Greece

Greece on Alert as Forest Fires Rage
Reuters, July 13, 2000

More than 100 new forest fires broke out in Greece Thursday, fanned by strong winds that hampered efforts to extinguish fires raging since a heat wave began 10 days ago, causing tinderbox conditions across the country. The fires have so far killed an elderly woman, destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and farmland and burned several houses.

Sponge Bug Threatens Ancient Trades
Associated Press, September 15, 2000

The island of the fearless sponge divers now has an enemy it dreads: a fast-spreading blight that has chewed up sponge beds across the Mediterranean. The disease, which leaves the few surviving sponges brittle and pock marked, first appeared in the area in 1986 and returned late last year - threatening to kill an ancient trade that has been in decline for decades. “There is total destruction (of sponges) across the Mediterranean,” said boat captain Manolis Saroukos, who is also the head of the island's sponge fishing association. “People have lost their ability to make a living. I don't know what will happen to them.”