Climate change in American National Parks: Impacts, management, communication, and public perception
Goldstein M. 2018. Climate change in American National Parks: Impacts, management, communication, and public perception. Princeton University
From the introduction: "As protected natural spaces with varying geophysical characteristics and climates, American National Parks can be effective laboratories in which to study the impacts of climate change. The National Park Service (NPS), a well-respected federal agency with highly trained staff, has been tasked with studying these impacts and responding to them. In 2007 the NPS unveiled the Climate Change Response Program (CCRP) to prepare a service-wide effort to respond to climate change. The program has established several key policy documents and directives to promote climate science, prepare adaptation strategies for climate impacts and mitigation plans for carbon emissions, and to encourage communication of climate science. The materials produced by the CCRP and overall response of the NPS offers a fascinating case study for understanding the impacts of climate change on natural systems and managing public lands effectively in an era of rapid change. At a time when global cooperation on climate change is urgent but the American public still largely questions or does not understand climate science, I hypothesized that the parks-in addition to their service as laboratories-could effectively serve as classrooms in which park visitors could learn about climate change and NPS rangers could educate the public on this critical issue."
- Type
- Poster
- Authors
- Goldstein, Mark
- Date of Issue
- 2018
- Publisher
- Princeton University
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- Environmental impact, Global climate change, Human impact, National parks and reserves, Policies, Resource management, Staff, Visitors