Heath, E. H. (2021, April 15). Antarctica cruises are booming. But can the continent handle it? Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/antarctica-cruises-ecotourism-sustainability-conservation/2021/04/15/005e3fc6-9b9f-11eb-8005-bffc3a39f6d3_story.html
In Antarctica, many cruise ships pass through for tourists to view and experience the barren continent. However, the area can not sustain the pollution and effects that the ships have on the environment. Climate change has already had a harsh impact on the continent, but with the addition of extremely large ships filled with tourists, the animals and glaciers around them are not able to sustain themselves. If ships continue to cross the area at the same rate, the effects on the environment will be everlasting and devastating.
This article shows how ecotourism can affect the environment in negative ways and cause serious problems for ecosystems. The effects of cruise ships entering the South Pole cause many animals to be in danger and have potential effects on the glaciers and ice. When reading this article, it was the first article I read on ecotourism, so it opened my eyes to see how harsh the effects we can have on certain places and animals. If we continue our current treatment of the environment, we will cause many species to go extinct, and it will result in everlasting changes to our climate that could threaten our current way of life.
It’s so sad to read about how our actions as humans are truly affecting our planet. Do you think that it’s possible to get these companies to stop giving tours given it’s destroying the environment?
Even if tours stopped, people would still likely travel to these areas, causing a situation where there is not much we can do.
I like how you let us know it was the first article you read and it opened your eyes to harsh effects we can have on places and animals. However, when can ecotourism actually be a good thing?
Ecotourism can be a good thing when the profit that is generated is given back to the ecosystem and region.
I know this paints ecotourism as a bad thing, but in other areas the pros have heavily outweighed the cons. Obviously there very limited human interaction with Antarctica, so we could very easily leave it alone. What do you think about areas that humans already have inhabited? Is ecotourism for the better or the worse in these areas?
In some areas, ecotourism is certainly beneficial, but overall, the cons outweigh the pros.
I see what you are saying and I do agree that many species may go extinct as a result of this. Although, do you think that as a whole ecotourism has been more beneficial or detrimental to the Earth?
Great question Chase! I believe it has been more detrimental to our environment as many ecosystems have been damaged and destroyed.