America’s National Parks are getting more and more difficult to see. No, I don’t mean that they are more expensive to visit, or there are fewer of them. I literally mean, they are getting more difficult to see.
According to the National Park Service, air quality in many of country’s esteemed parks is worsening. This breaks my heart. Part of what draws me to the outdoors is the crisp, clean air normally found in such abundance. Unfortunately, statistics show that at places like Joshua Tree National Park (one of my favorites), clean air is no longer a guarantee of the outdoors.
In fact, according to an article in the LA Times, ozone pollution has increased in at least 10 national parks around the country; Canyonlands, Craters of the Moon, Death Valley, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, North Cascades, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yellowstone.
As one might expect, the pollutants do not originate in the parks themselves, but float over from nearby communities and processing plants. Ugh. This is not a good thing. To check out the detailed National Park Service Report, click here. And then be sure to shed a big crocodile tear like that Indian in the old pollution commercials.