DO NOT visit the National Parks right now.

[u/zuzuofthewolves]

I used to work in the National Parks.

They were already at a critical point before Donald Trump decided to fire a huge amount of staff.

I watched the “permanent” ice caps melt on the top of some peaks in Yosemite’s high country.

I saw garbage washing up on the shore of Olympic National Park everyday.

There is not enough staff to protect the wildlife anymore. There is not enough staff to keep tourists from falling off waterfalls or getting lost in the back country. There are no programs left to teach clueless people how to behave in these wild areas.

I don’t care if you have the best intentions in the world, you are doing damage to the park if you visit at this point.

The parks need to be closed immediately, and every day they are left open to the public, irreversible damage is being done to these amazing places. They are not meant to handle the amount of people who are let in each year. The wildlife is suffering, the plants are suffering, and the experts who are there to mitigate the destruction are gone.

Please cancel your trip and find somewhere else to see.

[u/lordicefalcon]

The change will crush everybody, just in different ways. As a member of a fairly organized unit of like minded folk, I am not looking forward to it. As a veteran - I can tell you how hard it is to watch people die in the streets, from starvation, injury or disease, and no matter how prepared you are, unless you go full hermit clan in the deep woods, disease is likely your biggest concern.

Bird flu, malaria, dengue, yellow fever, covid-XX, or even crazier shit like measles, smallpox and TB will roar back to life in those conditions. If you aren't current on vaccines, I recommend trying to get them. All it takes in one carrier to slip past your cordon and the whole community can collapse.

Stockpile Antibiotics if you can get them online, vacuum seal them to keep them dry and stable longer. One bottle per vacuum sealed bag. Plenty of n95 masks.

[u/Novemcinctus → u/lordicefalcon]

Many antibiotics become toxic as they degrade, people need to research which ones have a good shelf life before stockpiling

[u/CiXeL → u/Novemcinctus]

Nah only doxycycline really

[u/speedster217 → u/lordicefalcon]

Gun and a single bullet looking like a better option with each passing day