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It's Easier To Preserve Something You've Seen

by: Andrew Sylvia

Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 20:03:26 PM EDT
Today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called to place greater limits on tourism to Antarctica.

Fortunately, we don't need to talk about penguin owned knick knack shops probably having to close their doors.

However, the intended goal of helping curb the environmental impacts of humanity upon Antarctica may be better served by focusing on more responsible tourism rather than less tourism.
Andrew Sylvia :: It's Easier To Preserve Something You've Seen
The main reason Teddy Roosevelt established the National Park system is because he saw first hand how beautiful our natural lands were. If they were just an abstract concept on a map, it's unlikely he would have fought to protect them so greatly.

Likewise, astronauts gain greater awareness of environmental concerns due to seeing the impact of man firsthand in a broader scope from orbit

If you see a glacier the size of a small mountain calving off an Antarctic Ice Shelf, wouldn't that have the same affect as what happened to Teddy or the Astronaut?

Secretary Clinton should be applauded for trying to gain international support for dealing with environmental emergencies in Antarctica, but raising greater awareness through helping the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators make their businesses more environmentally friendly may be a better step to take.  
Poll
Would You Like To Go To Antarctica
Yes
Maybe
Unsure
I Don't Need Antarctica, NH Is Cold Enough,Thanks
Results

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It's Easier To Preserve Something You've Seen | 8 comments
I saw a glacier calving (4.00 / 1)
in Alaska. It was amazing. Alaska is amazing. I recommend visiting.

I understand what Secretary Clinton is trying to do. The carbon footprint to get tourists to Antarctica is part of the problem. They have to fly in, or come in on a ship.

It's a delicate ecosystem - and the more people that visit, the greater the damage. You're suggesting visiting Antarctica as a way to save it, but it seems likely that this method will destroy it.  

You're Absolutely Right Susan, But... (0.00 / 0)
I hope we can balance the two needs. Particularly since Antarctica seems like a far away problem when it needs to be front and center in our focus with the fight against global warming.

Still, you're right, Secretary Clinton's motives are sincere, and they can't be faulted, so this isn't a loss.

I remember back in college I had a really blunt teacher who told me something I never forgot.

"Even though they won't admit it, in the perceptions of Americans, 1 dead local person = 10 dead Americans elsewhere in the country = 100 dead foreigners from elsewhere in the Western Hempshire = 1000 dead foreigners further away than that."

When it comes to ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica, right now they're in the fourth category (abstraction), but they need to be in the first category (personal).  

[ Parent ]
Nobody "needs" to visit Antarctica. (4.00 / 1)
It seems that one of the unintended consequences of private property rights is that public property is considered ripe for despoilation, based on the rationale that ownership makes humans better stewards.  Since the latter has proved false, it seems necessary to insist that good stewardship is an obligation, period.  
[ Parent ]
I Need To Challenge Your Logic, Hannah (0.00 / 0)
Nobody "needs" to visit Yellowstone.

Nobody "needs" to visit Paris.

No one of "needed" to visit the Moon.

"need" is a pretty strong word. When it comes down to places where "need" would be appropriate, there's wherever you get your food/water (supermarket, unless you're a farmer), your home, your workplace (unless you're rich enough that you don't need a job or you're retired), and maybe someplace to help you not go insane if you need a little more variety than just eating and sleeping and working.

That's it.

To quote President Kennedy, we choose to go to the other places because they are there.  

[ Parent ]
If there were no there place in the world to see glaciers.. (0.00 / 0)
sure but until Alaska is over-run with glacier seeking tourists there is no NEED for tourists to go to Antarctica to see them.

Politics is a dirty game but if you don't play the bad guys win - Morgan Magnus Grey
[ Parent ]
Alaska and Antarctica (0.00 / 0)
are polar opposites.
[ Parent ]
BG, that makes no sense (0.00 / 0)
By your logic, no Granite Staters should go a national park on the west coast because we have trees here.

Since, by your logic, all places with trees are exactly the same.

[ Parent ]
A Modest Proposal (4.00 / 2)
Since those most in need of understanding vulnerable environments and the costs of global warming, and least likely to grasp said understanding without first-hand exposure, are Congressional Republicans, conservative talk show hosts, energy company lobbyists, Wall Street Journal editors and columnists and George Will, I would suggest that they, and they alone, be embarked upon a single chartered cruise ship for a tour of the beautiful yet threatened Antarctic wilderness.

As to the carbon footprint of the voyage that susanthe is so concerned about, the issue might be resolved by simply loading half the fuel customarily taken for the journey.

[ Parent ]
It's Easier To Preserve Something You've Seen | 8 comments

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