Many climate discussions revolve around time. Lines rise on graphs predicting the next century. Scientists set deadlines for the next few decades. Every month seems to bring news of a new heat record. The feeling of time running out can be intoxicating.
As the Earth warms, natural wonders – coral reefs, glaciers, archipelagos – are at risk of being damaged and disappearing. This has prompted some travelers to engage in “last chance tourism”, visiting places threatened by climate change before it’s too late.
“For thousands of years, humans have raced to be the first to reach a peak, cross a frontier, or document a new species or landscape,” writes Paige McClanahan in an op-ed for The Times. “Now, in some cases, we’re racing to be last.”
A disappearing glacier
One such destination is the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in the French Alps, where thousands of people go every year to ski. (Early tourists included Mary Shelley and Mark Twain.)
The glacier, like many others, is melting rapidly. A new, higher lift was recently opened to stay closer to the receding ice. And a study published in the journal Science last year found that about half the world’s glaciers will have melt by the end of this centuryeven if nations stick to the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
“For someone who doesn’t know what it used to be like, it’s a beautiful scene.” said a visitor to the glacier in Page. “But when you know the difference, it’s really sad.”
Pros and cons
There is some evidence that visiting an ecosystem threatened by climate change could make people more aware of their impact on the environment.
In a 2020 survey conducted by researchers at Mer de Glace, 80 percent of visitors said they would try to learn more about how to protect the environment, and 77 percent said they would reduce their water and energy consumption.
Some tourist spots have leaned towards education. In Peru, officials renamed a trip to the Pastoruri Glacier “The Climate Change Route, or “The Path of Climate Change”. And at Mer de Glace, an exhibition on climate change — called the Glaciorium — is set to open later this year.
There are, however, some who question the value of last-chance tourism. Visiting fragile environments can do more harm than good.
Some people travel to Antarctica because they fear it will be destroyed. But, as Sara Clemence highlighted in a piece in The Atlantic last year, traveling there requires a lot of fuel, and visitors can introduce disease and harm wildlife. And research by Karla Boluk, an academic from the University of Waterloo, found that the majority of last-minute tourists in two locations in Canada were unwilling to pay extra to offset the carbon footprint of their trip.
“There is an ethical paradox of last-chance tourism,” Boluk told the Times, “and it involves the ethical question of whether travelers recognize and respond to the evil they promote.”
Read Paige’s full story here.
THE LATEST NEWS
Election 2024
THE SUNDAY DISCUSSION
Should Michigan’s protest vote worry Biden?
Yes. That 100,000 Michigan voters expressed their displeasure with Biden, many over his handling of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, is a problem for him. “The Biden campaign needs to address how the president’s politics could affect his re-election bid.” USA Today’s Sara Pequeño writes.
No. There are more moderates who agree with Biden’s policies than progressives who disagree with him. “It would be a mistake to think that his policy shift to the left would be a net gain for him.” John Halpin writes for CNN.
Hidden history: Alderney, a windswept island in the English Channel, feels like a remote haven. During World War II, it was a site of Nazi atrocities.
Thank you very much: As a boy in Pakistan, Airaj Jilani worshiped Elvis. Decades later in the US, he still has his passion — and his impeccable impersonation.
Vows: Their corporate speech turned into a love language.
Lives Lived: Nancy Wallace helped transform the Bronx River from a watery graveyard for cars and appliances to an urban greenbelt for New York City. She died at 93.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
The field of artificial intelligence continues to flourish and plague our concerns. In late 2022, I spoke with pioneering researcher Yejin Choi, who is working on developing common sense and moral reasoning in AI
Can you explain what “common sense” means in the context of teaching it in AI?
It is the unspoken, unspoken knowledge that you and I have. It’s so obvious that we often don’t talk about it. You and I know that birds can fly, and we know that penguins generally can’t. So AI researchers thought we could code it in: Birds usually fly, except for penguins. But actually, newborn birds can’t fly, birds covered in oil can’t fly. The thing is, the exceptions aren’t great, and you and I can think of them even though no one told us to. It’s not that easy for artificial intelligence
What is most exciting to you right now about your work in AI?
I am excited about value pluralism. Another way to put it is that there is no universal truth. Many people feel uncomfortable about this. As scientists, we are trained to be very precise and strive for a truth. Now I think, well, there is no universal truth – can birds fly or not? Moral rules: There must be some moral truth. Don’t kill people, for example. But what if it is mercy? And then what?
How could you teach AI to make ethical decisions when almost every rule or truth has exceptions?
AI will have to learn just that: There are cases that are more pure, and then there are cases that are more subtle. Instead of making binary, clean decisions, sometimes he should make decisions based on This looks really bad. Or you have your point, but he understands that, well, half the country thinks otherwise.
Read more about the interview here.
books
New Fiction: “Wandering Stars,” the sequel to Tommy Orange’s “There There,” follows the descendants of a Native American massacre over a century and a half ago. Our review calls it a towering achievement.
Our editors’ picks: In “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” readers sift through scraps of text, emails, and more to discover the story behind a series of mysterious deaths.
Times bestseller: “The Chaos Agent,” the 13th book in Mark Greaney’s Gray Man series, is new this week to the hardcover fiction best-seller list.
MORNING IS RECOMMENDED…
Ticket check to your emotional well-being.
clean your dog’s bed
Touch safer with a smart security device.
THE WEEK AHEAD
What to watch out for
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North Dakota is holding a Republican caucus tomorrow.
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Then it’s Super Tuesday. Sixteen states have primaries or caucuses, including California, where Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff are competing for a Senate seat.
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Biden will deliver a State of the Union address on Thursday.
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International Women’s Day is Friday.
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Congress’ deadline to avert a government shutdown is Friday.
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Trump is scheduled to host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
What to cook this week
In this week’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter, Emily Weinstein suggests making Eric Kim’s five-ingredient peanut butter noodles, which he calls “a classic Parmesan hit in the making.” Her other suggestions include a baked salmon with orange glaze, a crispy chicken and chickpeas in a pan, and a cheese and spicy black bean bake.