World Monuments Face Climate Peril

Every other year the World Monuments Fund lists 100 places of cultural significance that it deems "most endangered" and for the first time that list includes sites that could be damaged by changes in the climate. Political strife, urban development, tourism gone awry and war -- Iraq included -- are the usual culprits sited by the group. But when it comes to New Orleans architecture sitting below sea level in a hurricane-prone zone, or the hut of an Antarctic explorer on proverbial thin ice, cultural sites are not immune to changes in the climate. The list of potential damage from climate change includes a host of natural wonders, wildlife and human habitats -- and now we can add to the litany a few cultural sites that give, each in a way, gives humanity its identity, according to a story in the June 8 USA Today.