Earlier this month, the Obama Administration called for increasing protection of the world’s most southern continent, Antarctica. Scientists say climate change and human activities have increasingly led to the melting of massive pieces of Antarctic ice. The disappearance of ice will not only affect wildlife in the area such as seals and penguins. The melting will also cause oceans and seas around the world to rise.
This represents a major threat, especially to coastal areas. For example, the ancient city of Venice, Italy has long been threatened by rising sea levels. The situation is made worse by the fact that its ancient buildings, built on a body of water called a lagoon(淡水湖), are slowly sinking. When the city was founded about 1,600 years ago, the level of the Adriatic Sea was almost two meters lower than it is today.
