20 places to visit before they are gone...

I came across a list the other day by CNN of the 5 places to visit before they are gone due to global warming. They were great choices (and are included here in my list), but I felt there were so many more. Be it due to rising oceans, melting glaciers or toxic pollution, there are a lot of places that are at risk of disappearing within our lifetime. Yes, normally I'm the eternal optimist...but we can't ignore what is already happening. One personal example; the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park has shrunk considerably since I visited it with family in 1989, and I can see the difference immediately.

So, in no particular order (other than Banff/Jasper because I think they are amazing)...and with the reason to see them soon...

1. Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Glacier National Parks, Canada
(Glacial melting)
In particular, a drive a long the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper

2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
(Rising ocean temperature is bleaching and killing the coral)

3. New Orleans, USA
(Rising sea levels)
I have to be honest - I wonder if rebuilding this city really makes any sense. Storms like Katrina are only becoming more common and combined with sea level rise, well...it's not rocket science.

4. Rocky Mountain National Park, USA
(Glacial melting and pine beetle infestation)
The same could be said for most of Northern BC due to the pine beetle, which has now made it over the Rockies and into Alberta, and will no doubt soon make it's way across the prairies.

5. Alpine Glaciers, Switzerland
(Glacial melting)

6. Amazon Rain Forest, Brazil
(Deforestation and desertification)

7. Venice, Italy
(Rising sea levels)

8. Alaska, USA
(Glacial melting)

9. Bali and the Indonesian Archipelago
(Rising sea levels)

10. Patagonia, Argentina
(Glacial melting)

11. Himalayan Range, Nepal
(Glacial melting)

12. The Maldives
(Rising sea levels)

13. Antarctica
(Glacial melting)

14. Glacier National Park, USA and Waterton National Park, Canada
(Glacial melting)
At the current rate, Glacier National Park will have no glaciers by 2030. Will they change the name?

15. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
(Glacial melting)

16. The Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan
(Desertification)
The water level of the Dead Sea is dropping at a rate of approx. 1 meter per year, and accelerating.

17. Miami and the Everglades, USA
(Rising sea levels)
It will only take sea levels rising by 1-2 meters for most of the tip of Florida to disappear. The same rise in ocean levels will cover Richmond and Delta, BC for those that care.

18. Galapagos Islands
(Rising sea levels)

19. Valley of the Kings and Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
(Air pollution, human development)
The pollution in the air is literally eating away at the pyramids.

20. The Netherlands
(Rising sea levels)
27% of its area and 60% of its population is located below sea level.

So that's my list - what places do you think are important to visit? I've been fortunate enough to have visited #1 and #14...and I've been to Miami but not the Everglades - so I have a lot of travelling to do!