It is no shock that the shutdown would affect US residents, but who knew it would also affect the environment?

   National Geographic claims that national parks are at risk due to waste overflow and trespassers, the halting of food and toxic chemical monitoring, endangered marine animals are more at risk, and it disrupts science explorations and research. So what does that mean for SVHS students?

  Even though we may not see immediate effects of the impact, National parks like the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods were partially closed until the shutdown ended, which means we couldn’t enjoy the national parks closest to us.      

  However the real problem may lie in the halt on research about climate change. While the shutdown is temporarily over, there still could be both detrimental effects to the environment and our health. Accuweather, a weather reporting station reported, “The shutdown could have long-term consequences for the ability of scientists to better understand climate change. Research funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the National Science Foundation will be put on hold.”    

  On top of that,  around 3600 forecasters had to report on the weather without pay. This can compromise the quality of weather reporting. Accuweather, a weather reporting station reported,    

  “Although we may not see immediate effects of the environmental impacts as long as the shutdown continues the future of our environment is at risk.” Our safety may be at risk due to the government’s inability to monitor food and toxic chemicals for over a month.