Understanding the physical features
of all of Greece seems to be essential when learning about the environment of
Athens. Greece is a country surrounded by three seas: the Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Aegean Sea. The city
of Athens, and capital of Greece has varying physical regions. Like much of
Greece, Athens is marked by mountains of ranging elevations and lowlands
primarily along the coast. Greece has one of the longest coastlines in the
world at approximately 8,500 miles. The city of Athens alone, has 75 miles of
coastline. There are around 2,000 islands that compose Greece, most of which
are uninhabited. The climate throughout Greece is Mediterranean, with dry
summer seasons. The vegetation throughout Greece is primarily composed of “small, drought-resistant,
evergreen plants and shrubs (HowStuffWorks.com).” Throughout the valleys of
Greece a variety of trees can be found that are typical of Mediterranean
climates. Among these are laurel, myrtle, oleander, cypress, olive, almond,
fig, and pomegranate trees.
The most notable environmental
issues effecting Greece are industrial and automobile related gases and fumes
that cause smog. These problems are particularly prevalent in the metropolitan
and historical capital of Greece, Athens. Greece’s carbon dioxide emissions
place it on a list of the 50 highest carbon emitters in the world. Also the lack of arable land makes it
difficult for the country to compete with many other developing countries.
The video embedded in this text was taken from the following link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnoNc6HVQnk) , it describes many of the physical and environmental aspects of Greece that are discussed above.
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