The Grand Canyon is Millions Of Years Old, Let's Not Destroy it in Decades
Last week, the Oxford English Dictionary added the phrase "national treasure" to our official language lexicon. As far as the U.S. goes, the folks there may as well write "see Grand Canyon" next to the definition. Every year, 5 million tourists from all over the world flock to the deep cut the Colorado River has carved into Arizona's bedrock and view 2 billion years of geologic history in its naked glory. My family trip there when I was in middle school made a deep impression on me, and I imagine many readers may feel the same.
All is not well in the land of Arizona, however, and it's not just immigration laws that are a problem. As the National Parks Conservation Association pointed out in a report yesterday, there is a complicated web of manmade problems that threaten this national treasure (really, world treasure) today. Sign this petition to save a natural environment that can't be replaced.
Uranium rush: Within 5 miles of the national park boundaries, there are more than 1,100 uranium mining claims today compared with just 10 in 2003, according to the Grand Canyon Trust. Nearby there are thousands more, fueled by high ore prices and the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service's mandate to lease public lands for this purpose. Already, due to "excessive radionuclides," the National Park Service advises against drinking and bathing in the Little Colorado River and other Grand Canyon waters. Secretary Ken Salazar has imposed a temporary moratorium on new claims for two years while the debate rages and an environmental study proceeds. Only Congress can permanently protect these lands, however.
River drop: The wild Colorado River is waning to a wimpy stream, as climate change takes hold and as the Glen Canyon Dam evens the flow to capture hydroelectric power. Native wildlife and trout continue to struggle under unnatural river flow patterns. The NPCA proposes that the dam release its water to better mimic natural flow conditions, though power companies are not keen on this idea. "That river is in danger of becoming a sterile, man-made channel, lined with invasive species and filled with invasive aquatic species," Dan McCool, director of environmental studies at the University of Utah, told The Arizona Republic.
Air and noise pollution: Looking for a scenic getaway from it all? Unlikely you'll find it at the Grand Canyon. A regional haze from power plants settles on the valley, obscuring vistas, and the drone of airplane tours is hard to ignore. U.S. EPA and the Park Service would like to address these issues, but that will require power plants actually install modern pollution controls and tour operators agree to sometimes cease and desist.
Though geologists debate the exact timing, the Colorado River likely set its course some 17 million years ago, and today is still carving and shaping out the canyon. So it took 17 million years to create this natural wonder. How long will it take for humans to destroy the ecosystems and wildlife and even scenic vistas that make it unique? Let's hope it never comes to that. Sign this petition to tell Interior Secretary Salazar to start by doing all within his power to stop uranium mining.
It took 17 million years to carve the Grand Canyon. Shouldn't we also take our time destroying it?
Photo credit: Wolfgang Staudt, via Flickr
Jess Leber
is a Change.org editor. She most recently covered climate and energy issues as a reporter in Washington, D.C
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