July 12, 2010
An important leisure activity is recreation. It has a rejuvenating effect on one’s body and mind. This is important for healthy living amidst the stressful modern life. Some of the recreational activities that are popular these days are skiing, snowboarding, bungee jumping, sky diving, hang gliding, canyoning, rock climbing, adventure tourism, backpacking, ecotourism and motor sport. Traveling to the pristine, but fragile, areas is ecotourism. There are two ways ecotourism is practiced. Appreciating nature and learning from its varied life forms as well as the cultures that are embedded in nature is one kind of ecotourism. This requires a deep sensitivity and social consciousness. Reflection on the ecological impact of human activities on nature while appreciating nature is central to it. That is why this is also called responsible ecotourism. The second type of ecotourism has commercial interest at its heart where nature preserves is just another commodity for profit making. Unfortunately, ecotourism continues to be dominated by this category of enterprise.
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July 12, 2010
The ecological crisis is real. These are seriously being discussed. No doubt most of this is a result of human interventions. There are massive oil spills as in Alaska by Exxon in 1989. Toxic wastes from industries are polluting the rivers and ground water. The sea levels are increasing, many islands as Maldives are expecting to go under the sea and so are many islands in the Pacific region. The depletion of ozone layer is permitting the harmful radiation from the sun to reach the earth. This is the result of the emission of green house gases. Global warming is heating up the earth. Many species are getting extinct from desertification and deforestation. Deforestation in the mountains is leading to devastating floods in the plains. Between 17,000 and 100,000 species are reportedly becoming extinct every year. The last 50 years have seen most of the forests estimated at seven million square kilometers have vanished. Just twenty percent of the original forests still remain.
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