University of Phoenix
SCI 256– People, Science and the Environment
Team A
Debbe Emerich, Charmaine McCall,
Beverly Mills, and Charmainne Sanders
Natural Resources and Energy Team Paper
April 1, 2013
Elizabeth Stevens
Forests are complex worlds where many animals, insects, and plants share a habitat. Specie interdependency leads to protecting ecosystems and biodiversity that dwells within it. This paper will identify the impact of agriculture and encroaching human population’s effect on forests. Management practices for sustainability and conservation along with evaluating risks and benefits of using renewable and nonrenewable energy resources are also assessed.
Rocky Mountain Forest is a great place for tourists to come and study natural species while admiring the beautiful aspects the park offers. Tourism is a major contributor, as are recreational activities such as skiing, fly-fishing, hunting, and camping.
Climate change, while unpreventable, cause major disasters deadly to animals and people. Climate drivers such as rising sea level, glaciers, snowfall, and storms are change agents as well. Climate-induced events pose a hazard to the area's snowpack, canceling some of the activities, and affecting the livelihood. The droughts and heat can cause streams and rivers to vanish affecting the entire ecosystem.
Changes in the climate economically affect the skiing industry. “Smaller, lower-elevation ski resorts, already operating on the margin, would be at greatest risk of losing operating ability if the number of ski days per season decrease,” ("US National Assessment Of The Potential Consequences Of Climate Variability And Change Educational Resources Regional Paper: Rocky Mountain / Great Basin Region", 2003). Temperatures can cause significant changes such as an earlier snowmelt, increase in the length of summer, and a decrease in rainfall. These changes could bring about forest fires that endanger humans, wildlife and...