There are so many wonderful places to see in the world, you have to wonder how we will ever get to see all of them in our lifetime. Sadly though, there are places that might vanish within the current century due to the effects of climate change, pollution or human development. And, it isn’t just natural wonders that are at risk, some incredible man-made features are in peril too. Here is a list of 7 places to visit before they disappear and their beauty is lost forever.
1. The Amazon Rainforest
This expanse of over 10 million species of plants, insects and animals has been under threat since the 1970s. Deforestation of the Amazon has become a well known impact of human development and greed. Vast areas of tall, stately canopy trees are brutally destroyed every day by agriculture and big economies resulting in the killing of fragile ecosystems. With it contributing more than 20% of the world’s oxygen, it is a fact we are killing the lungs of our planet.
2. The Great Barrier Reef
One of the world’s and Australia’s most exceptional gifts is this breathtaking coral reef containing over 3,000 individual reef systems and coral beauty. The problem is the increase of airborne carbon dioxide stored in the world’s oceans and this in turn is slowly killing off the coral along with hundreds of marine species. To date 15% of the reef has already been damaged by coral bleaching, which is a direct result of the ocean acidification from a number of factors. These include the slowly increasing sea temperatures as well as the carbon dioxide which will eventually cause the Great Barrier Reef to become one of the disappearing places that you must visit.
