A Prospective Analysis on the Sustainability of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Porter, Austin

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is characterized by its natural beauty and its habitat for numerous species within the park grounds. It is also a place of where people can enjoy the outdoors and avoid the noises and congestion of city life. Unfortunately, anthropogenic activities both by individuals and industries have brought the characteristics of the city such as smog and noise pollution to the park and it has severely damaged both the aesthetic value and the valuable ecosystem of the park. Polices enacted in recent years and the past decade have begun to make headway in the struggle for improving air quality but more changes are necessary for the park to remain a hotbed for biodiversity. Future impending temperature rises are surely going to increase the problem of ground-level ozone in the Great Smoky Mountains so solutions must not only offset current ozone levels, but also take into account future increases in ozone concentrations as well. Both the biological preservation of all species in the park and the health of residents in and around the park are at stake. Using the technologies already created and sophisticated monitoring devices, ozone concentrations can be monitored and analyzed in ways that can lead to more efficient solutions. The solutions to the air quality problems need to be proportionally efficient to the mechanisms that characterize the problems themselves. If the necessary solutions are created and successful, then the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can return to its government-protected state both in terms of on-land activities and in terms of air quality standards, thus ensuring long-term sustainability.

A Prospective Analysis on the Sustainability of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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