Well, the United States was the first nation ever to formally establish and protect unique locations as national parks with the concept that they should never be exploited for economic gain. They should belong to all citizens, forever unblemished by development. Yellowstone was the first in 1872; Grand Canyon National Park came along in 1919.
With 70 miles of views like this from paved roads on the south rim alone, can't you just imagine the hoteliers that would want to build lodges all along the rim? Then you'd have to have fast food restaurants and gas stations and...and...and... Elected officials would vote yes because all of that means tax dollars into government coffers - from local to state to national levels they would vote yes. But because back almost 150 years ago, someone played the statesman and said, "No!" (That would be Teddy Roosevelt - the REPUBLICAN Roosevelt), we have fabulous, God-made national treasures!
Well, in 1954, Egypt decided it needed to build a dam, and that dam would flood treasures of ancient Egypt. Hey! They belong to Egypt! Shouldn't Egypt be able to do what they need to for the living Egyptians?
The world as a whole was made aware of what Egypt was planning by UNESCO (the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.) There was a compromise between Egypt and the world that allowed for the Aswan Dam to be built - but only after UNESCO countries paid to have The Abu Simbel and Philae Temples taken apart, moved to a higher location, and put back together piece by piece, the Temple of Dendur was moved to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Temple of Debod was moved to Parque del Oeste in Madrid. (Only $80 million in 1954 dollars.)
One thing led to another and the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in November, 1972. The Convention came into force in December, 1975. As of June, 2013, it has been ratified by 190 states, which includes 186 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, and Palestine in Israel. Since that time, twenty-one sites in America have been designated as World Heritage Sites:
Mesa Verde
Yellowstone
Glacier Bay in Alaska
Grand Canyon
Everglades
Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Redwood National Forest
Mammoth Caves
Olympic
Cahokia
Great Smoky Mountains
San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
Statue of Liberty
Yosemite
Chaco
Hawaii Volcanoes
Monticello
Taos Pueblo
Carlsbad Caverns
Glacier (our only "National" park to actually be an International Park from its inception)
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (140,000 square miles!) in Hawaiian waters
Granpa and I have been to over half of them!!
There are a dozen or so more "tentative" sites.
Well, that's a least ONE good thing the United Nations has done. (I think. Maybe.)
No comments:
Post a Comment