John Oliver's Last Week Tonight has a very simple public service announcement to the some 40,000 tourists who choose to visit Antarctica annually: Please stop visiting; you are literally ruining the continent. Various forms of Antarctic tourism ranging from scenic viewing flights to on-foot expedition have steadily picked up in popularity since the 1960s. Given that humans by-and-large do not inhabit Antarctica, the land is as pristine as it is vulnerable.
Antarctica's tourism board isn't particularly good about communicating the damaging effects our collective interest in its seal and penguin population is having on the landscape, but thankfully Oliver's team has put together a TV spot to convey just that message.
Watch the ad here AFTER THE JUMP…
