Going green eight, exercise three, page 134.0:02
The challenge of Antarctica, the Earth's last great wilderness.0:17
A hundred years ago, the great explorers Scott Shackleton and Amundsen were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole.0:45
Today, the beautiful frozen continent of Antarctica is facing some very different challenges.0:53
Global warming is nothing new.1:03
We all know that burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gases and deforestation are causing world temperatures to rise.1:06
But over the past 50 years, Antarctica's temperatures have increased by about 3 degrees Celsius, around 10 times more than the rest of the world.1:14
As a result, glaciers and sea ice are melting and ice shelves are breaking off into the sea, which is very bad news.1:26
If Antarctica's thick polar ice sheet eventually melts, not only will the world heat up generally, but global sea levels could rise by about 6 meters, flooding many coastal areas.1:34
This is extremely worrying, as almost every city with over 10 million people is on the coast.1:48
Another problem is that melting ice forms clouds, which leads to more snowfall.1:57
This can make life very difficult for some of the wildlife in Antarctica, such as penguins, whose eggs rot in the snow.2:03
Scientists are also worrying about rising sea temperatures in seas just 2 degrees Celsius warmer.2:13
Mollusks cannot bury themselves in the seabed.2:21
Limpets cannot turn over, and scallops can't swim.2:24
These creatures are then caught more easily by predators and the whole food chain is affected.2:30
It won't be long, therefore, before larger birds and animals such as whales, seals and sea lions are endangered if sea temperatures continue to rise.2:37
Antarctica isn't called the Earth's last great wilderness for no reason.2:52
No country owns it and no native people live there.2:59
Therefore, its clean air, water and ice make it the perfect place for scientists to carry out research.3:03
Therefore, Antarctica has become the world's largest laboratory.3:11
Many countries have set up scientific bases there, which means that the population now ranges from about 1,000 in winter to about 4,000 in summer.3:18
Also, 30,000 adventurous tourists now visit Antarctica each year.3:29
It might seem like a nice idea to visit a totally unspoiled place full of amazing scenery, wildlife, glaciers and icebergs.3:36
But wherever there are humans, there is impact on the environment, such as rubbish, CO2, emissions from burning fuel and pollution from boats.3:45
If we are not careful, both scientists and tourists may destroy the very qualities that draw them to Antarctica.3:56
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