A Reddit poster shared a photo of a group of tourists violating a "please stay on trail" sign to take closer pictures of Maroon Bells, one of America's most photographed mountains.
"A good photographer can get the shot staying on the trail," one commenter said, highlighting the responsibility of the people taking photos to preserve the surrounding area.
Tourism has many incredible benefits. We can visit new places anytime we desire and experience nature's beauty, but the negatives only affect nature. A recent study published in "Nature Climate Change" revealed that tourism is responsible for three times more carbon pollution globally than initially thought.
Measures are put in place to protect natural wild and plant life for a reason. Continued construction and utilization of local land used for tourism can lead to natural habitat loss and soil erosion, which are two areas of concern at Maroon Bells.
A Colorado resident commented with more specifics regarding the potentially disastrous effects to Maroon Bells: "[It] is a high altitude alpine environment and many of the grasses and plants are easily killed just by being walked on and take a VERY long time to grow back."
Some commenters reacted viscerally to the photo, expressing frustration with tourists disrespecting the environment.
"That [pisses] me off so much. I live in [a] national Park and I see people doing that kind of crap everyday," one Redditor shared.
"I get the draw, but tourists can be disrespectful AF in Colorado and it's infuriating and sad," another commenter posted.
National park popularity in the U.S. has skyrocketed with the rise of social media. As a result, places like Yellowstone, where visitors have spiked 40% since 2008, have had to increase labor to upgrade surrounding facilities to handle the influx of visitors.
More visitors also mean traffic delays, sometimes hours long. Not only is idling bad for your car, but it releases more planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere than cars driving regularly on the road.
Fortunately, there are measures you can take on your next trip that will reduce your carbon pollution.
Travel by train if you can — they produce between 55-75% less carbon pollution than other forms of transport. If you do have to fly, consider choosing a greener airline and choose to fly economy with no connections.
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