Crowd control in the national parks

+ Does the US need a new database on college outcomes? US Edition - Today's top story: Overcrowded US national parks need a reservation system [View in browser]( US Edition | 1 June 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair U.S. national parks protect some of the nation’s most iconic places for the public to enjoy. But visitors are crowding the parks in such numbers that several popular sites, including Yosemite and Glacier, are requiring advance reservations. Colorado State University historian Michael Childers sees the parks’ crowd woes as part of a pattern dating back to the 1920s, when Americans first took up long-distance travel en masse. In his view, many popular national parks need reservations systems to [prevent tourists from destroying the places they’ve come to see](. Also today: - [A better way to detect the next pandemic]( - [Why federal police reform bills can’t do much]( - [The role of women in the Southern Baptist Convention]( Jennifer Weeks Senior Environment + Energy Editor Traffic at the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 20, 2015. Neal Herbert, NPS/Flickr [Overcrowded US national parks need a reservation system]( Michael Childers, Colorado State University It's hard to preserve national parks "unimpaired," as US law directs, when they're overrun with tourists who stray off paths, strew trash and harass wildlife. A parks scholar calls for crowd control. Health - [The next pandemic is already happening – targeted disease surveillance can help prevent it]( Maureen Miller, Columbia University A more coordinated effort by scientists, stakeholders and community members will be required to stop the next deadly virus that's already circulating in our midst. Politics + Society - [Congress can’t do much about fixing local police – but it can tie strings to federal grants]( Alexis Karteron, Rutgers University - Newark While many in America are looking to Congress to pass police reform legislation, the federal government has almost no control over state and local police departments. Environment + Energy - [Some coastal areas are more prone to devastating hurricanes – a meteorologist explains why]( Athena Masson, University of Florida The 2021 hurricane season is almost here, and it's forecast to be another busy one. Here's how heat, winds and the shape of the seafloor raise the risk for places like Miami and New Orleans. - [Hurricane warnings and advice can get lost in translation, leaving migrants unprepared]( Amer Hamad Issa Abukhalaf, University of Florida; Jason von Meding, University of Florida Misunderstanding disaster warnings can have catastrophic consequences for people who don't speak the language used for emergency communications. Ethics + Religion - [How women in the Southern Baptist Convention have fought for decades to be ordained]( Susan M. Shaw, Oregon State University Southern Baptists are calling for an investigation into the ordination of three women. A scholar explains why this continues to be a fraught issue, even though 2,500 women have been ordained to date. Arts + Culture - [Trans kids in the US were seeking treatment decades before today’s political battles over access to health care]( Jules Gill-Peterson, University of Pittsburgh Few trans kids in the early 20th century had access to information about trans life. That they still faced down the judgment of parents and doctors is a testament to the truth of their dysphoria. Education - [How a national student database could cheapen the college experience]( Nicholas Tampio, Fordham University Under a proposal from a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative, the federal government would collect data on student economic outcomes. From our International Editions - [Mount Nyiragongo’s volcano: why it’s unique and treacherous]( Paolo Papale, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) National governments need to wake up to the volcanic risks posed by tectonic rifting around Mount Nyiragongo. - [Why people are risking arrest to join old-growth logging protests on Vancouver Island]( David Tindall, University of British Columbia Environmental groups have protested logging of British Columbia's old-growth rainforest for three decades. But the Fairy Creek dispute could grow into another 'War in the Woods.' - [Thirty minutes’ exercise won’t counteract sitting all day, but adding light movement can help – new research]( Sebastien Chastin, Glasgow Caledonian University; Keith Diaz, Columbia University Medical Center Choosing the right "cocktail" of light activity, exercise and sitting, can improve health and decrease risk of premature death. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s graphic [A bar graph showing the breakdown of 50 years of Atlantic tropical storms.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451