Visiting Endangered Places Around the World, Part 1

I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we travel around the world visiting several endangered natural and cultural treasures. Some places like Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Montana's Glacier National Park are threatened by the effects of climate change. Other places are slowly being damaged by pollution and careless visitors. The book "Disappearing Destinations" explains more about these endangered places and suggests helpful ways to take action. Earlier this month, the Obama Administration called for increased protection of the world's most southern continent, Antarctica. Scientists say climate change and human activity have increasingly led to the melting of massive pieces of Antarctic ice. The disappearance of ice will not only affect wildlife in the area such as seals and penguins. The melting will also cause oceans and seas around the world to rise. This represents a major threat, especially to coastal areas. For example, the ancient city of Venice, Italy has long been threatened by rising sea levels. The situation is made worse by the fact that its ancient buildings, built on a body of water called a lagoon, are slowly sinking. When the city was founded about one thousand six hundred years ago, the level of the Adriatic Sea was almost two meters lower than it is today. Rising sea levels are not the only threat. The salty water is also destroying Venice's famous buildings and artworks. The Italian government is trying to fix the problem with the construction of a seven billion dollar system of moving flood barriers. Climate change is also leading to the melting of ice in other areas, such as Mount Kilimanjaro in northeastern Tanzania. It is the highest point in Africa, measuring almost six thousand meters. The mountain supports five vegetation zones and many kinds of animals. The ice glaciers on the mountain are disappearing very quickly. This will have a bad effect on the mountain's ecosystems and on Tanzania's travel industry. Also, a valuable record of thousands of years of weather history will also be lost if the ice melts. Scientists study pieces of glacier to understand weather patterns from thousands of years ago. In the United States, the icy masses in Glacier National Park in Montana may soon completely disappear because of climate change. In eighteen fifty, there were an estimated one hundred fifty glaciers in the more than four hundred thousand hectare park. There are twenty-six glaciers remaining today. Scientists estimate that the glaciers will be gone by two thousand thirty. Warming temperatures are also threatening the many kinds of plants and animals that live in this mountain ecosystem. Venice, Mount Kilimanjaro, Glacier National Park and other threatened places are described in detail in a book called "Disappearing Destinations: 37 Places in Peril and What Can Be Done to Help Save Them." Kimberly Lisagore and Heather Hansen published the book last year. Both women are reporters who write about travel and the environment. Miz Lisagore says they began to notice how rare it was to find travel writing that recognized environmental problems and solutions. So, the two writers made a list of places that people should see before those places disappear. The writers tell about the good work being done by scientists and activists to protect each place. They wanted the book to be a hopeful call to action. Miz Lisagore says their aim was to give travelers a more meaningful experience by educating them about the places they love to visit. "Disappearing Destinations" is organized geographically by continental groupings. Some of the threatened places are very well known. For example, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest coral reef system in the world. Rising sea temperatures are greatly harming the reef. In some areas, healthy yellow, brown and green reefs have become a bleached white color. The coral whitens when it becomes stressed by warmer temperatures and expels the algae organisms it needs to survive. Sick or dying coral affects the entire ecosystem of this special underwater area. Water pollution and visits by careless swimmers and divers also threaten the reef. Source: Voice of America