The Mediterrenanean's Crowded, Dirty And Increasingly Desertified Future - CSM

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ATHENS - From ancient Egypt to Rome, the fertile Mediterranean has sustained great empires for millenniums. But modern development is rapidly turning the cradle of Western civilization into a dry and inhospitable place, its coasts covered in hotels and many of its unique species driven to extinction. In the past 30 years, coastal populations have grown some 50 percent. Coastal cities have doubled. Tourism has exploded: By 2025, 312 million tourists will visit each year. Water usage is twice that of 1950. More than 100 species are endangered.

Now, climate change is exacerbating the situation. The region's climate may already be changing faster than projected. In June, a recording station in Athens measured the highest temperature ever recorded there, nearly 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, temperatures for the summer months were about 5 degrees warmer than average. Months passed without rain. Then deadly fires swept across the country, killing at least 67 people and scorching some 650,000 acres of land. The abnormal weather in 2007 is not proof that climate change is here, scientists say, but it is a strong indicator. And it's a taste of what's likely to come if the world continues to spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

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Already there are signs that warming is occurring – and that it may be happening in the Mediterranean faster than elsewhere. Data from the National Observatory of Athens show that Greece is already in the midst of a warming period that has lasted more than 15 years. Between 1992 and 2001, the temperature in Athens increased by between 3.6 and 5.4 degrees.

Anecdotal evidence also suggest that the sea's waters may be warming, further threatening the sea's biodiversity, which is already under threat from fishing and development. Hundreds of invasive species, like algae and fish that crossed through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, have moved in. In other places, native species like coral and sea sponges are struggling to survive in warmer waters or are being driven out by new arrivals. "The landscape of some areas has completely changed," says Richardo Aguilar, director of research for Europe for the nongovernmental group Oceana. "But most people ... are just going to the beach, they cannot see what's happening inside the sea."

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0114/p01s03-woeu.html