Friday, June 20, 2008

Vacation (and home) spots threatened by global warming

SmartMoney has a story on six vacation spots threatened by global warming. The one on the list I want to visit one day is Mount Kilimanjaro. However:

If you want to see the storied snowy peak, you had better go before it melts. Since 1912, 82% of the ice fields have disappeared. And they could all be gone between 2015 and 2020 if the ice continues to recede at its current pace, according to Lonnie Thompson, professor of geological sciences at Ohio State University.
It is the highest peak in Africa. It is one of the Seven Summits, and I believe it's the only one that doesn't require technical climbing to scale, meaning you can hike up it.

There other critical sites in SmartMoney's list, like the Maldives, which isn't just a vacation destination. These islands are being threatened with going underwater, which would displace tens of thousands of people.

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