National parks face years of damage from government shutdown (opens in new tab)

(nationalgeographic.com)

12 pointsngmc7y ago15 comments

15 comments

8 comments · 4 top-level

knewter7y ago· 2 in thread

I bridle at any article that makes claims like this. if a few weeks of shut down causes years of damage and you aren't a nuclear power plant, I call BS. people's critical thinking skills go out the window when it's politically convenient to believe garbage.

mulmen7y ago

TFA clearly states the ways in which this shutdown could lead to lasting damage. I would encourage you to think critically about the effect of widespread litter or sewage spills or off-trail hiking in a national park setting. Additionally think of facilities in inhospitable conditions.

The comparison to nuclear reactors is odd. It suggests to me you think National Parks are a more trivial operation than a power plant. I think they are far too different to make this comparison.

A pet goldfish is not as complicated to keep alive as a power plant but if you don’t feed it then it dies.

burfog7y ago

Are you actually bothered by widespread litter or sewage spills or off-trail hiking, or is that just something convenient for a political fight? Actual concern would mean you want to save Organ Pipe National Monument and Big Bend National Park by building a wall to protect those fragile desert ecosystems. The shutdown, assuming it results in a wall, would prevent lots of lasting damage.

2 more replies

burfog7y ago· 2 in thread

That is nothing compared to the damage happening at the border. There are piles of trash, unauthorized trails carved through fragile ecosystems, fires, and human bodies. This shutdown is part of a fight over a wall that would protect several national parks and national monuments from this massive ongoing ecological damage.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/park-service-illegals-des...

https://www.desertinvasion.us/

mulmen7y ago

The border is not a national park. Your whataboutism is not compelling.

burfog7y ago

Big Bend National Park is on the border. BTW, it is a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve.

Organ Pipe National Monument is on the border.

They are being destroyed. The rest of the ecosystem, outside of those, is also worth protecting.

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nafizh7y ago

Really sad. I would think if there is no one to take care of the parks then it's only common sense to have them closed to tourists.

jumpinalake7y ago

In Canada we have a good parks system and yet I must admit that the US park system is phenomenally well run and contains so much diversity. I suspect that us visitors take for granted how much work is involved in maintaining the cleanliness and illusion of untouched solitude. We are so fortunate to be able to enjoy it and I hope any shutdown damages are minimal.

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15 comments

8 comments · 4 top-level

knewter7y ago· 2 in thread

mulmen7y ago

The comparison to nuclear reactors is odd. It suggests to me you think National Parks are a more trivial operation than a power plant. I think they are far too different to make this comparison.

A pet goldfish is not as complicated to keep alive as a power plant but if you don’t feed it then it dies.

burfog7y ago

2 more replies

burfog7y ago· 2 in thread

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/park-service-illegals-des...

https://www.desertinvasion.us/

mulmen7y ago

The border is not a national park. Your whataboutism is not compelling.

burfog7y ago

Big Bend National Park is on the border. BTW, it is a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve.

Organ Pipe National Monument is on the border.

They are being destroyed. The rest of the ecosystem, outside of those, is also worth protecting.

1 more reply

nafizh7y ago

Really sad. I would think if there is no one to take care of the parks then it's only common sense to have them closed to tourists.

jumpinalake7y ago

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