Air quality at National Parks

There is ongoing debate about global warming and it's affect on the quality of the air and the environment. In a recent study by a conservation group called "The National Parks Conservation Association", the air quality at the top 12 parks in America is less than desirable condition.

The chart below contains the grades given to each park:

                                                        Air Quality.           Visibility.           Climate Change

Sequoia National
Park (Calif.)                      F                 D                    D

Kings. Canyon
Nat'l. Park (Calif.)             F                 D                    D

Everglades Nat'l Park
(Florida)                            B                 D                   F

Joshua Tree Nat'l
Park (Calif.)                      F                  C                   F

Carlsbad Caverns
Nat'l Park (N.M.)              C                 D                   F

Acadia Nat'l Park
(Maine)                             B                 C                   F

Yosemite Nat'l Park
(Calif.)                              F                  C                  F

Guadalupe Mtns. Nat'l
Park (Texas)                     C                  D                 D

Big Bend Nat'l
Park (Texas)                     C                  D                  D

Mammoth Case
Nat'l Park (KY)                D                  F                   B

Great Smoky Mtns.
Nat'l Park (TN & KY)     D                   D                  C

Saguaro Nat'l Park
(Ariz.)                              C                    D                  C

Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regional haze rule, states must restore the clarity of more than 150 national parks and wilderness areas to natural levels by 2064. By the way, it has been reported that if one pays to enter any of these parks for the views of its natural beauty, what you will see is smog.

This is the same smog ingredients that has plagued Los Angeles for years. It is a corrosive gas that builds up in the air when pollutants from cars, trucks, power plants, and factories take in heat and sunlight. Although smog is diminishing in cities across America due to emission cutting regulations, the National Parks are susceptible to it because the wind can push it over long distances and into high elevations from major polluting sources.

In much of the country, reduced visibility at national parks and wilderness areas is caused by coal-fired power plants which are greatly supported by Mitch McConnell, the ex-speaker of the house. The major battle between the alternative energy lobby is with the coal lobby and right now coal is still very cheap.

The smog in California's National Parks is caused mainly by millions of vehicles that emit smog forming gases and particles. Other pollutants are dairy farms in the central valley that release haze that generates ammonia.

G. Dan Mitchell, a community college faculty member and photographer from San Jose, states that there is a silver lining to the smog he often encounters on his backpacking excursions. "It's not pretty stuff, but it can make for a nice sunset, if you're facing west. Nothing like backlit smog to light up the sky."
 And many of the Republican Presidential candidates don't believe that climate change and global warming are real.

* Reporter: Tony Barboza - LA Times Newspaper 7/29/2015

* Source: National Parks Conservation Association



Mad Man