Climate change is altering our national parks forever: Glacier National Park is estimated to have completely melted by 2030, while wildfires created by high temperatures and dry conditions rage across the Western US. With July 2016 officially the hottest month on the planet since recordkeeping began, matters are only poised to get worse.
These changes aren’t just bad for the landscape: they also have a massive impact on the surrounding ecosystem. In areas with reduced snowpack, streams are drying up, cold-water fish are dying out, and snow-loving species like wolverines are increasingly under threat.
Another effect of rising temperatures is the rise of pine beetles, which are wiping out whitebark pines in Yellowstone. These trees provide edible seeds that form a vital food source for grizzly bears, but a 2014 report in Scientific American found that upwards of 95% of the park’s large trees had been wiped out in the preceding five years.
Pines aren’t the only vegetation struggling to thrive in these conditions. The famous desert trees of Joshua Tree National Park have been dwindling for years. A survey just last year found almost no young trees in about 30% of their range. The culprit? Not enough frequent rain.
And of course, we can’t forget the effect on our oceans. Places like Biscayne National Park and Virgin Island National Park are home to delicate coral reefs that are incredibly susceptible to changes in temperature. Like the glaciers, rising temperatures may eradicate these fixtures of the natural landscape forever.
The US government must take drastic action to curb greenhouse gas emissions to halt climate change. If we’re unable to do so, these natural treasures may be lost forever
Sign the petition now to demand Congress act on climate change and protect our parks immediately. The more of us that speak out, the bigger an impact we can have.
