UNDERSTANDING the toll glo-
Consider the historic Jamestown settlement, which is celebrating its 400th anniversary with substantial fanfare this summer. One of the problems that plagued its settlers from the beginning was its low-lying location, in a marshy area susceptible to flooding.
But the settlers of 1607 had no notion of just how bad the flooding could become if the New World's future leaders failed to acknowledge and combat the causes of climate change. If the world continues to warm, melting polar ice and raising sea levels at the present rate, the Jamestown settlement will be under water when its 500th anniversary rolls around. Nearby archaeological sites that were once inland are now on the shoreline. A Civil War Confederate fort site that used to be along the James River is now eroding into the river.
These are some of the assessments contained in a new report from the National Parks Conservation Association called "Unnatural Disaster." The report suggests that our national parks, whose pristine beauty has long welcomed Americans in search of recreation and relaxation, are now alerting us to the threat of climate change.
The report warns that glaciers in the national parks of Alaska as well as in North Cascades and Mount Rainier national parks will continue to disappear; Joshua trees will no longer exist at Joshua Tree National Park; and the rising sea will drown Everglades National Park.
The elevated temperatures of favorite fishing streams in Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks could eliminate up to 90 percent of suitable habitat for trout by the end of the century. National forests will decline as warmer temperatures worsen air quality while improving conditions for tree pests.
If they could talk, the parks would be asking us: "Are you willing to sacrifice us to environmentally damaging conditions that, for the time being, are within your power to prevent?"
It's a rhetorical question, of course, but too many Americans are hesitant to believe the scientific research that tells us immediate action is required. Your view of global warming seems to depend on whether you view Earth as a huge planet impervious to anything we teeny-tiny humans could do, or as a small, spherical community enveloped in a paper-thin atmosphere that is deeply affected by billions of humans and their insatiable hunger for fossil fuel energy.
The association is imploring Congress and the White House to have significant programs designed to combat global warming in place by 2016, the centennial of the National Park Service.
That is not only sufficient time to establish a course of action, it is also plenty of time for the deterioration of the parks to become more evident. As we celebrate the 100th birthday of our National Park Service, will we be relieved to know that we are at least taking steps to counter the effects of climate change, or will we find ourselves still mired in denial and inaction?