"Scientists say the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions..." Hmm... Is there another plausible explanation from some other group of folks? I mean one that actually uses methods of observation, reason and logic... you know, science? Got to love the way the NYT is still hedging its bets. Scientists say that the sun will rise tomorrow, yet some disagree. Stay tuned folks to see how this great debate turns out...
2
Some people just do not understand China's big population and the terrible garbage and littering the tourists can take to a site, which will take huge risks to the glacier's fragile ecosystem. Theoretically, yes, the local government can regulate it with the different measurements; but practically, a ban is not the worst choice. I am from Xinjiang, I support this policy.
The idea that a few thousand people visiting a glacier has a direct cause to that glacier's retreat is absurd. The problem is climate change (warming) in the region of the glacier. If the Chinese government is trying to stop glacier tourism then there is some other agenda at work. Perhaps they just don't want the world to see their glaciers retreating, since there is a strong correlation with the high use of coal as an energy source, as is the case in China.
Maybe you should take your global warming denier believe elsewhere. Every little bit helps be it not damaging glacier or take subway instead of driving to work.
2
Most of Switzerland and the fertile European valleys wouldn't exist today if the glaciers hadn't melted. Which leads to the bigger question, is it good or bad?
1
How does tourism endanger a glacier?
3
People who breathe on the glacier produce CO2 which warms the Earth which melts the glacier which swells the rivers which breaks the dams which swells the oceans which swallow the coast cities. Which is just the beginning.
1
The development done to bring tourists to the glaciers has an impact. Think of the roads that need to be built, autos and buses that travel on those roads, restaurants and/or hotels built to cater to the tourists -- it all adds up to have an impact on the surrounding, and already compromised, environment around the glaciers.
2
I spent many happy hours climbing mountains around Chamonix including Mont Blanc, descending via the Mer de Glace, which was a much favored lunchtime destination for tourists who finding a convenient rock would sit while they consumed sandwiches and drank wine. the quantity of waste paper and glass bottles they left behind was appalling, such that photography was out of the question despite the magnificent surrounding peaks and glaciers. My companion's comment, "Quelle conchonerie!" (translation: "what a pigsty")
1
The old saying goes, "when you see the lake frozen over with ice three-feet thick, you know that it did not turn cold only last night." So, when we see glaziers retreating, we know that the climate did not turn warm only a few decades ago.
5
It is complicated to alter a way of life so driven by destructive pollution, but snipping at the Chinese for doing this little but important thing is not helping. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Check how many of your things have the label "made in China". And please consider the rising evidence of industrial pollution clogging our water supplies, land, and all. China's action or inaction is not a good excuse or driver for our own responsibility, collective and individual.
9
It is a lot easier to ban tourists than it is to stop burning coal. It doesn't matter that tourists are less than 0.1% of the problem.
2
Of course, China is a world leader in environmental care.
4
Nothing but a finger in dike.
3
Xinjiang seems to be one of the most diversely beautiful spots on earth and deserves to be conserved for future generations. It is important for the Chinese authorities to impose tough measures on tourists and restrict their movement, because if they come in masses, they do more harm than good to nature. The government needs to listen to environmental scientists.
12