Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Arctic cruise crash concerns Argentines

Argentina’s Environment Secretary has called for placing limits on tourism in the Antarctic after a cruise ship sunk off the continent’s coast last Friday. After flying over the site of the wreckage Romina Picolotti remarked her concerns to the local press:

She told Argentinean news agency Telam, "The purpose of the Antarctic is not tourism. Nations must make a greater effort to impose stricter controls." She pushed for reducing the number of ice tourists which had doubled over the recent years.

The recent boom in tourism to the Antarctic has been seen by some critics as increasingly dangerous and harmful to the environment. For instance, the sinking of the M/S Explorer over the weekend created an oil slick nearly 5 miles wide.

Sources- Associated Press, Mercopress, earthimes.org, AHN, Bloomberg

Image- New York Times

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