As an American, I will do my best to Be clean in my outdoor manners. Be careful with fire.Be considerate in the outdoors. and Be conservation minded.

This is the outdoor code which all scouts should follow whenever they are enjoying the outdoors even when they are not n scout outings. These statements are more than just simple words. I have come to the conclusion that if more americans followed these simple rules the environment would be much better off.

One thing that I would like to say is that I love technology and think that the majority of technology, tools, and toys we have as americans are good things but we as a society need to learn how to use them in order respect and preserve the world around us. I am definitely not a super environmentalist or what most people would consider a tree hugger. I believe that the world needs these people in order to make progress but I do not expect that the whole world will become like this because it will never happen. I do know that we all need to do little things to better preserve the environment.

The last note that I am going to leave you guys with is a answer to a common question I get from scouts during cleanup at the conclusion of a activity or outing. The reason why cleaning up another persons mess at the end of the outing is because if we don't do it then who will. The funny thing about this is that everyone wants to camp in a clean campsite when using public facilities but no one is willing to claim responsibility for the mess and clean it up. So if others do want to do it, and the scouts are not going to be environmental stewards then who will become our environmental stewards. We need environmental stewards because people are not careful and because there are others who just don't care.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 '11 Philmont AA '08