Save the Joshua Tree (Again)

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  01.27.09 | 2:18 PM ET

Photo by tomsaint11, via Flickr (Creative Commons).

We’ve noted, rather sadly, that we can’t imagine Joshua Tree National Park without its signature Joshua tree. (Who can?) Scientists have warned that the giant yucca may disappear in 50 years because global warming is changing the desert’s fragile ecosystem. U2 famously showcased a Joshua tree on the Anton Corbijn-photographed cover of its 1987 album, and I wonder if the band silently praised it during its awesome pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial (or at least after President Obama affirmed his faith in scientists and pledged to help them deal with a planet in peril.)

Ecopreneur John Ivanko is optimistic, if guardedly so. Ivanko, who recently visited the park with his family, offered this ode, with the hope that a new outlook will help save the imperiled, iconic tree and its park, and other “great places” in the natural world.

For nostalgia’s sake, here’s some Corbijn-shot footage of (then youthful) members of U2 wandering the desert.

Tags: Barack Obama, Eco Travel, Global Warming, Joshua Tree, National Parks, Outdoors, Travel Photography, U2, Video, North America, United States, California, News and Briefs

Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


1 Comment for Save the Joshua Tree (Again)

amie 02.13.09 | 2:01 PM ET

This is very disturbing. I have grown up in Southern California my entire life, and vividly remember driving through the desert multiple times and seeing thousands upon thousands of Joshua trees, standing there so beautiful and serene. I am also a U2 fan and believe that U2’s picture of the infamous Joshua Tree on the cover of their album proved how impressionable and powerful the tree can be. To hear that these trees are severely threatened is absolutely disappointing and definitely frightening. They are not only a landmark of the southwest but of nature in general; I hope that California takes this very seriously, that u2 may discover this and possibly support this effort in saving these precious trees. It is sickening to hear this but good to know so that we as a people may cherish all that we have and save it before it’s gone. Thank you.

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