Scouting, Volume 59, Number 4, July-August 1971 Page: 54
92 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
POLLUTION
w
■ PATROL LEADERS'
COUNCIL
This meeting should be held about
a week before activities begin on this
Program Feature. See Patrol Leader's
Handbook for agenda. Cover these
items:
• Determine troop's project for En-
vironmental Cleanup. Arrange con-
ferences with conservation experts if
there is no obvious anti-pollution
54 project at hand.
• Decide on dates and times for En-
vironmental Cleanup.
• Consider substituting a field trip
for one regular troop meeting. Trip
might be to waste treatment plant,
waterworks, managed watershed, an
industry which has air or water pol-
lution abatement devices, or air mon-
itoring station:
• Assign responsibility for troop
meetings and special event.
• Review qualifications of candidates
recommended for rank advancement.
■ ENVIRONMENTAL
CLEANUP PROJECT
Pollution control is absolutely vital
to our society, but some troops may
feel that they cannot significantly
affect major pollution problems.
Many times this may be true, but
there are things that most troops can
do about both natural and man-made
pollution. Here are a few possibilities.
• One of the most important pollut-
ants in our waterways is silt—plain
old soil which has washed down into
streams and lakes. Such sediment
may kill fish and aquatic plants and,
of course, it adds to the cost of
cleaning the water for human use.
At the same time, the land becomes
poor from losing the soil. Your Scouts
may prevent this problem by plant-
ing grasses and shrubs on eroding
areas or riprapping along banks
which are washing away.
• Winds also carry soil from bare
areas into the atmosphere as an air
pollutant. Planting grass and shrubs
can cure this problem, too.
• About 10 percent of the general
population suffers from ragweed pol-
len during the late summer. Ragweed
may be controlled merely by cutting
the plant at ground level, not pulling
out by the roots, before it pollinates.
Ragweed grows best in disturbed or
loosened soil, so when it is pulled up
by the roots a fine seed bed is cre-
ated for ragweed germination the
next year. Start cutting in June or
July, but be prepared to do it more
than once each summer because rag-
weed may still grow.
• City troops may undertake a mas-
sive anti-litter campaign as their En-
vironmental Cleanup project. Litter is
a pollutant and particularly obnox-
ious in crowded metropolitan areas.
Your troop may set a good example
by cleaning, and keeping clean, a
square block or two over a period of
several weeks or months.
■ AIR POLLUTION
TEST DEVICE
Air-pollution-test machines are
scientific devices which are not likely
to be available to your troop, al-
though you may be able to see one in
your community make regular tests
of the air. However, here's a simple
device which won't give a scientific
reading, but will give graphic evi-
dence of air pollution.
Use adhesive side of a bumper
sticker with backing removed, or coat
a piece of paper with vaseline. Place
the tester outside your meeting place
on a tree, roof top, or fire escape. At
each subsequent troop meeting,
check your tester carefully with a
magnifying glass to see the pollutants
in your air.
■ SAMPLING WATER
FOR SILT
If a stream or lake in your area is
badly silted, check it by taking a
sample of water and allowing it to
stand for a week or more. As the water
evaporates, sediment and other solid
matter will gradually settle to the
bottom, showing visible evidence of
silt washing into the water.
Related Advancement
Star: No. 3 conservation project
Life: No. 2(b) conservation project
Eagle: Conservation of Natural Re-
sources merit badge
MERIT BADGES: Conservation
of Natural Resources □ Soil
and Water Conservation
Scout Literature Resources
Boy Scout Handbook
Scoutmaster's Handbook
Patrol Leader's Handbook
Fieldbook
Troop Activities
Merit badge pamphlets for those
subjects listed above
Boy Scout Songbook
Conservation—Your Choice, No.
7172
Scout Law in Action, No. 2768
The Scout Oath in Action, No.
3578
Scouting Magazine insert on con-
servation, Sept.-Oct. 1970
Other Resources—Local offices of
federal, state, and local conserva-
tion and environmental protection
agencies; Keep America Beauti-
ful, Inc., 99 Park Ave., New York,
N.Y. 10016.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 59, Number 4, July-August 1971, periodical, July 1971; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353606/m1/62/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.