Welcome from National Geographic writer and Quest leader, Dan Buettner.
For at least seven centuries, exploration has always worked the same. A
group of people strikes off on some far away part of the world, endures
hardships, returns (or not) to tell US what was found (or not). We can
hear their stories, but there's no real participation in the adventure,
discovery—or the fun!
Welcome to a Brave New World of
Exploration. The Blue Zones Quest takes the old way of exploration and
turns it on its head. For two weeks, beginning October, 31, 2005, we're
going to let YOU direct a live expedition to a remote area in Okinawa,
Japan. You will vote to tell the team where to go, how to conduct
scientific exploration, how to resolve ethical and logistical
decisions, and finally, how to unlock one of the most important secrets
of our time.
Okinawa is home to the world's healthiest, longest-lived people. They
live seven years longer than Americans do and suffer about one fifth
the rate of heart disease and cancers that kill us. Since studies have
shown that 75% of how long we live is determined by lifestyle (genes
account for only about 25%), Okinawans literally possess a modern day
fountain of youth. If we can uncover their lifestyle secrets and put
them to work in our lives, we can literally gain longer, healthier
lives for ourselves.
Here's how it works. Each day during the
expedition, you'll vote to direct the team. The next morning, we'll
report back to you with written pieces, image galleries, and two short
videos. Embedded in our daily content will be the lifestyle factors
that may explain Okinawa's extreme health and longevity. At the end of
the Quest, we'll let you, the audience, gather up all of the evidence
and rank them. The top seven factors as determined by the audience's
collective wisdom will be Okinawa's 7 for 7: the seven ingredients of
Okinawa's longevity recipe that can add seven healthy years. Our PR
team will then make sure this finding makes national news—and
YOU will be cited as the author. Your team in the field consists of the
world's top experts. Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, a pediatrician and the
world's foremost expert in Japanese alternative medicine, will be
leading the medical team. Ph.D. candidate (and former Quest student)
Rachel Binns will be covering "spirit" and "mind" components of
longevity. We'll also be consulting with Dr. Craig Willcox, who has
been studying Okinawan centenarians for over a decade and who's book, The Okinawa Program, is a New York Times best seller.
Our video team consists of the very best in a new breed of
filmmakers and journalists. They get your vote in the morning and 12
hours later have a video shot, produced, edited and on the Internet.
Team members include OLN/WB senior producer Damian Petrou, MTV senior
producer Joseph Van Harken, PBS/National Geographic videographer Tom Adair, and Olson writer Eric Luoma.
For educators, we've created an offering that helps teachers use the
live expedition to meet national standards in Social Studies, Language
Arts, Science and Health. The Blue Zones Challenge empowers students
to take charge of their own health—and teach their parents while
they're at it.
The action all starts back here on October
31st. So log in, vote, and participate in the expedition. What you
discover may just add good years to your life.
Okinawa is home to the world's healthiest, longest-lived people. They
live seven years longer than Americans do and suffer about one fifth
the rate of heart disease and cancers that kill us. Since studies have
shown that 75% of how long we live is determined by 
