Disappearing Destinations: 37 Places in Peril and What Can Be done to Help Save Them
地表上瀕臨消失的景點：我們能為37個即將消失的地名作些什麼？

-作     者：Kimberly Lisagor & Heather Hansen   

Format：400頁，Vintage出版 (April , 2008)

以探索研究之名或旅遊觀光的動機造訪地球上獨一無二的熱門景點，在本書所介紹的37個旅遊景點有多重意義。這些地方都因為人類濫砍濫伐、過度開發土地、濫用海洋資源加上全球暖化、全球氣候異常所行程的天然災害默默的從地球表面上一點一滴的消失，每年來從世界各地的觀光客究竟為這些瀕臨消失的旅遊景點帶來文明與繁榮？還是消費與垃圾？

兩位作者累積多年專事旅遊與環境報導的經驗，聯合執筆介紹地球上37個瀕臨消失的旅遊景點包括西南太平洋島國吐瓦魯（Tuvalu）與馬爾地夫(Maldives)由於積年累月海洋線上升面臨消失的厄運；歐洲阿爾卑斯山上自古以來的滑雪小木屋也因為降雪量逐年銳減而乏人問津；美國的冰河國家公園(America's Glacier National Park)裡的冰河也在逐漸消失當中；西非馬里共和國境內的古城廷巴克圖也因為逐年沙漠化，自西元10世紀以來累積的古文明也即將埋沒在滾滾黃沙中；遑論澳洲著名的大堡礁因為海水暖化而影響珊瑚礁的生態，這些看似被天災所危及的景點，人類實為始作俑者。更具體的例子還有秘魯印加遺址馬丘•比丘暴露於大自然消耗遠不及每年數以萬計觀光客攀登石階的腳印；非洲剛果茂盛，宛若天棚的雨林正因濫砍濫伐日益縮小。本書蒐羅這些地表上的瑰麗，圖文並茂得介紹其地理人文環境，詳述瀕臨消失厄運的源由，並試圖探討同為地表上世界公民的人類如何不要將這個「上帝造給我們的伊甸園變成商業的垃圾場」。本書備有電子檔，歡迎索閱。

Summary

A beautiful and memorable look at some of the most gorgeous endangered places on the planet. Machu Picchu is a mesmerizing, ancient Incan city tucked away in the mountains of Peru, but it is rapidly being worn down by the thousands of feet treading across its stones. Glacier National Park is a destination long known for the stunning beauty of its ice floes, but in our lifetimes it will have no glaciers due to global warming. In the biobays of Puerto Rico swimmers can float in a sea shimmering with bioluminescent life, but sediment being churned up by development is killing the dinoflagellates that produce the eerie and beautiful glow. And in the Congo Basin of Africa, where great apes roam freely in lush, verdant rainforests, logging is quickly destroying the vast life-giving canopies. These places-along with many others across the globe-are changing as we speak due to global warming, environmental degradation, overuse, and natural causes.

From the Boreal Forests in Finland to the Yangtze River Valley in China, 37 Places to See Before They Disappear is a treasure trove of geographic wonder, and a guide to these threatened destinations and what is being done to save them.

 

作者 About the Author

Heather Hansen has worked on staff at Boston magazine, the Sunday Independent (Johannesburg, South Africa) and the Provincetown Banner, where she wrote extensively on people and the environment. She won the Harper's magazine award for Distinguished Magazine Writing in 1999, and has contributed to two books by Gail Sheehy: Middletown, America and Hillary's Choice. Heather has political science and English degrees from Mount Holyoke College and a masters in journalism from UC Berkeley. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. 個人網站為 http://www.kimlisagor.com/

 Kimberly Lisagor is a freelance journalist who has written about travel and the environment for Outside, Mother Jones, Men's Journal, National
Geographic Adventure, USA Weekend, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and others. She is the author of Outside's Wilderness Lodge Vacations
(W.W. Norton & Co., 2004), which won the Lowell Thomas Award for best guidebook and an Award of Excellence from the North American Travel Journalists Association. She lives in San Luis Obispo, California.

作者Kimberly Lisagor 在亞瑪遜網路書店上設有專屬部落格，其中包括這些景點的照片及其相關延伸報導：http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A1LJ8A6QD0PAQP/ref=cm_blog_dp_artist_blog

作者 Heather Hansen 接受New West Network專訪，詳述撰寫此心路歷程，連結
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/an_interview_with_heather_hansen/C39/L39/

*本書今年四月剛出版，尚無書評

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