Most people all over the world travel by the road. In a city in Italy, however, waterways make up the primary commuting routes. The city of Venice is best known for its canals. Unfortunately, this beautiful city of flat－bottomed boats (Gondolas), and churches is sinking and sinking fast.
Known as the “Queen of the Adriatic”， Venice is situated on 120 islands formed by canals between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. And even the bits of firm ground have rather boggy (泥泞的) foundations and all this is slowly getting eroded (腐蚀)．
The existing ground water table and the global climate changes that have raised sea levels by several inches, are proving its disaster for the city. As sea－ice melts and water levels rise, floods in Venice are getting from bad to worse. And buildings are already feeling the impact of this phenomenon, with their foundations literally being shaken. Take one of the most famous landmarks of Venice for example, the 900－year－old St. Mark's Basilica, now leans slightly to the left.
Experts warn that the city may sink an additional eight inches in the next 50 years. Many scared residents have already started to move to drier regions in Italy's mainland. To deal with the flood threat, a group of Venetians, called the New Venice Consortium, has come up with “Project Moses”—a dam project named after the biblical figure, Moses. The idea is to place underwater gates at different points where the Adriatic Sea water enters the lagoon (环礁湖). When the water is low, the gates will remain open and as the water rises, the gates will close, preventing the seawater from flooding Venice. However, some people disagree with this idea. Environmentalists point out that the gates would have to remain closed most of the time and seawater will not be able to move in and out of Venice. As a result, the lagoon water will become stagnant (停滞的), harming the fish and plants that live there. Until a viable solution is found out, Venice, it seems, would continue to be threatened by floods. Truly, a case of being caught between the devil and the deep sea!
