As I age, I realize how older things just naturally deteriorate. Many of the world’s cultural landmarks are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. When things last that long, you may tend to think they will last forever, but there are a few landmarks that are seeing their deterioration accelerated due to pollution and tourism.
One such landmark is the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. The construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had it build in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Her round, white mausoleum is easily recognizable by most of the world, but the Taj Mahal also contains many other structures. It took thousands of artisans and craftsmen 21 years to complete this beautiful landmark.
Each year, millions of people visit the Taj Mahal and are unknowingly doing damage to it. The white marble of the mausoleum dome is turning yellow from all the visitor vehicle emissions. Testing shows the Taj Mahal is suffering from a large amount of suspended particles, which is doing permanent damage to the structures.
The Indian government is trying to do what it can to help preserve this attraction. There is now a 4,015 square mile radius around the Taj Mahal that has very strict emissions standards. Tourists must park then walk to the Taj Mahal or ride electric buses to get a close up view.
I wish I could say that only the Taj Mahal was affected by emissions, but that isn’t true. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef covers 133,000 square miles and consists of 3,000 reefs, but it too is being harmed by emissions. This time, the culprits are boats and cruise ships – I won’t even mention emissions by planes flying tourists in. Some environmentalists have studied the situation and the worst case scenario is that the Great Barrier Reef could be reduced by 95 percent by 2050.
To try to protect what it can, a large piece of the area has been deemed the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park where humans, boats, and ships are limited.
Tomorrow I will blog about more cultural landmarks that are being threatened by man.
(This image by Dhirad is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.)
