Leave No Trace

When our son, Mark, mentioned that he was going to get involved with the Leave No Trace organization I had vague flashbacks to the few years I spent in Boy Scouts as that was one of the principles we learned. "When you go into the wilderness, leave only footsteps." I did not spend much time in the Boy Scouts because my experience was lots of time in meetings inside a musty cinderblock building reciting pledges. But I have spent lots of time in the wilderness. After talking to Mark a few times about his plans with Leave No Trace and his new landscape company, another memory came to mind. It was of a hunting trip more than 30 years ago. A friend from work was introducing me to the world of deer hunting. Many of the details of that trip are very fuzzy now but one thing stands out. When I pulled a pair of gloves out of my pocket as we were leaving the truck a small piece of candy wrapper fell to the ground. I did not see it but my friend did. He neither reprimanded me nor ignored the litter. Instead, he walked to where I had been standing picked up the small piece of paper and put it into his pocket. The impact of that on my efforts to pick up after myself and replicate his action could not be overstated. I tell that story to point out that I believe in preserving nature as much as is reasonable. Few people love wild, undeveloped areas more than I do. You need to know that as I continue to ridicule the Bozo's that are preaching "Global Warming" and giving Al Gore emmy awards and the Nobel Peace Prize of all things. Probably, some readers of this blog see my persistance as narrow-minded or backward. Well, consider what this meteorlogist has to say;

By John Coleman, Founder - The Weather Channel

"It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, ie Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you “believe in.” It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend."

Now, THAT sounds reasonable.