Environmental Issues Of Tourism In Antactica

Shipping and touring in the Antarctic
Antarctic tourism has been growing at a rapid pace for well over a decade, with more than 40,000 (forty thousand) tourists visiting Antarctica in the 2007/2008(two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight) season.
However, the increase of this kind of tourism has produce serious damage, such as oil and other toxic chemicals spills. We have the exampleof the accidents that the tourist vessel MV Explorer and the Ocean Nova had in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Tourism in the Antartic carries a big risk because polar waters aren’t able to recover fromenvironmental impacts.

(I read this new in the Greenpeace webpage and I found it interesting, so I searched for more information about this environmental problem caused by the tourism.)

TOURISMIN ANTARCTICA
Antarctica is certainly the most pristine place on earth although it isn’t as unspoiled as may be imagined. For more than a hundred years people have travelled to Antarctica and mostparts have now been visited. More than just footprints have been left and more than just photographs have been taken.
Some Antarctic species have been taken to the verge of extinction for economicbenefit. Others have been killed or disturbed, soils have been contaminated, untreated sewage has been discharged into the sea and rubbish that will not decompose or break down has been left behind ineven the remotest parts.
Recently attitudes have changed as we begin to realise that there are few unvisited places left on earth and that they are tremendously important to humanity. Antarctica's cleanair, water and ice of are of importance to science for understanding how the Earth's environment is changing both naturally and as a result of human activity.
Tour operators are beginning to tap ahuge and ever increasing demand to visit the Earth's last great wilderness. Both science and tourism have the potential to damage the very qualities that draw them to Antarctica.
Global Impacts...