Thursday, June 07, 2007

Climate Change Imperils Monuments

The World Monuments Fund just announced its Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. Global warming was mentioned as a specific threat to many of the sites, among which are:
  • Herschel Island, Canada, home to ancient Inuit sites and a historic whaling town at the edge of the Yukon that are being lost to the rising sea and melting permafrost in this fastest-warming part of the world.
  • Scott’s Hut, Antarctica, a time-capsule of early twentieth-century exploration. Ironically, it is being engulfed by vastly increased snowfall thought to be a result of changes in the weather, changes the station was built to monitor.
  • Chinguetti Mosque, Mauritania, located in one of Islam’s seven holy cities and one of many sites in West Africa endangered by the encroaching desert.
  • Sonargaon-Panam City, Bangladesh, a former medieval trading hub and crossroads of culture, whose long-neglected and deteriorating architecture is increasingly threatened by flooding in this low-lying country, one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming.
  • Leh Old Town, Ladakh, India, a rare intact medieval city in the Himalayan region, now trying to balance development and modernization with sustainability as its traditional architecture faces changing weather patterns, including heavy rains, that it was not built to withstand.
  • New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, whose historic neighborhoods, already pummeled by Hurricane Katrina, are now struggling to restore homes while also preparing for future challenges posed by rising sea levels and the likelihood of stronger storms.

I have been in Lincoln, Nebraska since Saturday on business which has limited my blogging. This caught my eye in a brief leisure moment this morning. I have read and commented on a few blogs, but I will have several fresh posts up this coming weekend or early next week.

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4 Comments:

At 9:44 PM , Blogger GeologyJoe said...

Not surprised to see N.O. on that list. After Katrina, I was hoping they would abandon the city and move in land.
Maybe during the next big one.

 
At 6:56 AM , Blogger Don Thieme said...

A lot of people did leave, but I doubt that it will ever be completely abandoned. I fear that many more of our coastal cities will experience similar problems in coming decades.

 
At 10:10 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

My heart actually hurt as I read this. As usual, when it comes to global warming, words fail me.

 
At 5:44 PM , Blogger VirusHead said...

All your fishermen - get out of the water.

 

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