1. Bubble-jetting emperors © Paul Nicklen (Canada) Winner / Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 Bubble-jetting emperors © Paul Nicklen (Canada) Winner / Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012

2. Antarctica is one of the cleanest, least polluted places on earth it is an ideal location for measuring the spread of global pollutants. Minute traces of man-made chemicals used in other parts of the world can be detected in the snow that falls over the region. They become concentrated in the bodies of local wildlife such as fish and then seals and penguins. Threats One of the most serious threats hanging over Antarctica is the prospect of the exploitation of its oil and minerals, if commercial deposits are found underground or beneath the sea. There would be risk of oil spills, pollution and an increase of human occupation of the few ice-free areas Bubble-jetting emperors © Paul Nicklen (Canada) Winner / Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012

3. Increasing problem Tourism in Antarctica is steadily increasing. If an influx of tourists were to occur, fragile vegetation would easily be destroyed. Nesting and breeding grounds would also be disrupted. Tourism would unwittingly spread bird and plant diseases and introduce new kinds of organisms to the Antarctic. Penguins have suffered greatly at the hands of humans. Great numbers have been slaughtered for their blubber and now also their skins. Several seal species are close to extinction due to trade in sealskins from as early a time as the 1820's. In the 1900's, fur seals had been almost wiped out by sealing. Many are now protected under the ESA (Endangered Species Act), but some seal populations are so depleted that recovery will be difficult at best.

4. As a result of human hunting, Antarctic baleen whales reached their lowest population level by the late 1950's. These, too, struggle to regain some measure of safety from extinction. DDT was also a chemical found in Antarctic waters. It was never used in Antarctica, but has spread there from the rest of the world. In 1989, the Antarctic supply ship, Bahaia Paraiso, sank in the Bismarck Strait and spilled diesel oil and gasoline into the sea. In polar conditions, oil breaks down 100 times more slowly than in temperate waters.

5. IRO KELESIDI G2 1RST HIGHT SCHOOL OF AMPELOKIPOI