The government shutdown jeopardizes national climate efforts
The U.S. government has been shut down since Sept. 30. This not only affects federal workers and U.S. citizens, but it also impacts the Earth’s climate by removing funding needed to maintain national parks and climate change research. The decisions made in the Capitol Building are impacting everyone from federal workers to local hikers and homeowners concerned with fire safety here in Thousand Oaks.
The Democratic and Republican parties failed to agree on the passing of budget legislation before the end of the fiscal year. While in session, a Democratic senator threatened to delay the vote until the other side agreed, and the bill did not gain the 60 votes it needed to pass in the Senate. Federal departments, including Homeland Security, the Agriculture Department and the Treasury Department, have halted until the government starts running again.
The National Park Conservation Association reported that during the last government shutdown, which occurred under Trump’s first administration and lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, there was damage due to the lack of maintenance and unprecedented reports of illegal activity. Already, Yosemite National Park has reported heightened numbers of squatters, littering, vandalism and illegal base-jumping due to neglect and lack of supervision in parks.
Even in our own backyards, parks are affected, like the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, where services are being suspended due to the shutdown. Spaces like the visitor centers are closed with little staff in the area. Since the state park is a popular location for camping and hiking, preservation is vital. Without adequate staff to protect the area, it can become difficult to enforce rules that aim to protect nature, like staying on trails, refraining from smoking and not littering. Funding for ranger patrols that enforce fire safety is lacking due to the cut funds, which puts Thousand Oaks in danger, as the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is an at-risk location for wildfire spread due to its central location and dry conditions.
In addition to national parks’ lost funding, the Environmental Protection Agency had to furlough 90% of its staff, which put a stop to essential proceedings like environmental research, inspections and permitting. Without workers who keep the national parks functioning in an orderly fashion, visitors are left on their own without guidance and safety. The lack of funding for these parks is detrimental, as they preserve natural ecosystems and biodiversity for generations to come, as well as historical and cultural sights for all ages.
Currently, politicians and members of Congress in the U.S. continue to receive their normal pay. If their paychecks were halted as a result of their decision, just as those of thousands of federal workers have, they would be forced to come to a ruling. It is unfair that, as the ones whose inability to agree caused the government shutdown, they are still being paid while many who had no part in it are not. Meanwhile, funding delays put national parks and climate change initiatives at risk, as these programs depend on a steady government.
Most other democratic countries, including Sweden, New Zealand and Germany, have structural safeguards and parliamentary systems that make government shutdowns nearly impossible. Politicians do not leave until they can come to a decision. These countries serve as evidence that there is a more efficient process in passing legislation. If the U.S. took on a similar approach, the government would work more orderly, preventing damage to the environment due to the furlough of workers.
Once Congress comes to a cohesive resolution, climate change research and national park maintenance will be able to resume. Caring about nature is not a matter of politics but a matter of ethics. The political climate of the U.S. Congress is dangerously detrimental to the Earth’s climate.
