November 13th, 2008

100 Places To See Before They Die

Posted by Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living

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This probably goes without saying, but countries often appear and disappear. If you need any evidence, simply look at a map from the early 20th century. Africa and the Middle East have been completely reorganized. North and South Korea were one. Europe has added and lost a few countries.

These are mostly cartographic changes, though. Names are changed and boundaries are moved. It’s very rare that any physical changes occur. Hawaii might grow a bit, and a small new island might emerge from the sea somewhere, but that’s about it.

Until now, that is. When we talk about global warming in the US, it’s mostly about whether we build coal plants or nuclear, use ethanol or biodiesel, or build wind vs solar power plants. Occasionally it’s about polar bears. But it’s not about disappearing.

That is sadly the case in many areas. The small Pacific-island nation of Kiribati has been in the news for some time. Kiribati’s government and president, Anote Tong, are preparing for the day when the country of 94,000 will have to be completely evacuated due to the rise of the seas. New Zealand has already begun taking families from Kiribati.

This week there was similar news from the Maldives, another island country in the Indian Ocean off the coasts of Sri Lanka and India. One of the first things the new president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, announced after taking office was plans to invest in land in other countries so that the entire population can be relocated when sea levels rise.

This got me to thinking. I’ve often thought about where I want go before I move on some day, but where are those places I need to go because they’ll probably die before I do? Here’s a start on my list - feel free to add your own thoughts in comments at the end of this post:

• French Polynesia. I’ve already been there, but I want to go back as often as I can afford (which isn’t very often). The High Islands are like Hawaii - large extinct volcanoes sticking out of the ocean that aren’t going anywhere. But my favorite places so far have been the atolls, and I haven’t explored most of those. I better hurry - they’re at most six feet above sea level and in most places less than that.
• Mt. Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro’s not going anywhere, but the iconic snows that make it such a compelling location are. They’ll likely be gone by 2020, and perhaps as early as 2015. So we all better get traveling!
• Peru. Cheating here, too. I visited in 2001, and was blown away by the sparkling, glaciated peaks that loom over all of the Inca ruins. I aspire to go back to hike amongst them and commune with the llamas. Well, I better get moving. The glaciers are expected to be gone within 15 years.
• Glacier National Park. If current trends continue, we’ll have to rename one of America’s most stunning national parks. Glacier could be glacier-free by 2030.
• Australia Wine Country. Wine regions around the world will be affected by climate change, with the growing regions for particular grapes moving north in the northern hemisphere and south in the southern. Australia gets hit with a double-whammy: it is already very warm and will get warmer, and it is already very dry and will get drier. Many regions that produce premium wines today could become untenable for grape-growing. There is an upside, though: if you visit the UK in 2020, you might be able to buy locally-grown pinot noir!

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