holstein, We're gonna need a bigger boat, Xploration Awesome Planet

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