January 17, 2020
IDS-102
Hiking Tourism Effects On The Environment
Two areas of pop-culture I'm very interested in are Hiking and Travel. I found This article on how hiking tourism is affecting our environment. As an environmental science major this topic very much stands out to me. Many people love hiking, travel, and all things "outdoorsy", but fail to realize the impacts it is having on our environment. Another simple example is zoos. You love animals, you want to see the animals, you go to the zoo. Perfect, right? Until you realize many times zoos are unhealthy and unnatural for many animals. Of course, this is not always the case but it is hard to differentiate what zoos are "good" or "bad", just as it is hard to be an environmentally friendly tourist.
This article touches on the facts of rings on trees. Every year a tree is alive it forms another ring around it. In previous years as an environmental student I've learned the thickness of these rings depends on how healthy the soil/environment around the tree is. In this article they discover through testing several different areas of trees that the densely populated hiking trails are becoming more and more compacted and the soil and trees are suffering from it.
This is a problem that may be inevitable, but little steps can be taken to help. Of course going on a hike in a beautiful new place is amazing and a fantastic way to witness the world around you, wether it be in your hometown or on a getaway. Nobody expects the people of the world to just stop going on hikes, if anything we are always encouraged to be out in nature experiencing the natural world. One thing that could be done to help this would be to step off the beaten path once in a while. Try out the places that aren't so populated, who knows, you can find some real, true diamonds in the rough that way.
source: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxynsc.helmlib.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=263fa912-6891-4ca2-9f8a-043b781676dd%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=98604082&db=a9h
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately that link doesn't work for me. Could you provide me with the full citation of the article and a permalink? If it's unclear what that is, be sure to check out the guidelines for this activity. Thank you!