Should Tourism Be Allowed in Antartica

Should Tourism be allowed in Antarctica? There is no doubt Antarctica is an incredible tourist destination. Visitor numbers have increased rapidly over the last few decades. During 1998-99, in the summer season, over 10,000 tourists visited Antarctica, compared with less than 2000, 19 years ago. This is not necessarily a good thing; what about all of the pollution people cause whilst travelling to Antarctica? This brings us to the question: Should Tourism be allowed in Antarctica?Some people think that tourism should be allowed in Antarctica. They think that people need to be educated about how Antarctica an extreme environment and climate. They think that we need to know what we are doing to the Earth; such as, we are spoiling their habitat by global warming because we are creating too much pollution, therefore creating the green house effect. It could be argued that because Antarctica is such a remote place we need to experience the different cultures, wild life and scenery.They al so believe that Antarctica has a magnificent wilderness with majestic mountains, glaciers, icebergs and abundant wildlife. Its remoteness, inaccessibility and severe climate add an element of adventure to a visit to Antarctica. On the other hand scientists want to go to Antarctica to find out so much more about it. They also carry out the kind of science in Antarctica, that cannot be done any were in the world; they also contribute to solving a global problem.Other people think that tourism should not be allowed in Antarctica because people Might introduce germs and diseases because when people don’t clean their boots they will get muddy and will pollute the water. When people are sick and they go too close to the animals they will give the diseases to them and the animals won’t survive. Also when humans are taken to Antarctica they might harm the animals there, for instance they will leave rubbish in animal habitats. They also might scare the animals with flash photog raphy.They also believe that people might trample penguins breeding areas therefore the number of penguins will go down and eventually the penguins will turn extinct. There are many worries about pollution in Antarctica as well. In the Gulf of Mexico there has been a huge oil spill in the ocean, what if that happened to Antarctica? All of the animals would die, if they keep drinking from the water. In approximately 10 years there will be a huge rubbish dump, because we are leaving too much rubbish in Antarctica. Although tour boats may give people more jobs they are leaving oo much waste in its path. Human Waste and leftover food scraps are usually thrown over the side of boats during tours. This is dangerous for the animals because they might eat it and they would most probably die. To conclude, I think that tourism should not be allowed in Antarctica unless they are scientist and going to preserve the content or to do research on Antarctica; but there has to be rule that you have to get permission from the government and you have to be based a certain amount of distance away from the animals main habitat.