I really appreciated the great cover story on "Endangered Destinations" [May 26-June 2].
It's disconcerting to realize that in this day and age, the scope of the human enterprise has scaled up so much that it can have such immense negative impact on the global environment. But just as we have used technology in ways that have threatened the health of ecosystems around the world, we also have the capacity to use it to make things better if we choose. This, in addition to embracing a conservation ethic in the way we live our lives, can help to ensure that our children will be able to enjoy Earth's special places.
Paul Winters
Framingham, Mass.
Your fearmongering disappointed me. Yes, the glaciers and polar ice sheets are melting, just as they have been for 20,000 years. Glacier periods last for 100,000 years with the interglacial periods lasting about only 10,000 years. World cooling and the next glacier period will probably begin soon, and in time, Canada and Europe will be covered by a thousand feet of ice. Enjoy the warmer Earth while you can.
Greg Campbell, M.D.
Oklahoma City
It was interesting to see the risks to destinations that I had not thought about. I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to London last summer, where I visited Westminster Palace and the Tower of London, but it never dawned on me that these structures could be damaged by floods from the Thames and may not be around for future generations to enjoy. I am 20 years old and would also love to visit Venice and the Galápagos, but I see now that there is a lot to be done to preserve these precious and historically valuable places. We have to be responsible tourists and human beings.
Kelly Cross
Kalama, Wash.
Just as I know that evolution is a misguided theory, I know that Almighty God created the heavens and Earth and is in control. The so-called global warming is just another climate change observed in the last 30 years of, according to the Bible, the approximate 6,000 years of man's existence that included many weather changes.
John Gramm
Gridley, Ill.
The amazing but vulnerable places in your article are very relevant to everyone. The melting of glaciers, bleaching of reefs, and withering of our most beautiful monuments should tell us one important thing: Nothing is forever, and human-induced changes are causing these sites to disappear faster than ever. Now is the time for even reluctant governments to get involved.
Arush Sarwar
Kenner, La.
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Lookdevice of 1:23AM December 09, 2009