Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet

Speaker's Corner: Jim Benning and Michael Yessis unveil World Hum's seven wonders: places, things and people that embody ways the planet is shrinking and cultures are colliding

The Northwest Passage

Northwest PassageFor centuries, humans have sought—and failed to find—a commercially viable passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Now, as the effects of global warming—another product of the Jet Age, like “Airworld”—begin to reveal themselves and the Arctic thaws, one of the last grails of Earth-bound exploration is within our grasp. It is, to say the least, bittersweet. A Northwest Passage could cut 5,000 miles off a sea journey from Europe to Asia—and exacerbate tensions around the world. Maneuvering has already begun among countries who want to control it. As with global warming, such struggles could have a long-lasting, worldwide impact.

Related on World Hum:
* The Future of Travel: ‘Will August 2006 be Remembered as the Point of No Return?’
* Ethical Travel: What is a Traveler’s Responsibility?
* British Airline Pilots’ Association: ‘Air Travel has Become a Scapegoat for Global Warming’

Photo of the Northwest Passage by NASA/Wikipedia

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Jim Benning

Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.

Michael Yessis

Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.


7 Comments for Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet

travelina 07.06.07 | 1:37 PM ET

The Airworld photo reminds me of the futuristic train station in Zug, Switzerland, designed by visionary architect James Turrell:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2007/01/train_trance_zu.html

robmeyer 07.06.07 | 4:02 PM ET

A different kind of list, I really like it.  I especially like how you have the opening of the Northwest Passage on there, which is actually a huge deal for the international shipping industry, though I have not heard very much about it on the news.  Good catch!

Eva 07.09.07 | 10:24 AM ET

Great list! I love the picture of the Starbucks in Forbidden City - nice of them to try to blend in…

If we can add moments to the list then I’ve got one - seeing a huge contingent of Taiwanese baseball fans at the 2004 Olympics, cheering on their national team by doing the Atlanta Braves’ tomahawk chop.

ps: The Northwest Passage may not be getting much coverage in the US or globally (yet), but it is a hot topic in Canada these days - here’s today’s update, which also has links to previous news stories and background info on the topic: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/07/09/arctic-cda.html

Rachel 07.10.07 | 8:55 PM ET

Thanks for the list. The Northwest Passage pick is a little scary, though. I like the idea of the world becoming more of a global village, but it’s sad that it has to be because of global warming.

Eva 07.16.07 | 11:03 AM ET

Apparently Starbucks in the Forbidden City has just closed…

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070714/business/china_us_history_tourism_starbucks_food_company_2

Jim Benning 07.16.07 | 11:18 AM ET

Thanks, Eva. I was adding an update to the list as you were commenting.

Stay tuned for our search for our seventh wonder!

Mala@traveling-stories-magazine 09.18.07 | 5:12 PM ET

The Channel Tunnel connecting UK and France will open up international rail routes from London from mid-November 2007.The high speed line will definitely shrink a lot of travel time.
Mala Mukunda
http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/

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