Rocky Mountain states are entering the winter season with scant snowfall. The Mid-Atlantic States recently have endured unseasonable warm weather. In Europe, fruit trees are blooming. In the great white north, new projections predict Arctic ice melting faster than previously expected.
Climate change? Global warming? You choose the term you're most comfortable with, but it really doesn't matter. We're going through a change. How much responsibility can be heaped at the feet of humans is certainly debatable. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, though, officials are trying to determine how much their park might be contributing to the problem.
By late next month Great Smoky officials expect to have in hand data that pinpoint how visitation to their park contributes to global warming. Specifically, the study is intended to quantify how motor vehicle traffic, electricity consumption, even campfires, contribute to global warming via greenhouse gas emissions.
"As an environmental leader, it's very important to develop outreach
both to the visitors as well as to our communities, municipalities and
businesses outside the park," Nancy Gray says in a story relayed by The Associated Press. "We need to understand ways of
being better stewards and reducing greenhouse gases, because we can't
do it alone."
Great Smokies Studying Emissions
Add comment
Support Journalism about National Parks!
National Parks Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The Essential RVing Guide
The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.
This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.
You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.
So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.
Comments