VACATIONERS TAKE A TROLLEY BACK FROM THE DEAD SEAS EDGE IN EIN GEDI, 1998-09-02 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE BC-ENVIRONMENT-DEADSEA - Vacationers relax in a trolley as it carts them back some 400 meters from the seashore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea, visited since biblical times for its unique mideral-laden waters, has dropped by 40 meters in the last 50 years, leaving barren mudflats where the water has receded. Tourism and industry are the largest threats to the sea. Uncoordinated plans by Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians, if implemented would add 50,000,000 new hotel rooms as well as highways and industrial expansion to the basin, further shirnking the sea and polluting its shores. Picture taken 25AUG98. EH/JDP