Hordes of Tourists Are Trashing Antarctica

In Frederik Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth's 1953 sci-fi classic "The Space Merchants," governments have been replaced by powerful corporations that have privatized nearly every corner of the globe. Thanks to overpopulation on all of the other continents, Antarctica has become a resort colony, chock full of tourists, equipment-rental companies, and violently invasive advertisements. It's a powerful novel — though one that was never meant to be taken as a suggestion. Unfortunately, a growing tourist industry seems to be turning that space-age fantasy into reality. Drawn by sweeping polar vistas, unspoiled Antarctic reefs, and exotic wildlife, tourists are paying prices as high as $18,000 for a spot on board a cruise ship bound for the Great White South. The vast majority of Antarctic tourists depart for the Southern Continent via cruise ship out of Ushuaia, Argentina, dubbed the "end of the world." A New York Times profile on tourism in Ushuaia notes that the number of Antarctic visitors h ... Read full article.