Climate Change: Making the Global,

Local in National Parks.

Voyageurs National Park

Where are you?Where are our visitors?

www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange

1. Human Activities are changing the Earth’s climate.

2. Climate change affects national parks and the treasures they protect.

3. The National Park Service is addressing climate change.

4. The choices you make today do make a difference.

Human activities… are changing the Earth’s climate.

Climate change affects… national parks and the treasures they protect.

Climate change at VOYA

Cold water fish in Interior lakes

Impacts on cultural resources

The National Park Service… is addressing climate change.Operations

Science Interpretation

Climate change initiatives at VOYA

• Climate change adaptation Planning for Northern Forest Ecosystems in the Great Lakes National Parks

• Biogeographic Patterns of Fish in Inland Lakes

Science

Operations

Interpretation

• CLIP tool: Inventory of carbon footprint• Identification of places to reduce energy

consumption• LED lighting at RLVC• Management discussions about adaptive

planning

• Creation of new interpretive products with science program

• Staff training in climate change interpretation• Development of new climate change interpretive

programs

The choices you make… today, do make a difference.

Work

Home

Now what?

“We won’t understand climate change through science and economics alone...We need to understand the ways in which we talk about climate change, the variety of myths we construct… through which we reveal to ourselves what climate change means to us.”

- Mike Hulme from “Why we Disagree about Climate

Change”

Speed Dating!!

• More facts do not equal better

communication

• Embrace controversy, but don’t pursue

conflict

• Don’t preach a sermon, tell a story

• Allow for, even actively seek, dialog and sharing

• Frame issue in relevant and appropriate

terms

• Remember agency position

1. Human Activities are changing the Earth’s Climate.

2. Climate change affects national parks and the treasures they protect.

3. The National Park Service is addressing climate change.

4. The choices you make today do make a difference.

Your challenge:Localizing the

global

"Experts say this global warming is serious, and they are predicting now that by the year 2050, we will be out of party ice."