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Saving the Zenith: China Plans to restrict access to Mount Everest

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For decades it remained unconquered. It took a superhuman effort by Hillary and Norgay to finally reach the peak of the world. But now with latest technology and support, climbing the Everest has become relatively easier and thousands of people are now flocking the region every year for having a go at the peak. Now the influx of tourists and mountaineers have increased so much that it is beginning to take a toll on the environment! According to reports last year around 40000 people visited Everest from the Chinese side only and they left behind a whopping 120 tons of garbage! The numbers from the southern side i.e. from Nepal might be even higher.


Most of these visitors don’t have any environmental concern and don’t realize that they are turning the region into a huge garbage dump. Also littering of dead bodies of the ones who die during expeditions is also a becoming a big threat. In fact the loss of glaciers in the mountain is being attributed to the climbing number of visitors.

The Chinese government is now taking the issue seriously and planning to restrict number of visitors from next year. It might actually close down the entire area for a certain period of time. It has already taken some other steps like restricting driving up to the base camp and collecting a huge amount of garbage from the region through a clean up operation. It is in fact a good move as the environmental concerns are getting prominence ahead of financial gains. The Chinese authority also put up another example recently during the Olympic torch relay by making everyone use eco-friendly toilets and carry away the garbage themselves!

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Source: CBC

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