Glacier Park’s glaciers going, going…
A dozen organizations last month filed a petition asking the United Nations to declare Glacier in Montana and the adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada endangered, because of glacial retreat and its effect on the environment of the parks.
In Paris this week, a UN committee is discussing the impacts of human-caused climate warming on Glacier Park glaciers as well as environmental degradation at Nepal’s Sagarmatha National Park, which includes Mount Everest; Huarascan National Park in Peru; Great Barrier Reef in Australia; and the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System in Central America.
The “World Heritage and Climate Change” meeting is expected to generate a report that will be considered by the World Heritage Committee in July.
The number of glaciers in Glacier Park has fallen from about 150 in 1850 to 27. The mean summer temperature at Glacier park has risen by about 3 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century, according to the USGS.
Associated Press
BOATING
Required safety course starts Tuesday
Another session of America’s Boating Course, taught in Spokane by Spokane Sail & Power Squadron, will begin Tuesday. The course satisfies the Washington State boater safety education requirement that will be phased in over the next 15 years.
Pre-register: 328-6165 or 998-7104.
Rich Landers
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Biologists unite for Endangered Species Act
As a U.S. Senate committee prepares revise the Endangered Species Act, nearly 6,000 biologists around the country signed a letter last week urging senators to preserve scientific protections in the landmark law.
The House passed an Endangered Species Act rewrite last year that horrified many scientists and environmentalists who feared the demise of treasured American wildlife. Now they are lobbying the Senate Environment and Public Works panel to take a more moderate stance.
“Unfortunately, recent legislative proposals would critically weaken” the law’s scientific foundation, said the letter organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“For species conservation to continue, it is imperative both that the scientific principles embodied in the act are maintained, and that the act is strengthened, fully implemented, and adequately funded.”
Associated Press
ENVIRONMENT
Louv to explain ‘nature deficit disorder’
Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder,” will be the keynote speaker for the Environmenal Education Association of Washington’s conference Thursday at Mirabeau Park Hotel in Spokane Valley.
Nature organizations and critics around the globe have praised Louv’s assessment of the dangers ahead for societies that deny their children a relationship with the great outdoors.
“Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self-interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depend upon it,” he wrote.
In order to hear Louv’s address, you must attend the conference sessions that explore trends in environmental education and outreach, or purchase a $35 ticket for the Thursday evening dinner, programs and entertainment.
Info: West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, 340-1028 or Jami.Ostby@wvsd.com.
Rich Landers