As I’m sitting in gorgeous Long’s Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I can’t help but appreciate the years of preservation and care conservationist, environmental advocates, and average citizens have shown our amazing planet. Those who have helped protect our marvelous land range in backgrounds, involvement level, and professions; some of the biggest advocates have been our very own presidents.
In more recent days, President Obama made the first presidential visit to Yosemite National Park in decades. He, the first lady, and their daughters took a National Park tour (visiting Yosemite as well as New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park) in order to draw the American people’s attention to the factual impacts of global warming. Throughout his administration, President Obama has made global warming awareness a main concern during his two terms and has continued the land preservation goals of the various conservationist presidents who preceded him. During this year’s Father’s Day weekend, he continued his conservationist legacy by drawling attention to the dangers of climate change, the benefits of controlled forest fires, and the reality of global warming.
While Obama may have done much for environmental issues in recent years, he was not the first president who strongly advocated our planet’s climate concerns; before Obama’s administration, many of his predecessors’ administrations also fought to protect America’s beautiful land. A strong advocate for America’s environmental concerns was President Theodore Roosevelt; he lobbied for wilderness protection, assisted in starting the U.S. Forest Service, created five national parks, and also founded 50 wildlife refuges. Another warrior for environmental concerns was President Jimmy Carter. Carter created the Department of Energy, installed solar panels on the White House, enforced standards for fuel-efficient cars, and passed various laws that encouraged/helped care for our country’s environment. In the earlier years of America’s environmental protection, President Abraham Lincoln declared Yosemite Valley a national park (Yosemite National Park) and created the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Similar to President Obama himself, President John F. Kennedy was an outspoken advocate of environmental concerns and even created the committee that investigated pesticides and their influence on American’s health and our land. He also criticized the government’s lack of follow-through when it can to environmental policies as well as spoke out against industries that encouraged the use of pesticides. He and his brother, Robert Kennedy, both spoke about the need to monitor our usage of resources and the desire for stronger protection of the planet.
As many of his predecessors have done before him, President Obama has tirelessly worked to further environmental protection throughout his two terms. By visiting Yosemite and Carlsbad Caverns, our current president was able to draw more attention to the reality of global warming and how it is truly impacting our wonderful planet. To check out his Yosemite speech, click here.
*Along with raising awareness about global warming, Obama has also worked to raise awareness and help teach the untold stories within our American history; using the Antiquities Act, he has created new national monuments dedicated to Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez, a Hawaiian Japanese internment camp, America’s first black union, the National Woman’s Party (Woman’s Equality Monument), as well as planning a Stonewall Inn monument (LGBT monument). Each of these monuments helps start a conversation about aspects of America’s history that have previously remained largely untold.*
