The National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) Mike Cipra recently testified about the impacts of climate change on our national parks at a government hearing held just outside Joshua Tree National Park—an appropriate setting given global warming may eradicate the tree from its namesake park within a century.

Cipra stated in his testimony that “the single greatest threat to the health of our national parks is global climate change” and made a compassioned plea in his testimony for protecting the parks. He proposed using an allocation of funding from a cap and trade system on greenhouse gases to address the impacts of climate change on wildlife and ecosystems, a solution he considers “crucial to a healthy future for our economy, our national parks, and our children’s health.”

With the work of non-profits like NPCA, we are making progress toward ensuring our national parks remain for future generations to enjoy. Visit NPCA’s website for more information on the issue and to read their report, “Unnatural Disaster: Global Warming and Our National Parks.”