From worsening wildfires to rapid sea level rise, climate change has without a doubt been posing a major threat to many of the United States' most treasured historical sites in the past years, a group of scientists said, and the risks of losing some of these sites are disturbingly escalating by the year.
In a recent report [pdf] released by the Union of Concerned Scientists titled "National Landmarks at Risk: How Rising Seas, Floods, and Wildfires Are Threatening the United States' Most Cherished Historic Sites," a total of 30 significant places that hold America's rich identity are bound to be helplessly ruined by nature's wrath.
Some historic coastal cities may follow the footsteps of Atlantis in the next century, including landmarks in Virginia such as Fort Monroe, which served as an important site for the rise and fall of slavery, and Jamestown, the first settlement of the English coming into the land of the Americas.
The historic districts of Annapolis, Md., Charleston, S.C., and St. Augustine in Florida are also being threatened by the inevitable sea level rise, and may soon be pummeled by stronger storm surges in the future. The awe-inspiring beauty in the Everglades of the Ten Thousand Islands' elaborate structures of oyster and clam shells dating as far back as 1,000 B.C. may also be wiped out by threats of climate change.
Even the country's space agency is in jeopardy. The landmarks that made the giant leap of mankind into space exploration such as Cape Canaveral, home to the Kennedy Space Center, are being battered by storm surges. To date, NASA is developing plans to protect these sites found near the coasts by using 3-D mapping and studying the effects of climate change.
"You can almost trace the history of the United States through these sites," said Adam Markham, UCS director of climate impacts, who is also one of the authors of the report. "The imminent risks to these sites and the artifacts they contain threaten to pull apart the quilt that tells the story of the nation's heritage and history."
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, national parks and heritage sites may succumb to the deadly tandem of larger wildfires and incessant flooding. Climate change has prompted an increase in temperatures, allowing the occurrence of wildfires more frequently in the state of California, as well as thawing huge chunks of snowpack, particularly in the Sierra Mountains region. It could be over for some of the historically significant structures cited in the report, such as the Groveland Hotel in former Gold Rush country.
The heritage of the Native Americans has also been dented by massive wildfires that razed the Southwestern sites of Mesa Verde National Park and Bandelier National Monument, damaging ancient pueblo masonry, petroglyphs, pottery and other archaeological sites.
In a separate statement, the Society for American Archaeology also urged the U.S. government to pay more attention to preserving America's distinguished archaeological sites, which each speaks of the free country's past.
"Cutting carbon emissions significantly and quickly can slow the pace of sea level rise, limit the temperature increases, and slow the expansion of the wildfire season," remarked Angela Anderson, UCS director of the climate and energy program.
The group said its report serves as a wake up call and it is time to take steps to protect these sites and reduce the risks. "We must begin now to prepare our threatened landmarks to face worsening climate impacts; climate resilience must become a national priority and we must allocate the necessary resources," the report urges.
