Are US national parks at risk because of global warming?

Yes

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by Timothy Franseen

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Are U.S. national parks at risk because of global warming? Yes, however, if you stop and think about that last question for a second to me it seems as though whoever named this topic was thinking a little too locally. In Contrast, the U.S. national parks are at just much risk as the rest of the globe from global warming.

The wonderful thing about ecology is that all things are interdependent on one and other. Global warming is a risk for all of us and yes it is my belief that human is one of the main contributors to this recent effect. It took hundreds of thousands of years for humans to make a dent on the atmosphere mainly because a species that has become so advanced to where we are now it has taken this long to make an effect. I say this because the environment could deal with the locally burning fires around the world cause by humans although there is no empirical data from our earlier existence. However, with more and more cultures and nations around the world relying on fossil fuels and especially in the past one hundred years to see a global climate shift of four degrees is huge. I am not a scientist who can fully grasp the effects but it's pretty simple to me. The Arctic Circle has shrunk over 50% in the past thirty years which has millions of gallons of freshwater frozen in it. In turn putting more and more fresh water into the ocean will in turn cause the water levels around the world to rise pushing us further in land.

Another effect this may have on us is changing the current flow of the ocean. Look at like this the oceans flow on what looks like a conveyer belt circling constantly with the warm water cycling on top until it cools and sinks to the bottom. Then the cool water that has taken the place of the warm water is heated up once it heats the equator and now the warm is back on top. That warm current is what keeps the United States eastern coast warm. In saying that more fresh water being put in is less dense than the salt water and its cool so it could potentially disrupt the oceans natural cycle of warm to cool and cool to warm by stopping the oceans natural flow. Not saying it will have that much of a dramatic effect tomorrow, however, it could possibly happen.

So much like a vehicle your drive and beat up for years it's time for a little preventative maintenance on all of our parts to take actions to make sure that these are avoided or at least lets lessen the blow that our successors will be left to cope with. I look at it like this; you sell your house that you have lived in for 30 years ultimately you want to sell it in better condition than when you received it. We have already inherited the problems of generations past, have pride and turn it over better.

In conclusion, yes global warming will affect the U.S. national parks due to the location of many of them in our coastal states. For example, the first one that comes to mind is the Florida Everglades that will be affected by the constant rise in sea level and eventually just become part of the ocean. To just point out one more thing California has more national parks within its borders than any other state that comes to mind so with the displacement of more and more people these may also become in jeopardy simply because its currently untouched real estate that the nation may not protect forever. Like I mentioned before though we can't be so selfish to only think locally global warming IS real and will affect all of us.

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