The penguin perspective. (Point of View).

More than 150 oil-covered penguins recently appeared on the beaches of Punta del Este. Authorities had no record of a spill. No ship was spotted leaving a slick in its wake. S.O.S. Rescate de Fauna Marina, an Uruguayan organization dedicated to saving marine wildlife, cleaned the aquatic birds and set them back on their annual migration from Patagonia to the shores of Brazil.

The group saved the flightless birds, and now its leaders ask why Uruguay, which uses the ecological slogan un pais natural to attract tourists, doesn't do more to protect the environment. The mystery of the petroleum-slathered penguins could be a harbinger of things to come for Punta del Este.

Tourist development in Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, Vina del Mar and other traditional Latin American resort cities have trashed their most important resource: beaches. In many cases, bathers can't go in the water anymore because bacteria levels from raw sewage and industrial pollutants are too high. Government, businesses, environmentalists and educational institutions should unite in the fight against pollution if for no other reason than it's bad for business.