CNN has listed the top five destinations around the globe to experience before it is too late. Some of these may be off the “beaten path”, but to some avid travelers that would be the entire point.
Among the list of would-be-yet-damned destinations is Nauru, a small South Pacific island that is, quite literally, being mined [...]

CNN has listed the top five destinations around the globe to experience before it is too late. Some of these may be off the “beaten path”, but to some avid travelers that would be the entire point.

Among the list of would-be-yet-damned destinations is Nauru, a small South Pacific island that is, quite literally, being mined to death. Its key export, phosphate, is running out, soon to leave the island void of inhabitants, farmland and, get this, clouds.

Second is The Dead Sea, the lowest point on the planet as well as the saltiest water body. The sea itself is evaporating at approximately 3 feet per year, while siphoned water from its source, the River Jordan, by neighboring Israel, Palestine and Jordan, further contribute to its lackening supply.

Third is the great sinking city of Mexico City, which over the past 100 years has literally sunk 30 feet into lake bed that it was originally founded on by the Aztecs and then re-established by Spanish conquerors. Building foundations literally “sank into the soft clay and left many buildings tilting at odd angles.”

Coming in fourth is Pennsylvania’s own Amish Country; an isolated community of 18th century emigrant farmers. Due to the raising price of land, large traditional Amish families are having difficulties adapting with the cost of living. Many places that were farmland 20 years ago are now “McMansion” subdivisions, factories, and office complexes.

Freetown Christiania was rated fifth; originally a military base meant to defend one of the main waterways into the Danish capital of Copenhagen. However, in 1971, it was “invaded” by an unexpected force: hippies, who spent the next several years building a society where all property is collectively owned, all decisions are made by painstaking group consensus, and all marijuana is openly grown and sold, and only bikes, not cars, are allowed on streets.

However, since 2004, the newly elected conservative Danish government has been cracking down on the “hippie enclave” — executing major drug busts and instituting a redevelopment plan for the land (which is still considered federal property).

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