Sunday’s New York Times featured a story about the growing trend of tourists who make a point of visiting places in the world that are undergoing likely ecological destruction.

As one couple put it in the article:

“We wanted to see the islands this year,” Mr. Woods, a lawyer, said last week in a hotel lobby here, “because we figured they’re only going to get worse.”

I wonder if the couple realized their vampiric excursions likely hastened the island’s destruction?

There’s a deeper story here, too–one of thrillseekers and “adventurers”, scouring the world for an adrenaline fix, not caring much about the consequences. Again, from the article:

“From where I sit,” said Nancy Novogrod, the editor of Travel + Leisure, “traveling to Mongolia now is almost cliché. Last summer, it seemed like everybody was going to Mongolia. The bar keeps getting higher.”

But are there any thrills left?

When we’ve run out of plunder Earthside, there’s always space. And, of course, the race to the moon might lead to leisurely bookings at Luna’s best hotel.

Is it a quandary, or do we already know what to do?