June 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 33

Change,
Parks and Health

waters rise into stormwater discharge
pipes and sewer overflows produce an
unpleasant and unhealthful backwash of
toxic substances and bacteria-laden water. In Miami-Dade County, as in many
other coastal communities, it may not
be the initial flood waters that pose the
greatest health hazard to communities,
but rather the water that remains that
cannot drain away. Parks and recreation
areas located in flood-prone areas are often the first to be flooded and the most
impacted by such flooding.
What does each of these weather-related
challenges to park and recreation agencies
have in common even though they may be
thousands of miles apart? Each of them can
be attributed to climate change.
Climate Change and Our Way of Life
NASA recently reported that April 2017
was the second-hottest month ever in 137
years of global recordkeeping, with aver-

age temperatures just slightly under April
2016, the hottest month ever recorded.
Record hot temperatures are part of a
trend of ever-hotter weather patterns that
are now starting to regularly affect U.S.
communities nationwide.
Other climate-caused weather changes
are occurring with greater frequency as
well, including sea level rise, more extreme weather events and storms, much
heavier localized rainfall and, paradoxically, more extreme droughts in certain
areas of the Southeast, Southwest and
West. Some climate scientists have characterized the changes that are occurring as
" hotter hots, wetter wets and drier dries. "
The high average annual temperatures
are linked to the rise in atmospheric carbon,
now also at a peak of 406 parts per million
and climbing. A preponderance of climate
scientists link global warming to the human
burning of fossil fuels and other greenhouse
gas emissions, a cause that is vigorously dis-

By Richard J. Dolesh

puted by climate change deniers, but which
is happening, nonetheless, on a global scale.
Our climate is changing dramatically, and
it will have substantial impact on our own
communities and our nation.
The issues for parks and recreation resulting from climate change are not altered
by whether the changes to our climate are
primarily caused by humans. No matter
what the causes, the impacts are undeniable and will continue to affect us for many
years, if not for many generations, with ever-increasing severity. We must begin now
to develop climate-resilient parks that are
capable of adapting to the changes that are
occurring and to mitigate the impacts as
best as we can. This article is the first of
three to be published over the coming year
that will examine the impacts of climate
change on parks and recreation in terms of
health, outdoor recreation and nature.
It is worth noting that not all of the impacts of climate change are negative. In fact,

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Parks & Recreation

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June 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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