Go Green!
BL Go Green Heroes
Four Scouts were on the team that won the 2008 Shell Eco-marathon, in which students designed, built and tested eco-friendly vehicles.
The team of 15 boys that included Adam Ferrari, 15; Matt Schneider, 16; and Quinn Schroeder, 15, Troop 399; and Andrew Ritter, 17, Troop 397, Evansville, Ind., got 2,843.4 miles per gallon, setting a record and winning the $10,000 grand prize to use for future projects.
“We need to develop vehicle technology so we don’t have such a reliance on oil,” Andrew says.
“I’m not too happy about gas prices,” Adam agrees. “And we need to make cars better for our world and atmosphere.”
Venturing Crew 202, Westminster, Md., not only earned the unit Hornaday Award in 2007, it has been recognized on state and national levels for its environmental work. The crew snagged three state conservation awards and a national 2008 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellance Award, for which it won $10,000 for future projects. “The crew is passionate about what we’re doing, and we have fun at the same time,” says Eagle Scout Eric Kazyak, 15. Click here to read about some of the crew’s projects.
Life Scout Billy Weibley of Troop 42, Union, S.C., writes: “Our troop recycles cans, which helps pay for camp outings, badges, etc. We park a trailer along a major road through town that has ‘BSA Troop 42 Can Recycling’ posted on both sides. People can drop off aluminum cans, then we rotate patrols taking the trailer to the recycling center, sorting and processing the cans. It helps our troop and lets the community know we are available to do good things for the environment.”
For the national Bottle Brigade program, Pack 116, Chippewa Falls, Wis., collected more than 7,000 plastic soda bottles, more than any other participating Scout unit. The program is run by TerraCycle, which reuses the bottles to package plant foods (made from worm poop), paying 5 cents per bottle. The guys put the money toward helping everybody go to camp. Cub Scouts Ross Hebert and Brandon Lloyd say, “Collecting these bottles is a way to save our planet.” (www.terracycle.net/bb)
Star Scout Dave Ryan and Troop 777, Olmsted Falls, Ohio, created an innovative use of solar power at their council camp. “We bring a solar panel, car battery and a bunch of low-power red LED lights,” Dave says. “We set it up so the lights draw power from the battery, which draws power from the solar panel during the day.” (The guys use red light because it doesn’t affect night vision, contribute to light pollution or attract bugs like white light.) They also use their solar-power rig for other minor electrical needs, such as charging cell phones, inflating mattresses and operating low-power gear.
Troop 54 of Mandan, N.D., saved 113,928 kilowatts of energy, $11,393 in energy costs and put a stop to 90 tons of greenhouse gases through the Energy Star Change a Light Pledge program. The guys handed out more than 400 compact fluorescent lightbulbs in their community for residents to replace less energy-efficient regular incandescent bulbs.
Read 5 comments about “BL Go Green Heroes”
March 30th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
nice work scouts keep up the work
April 20th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I am proud of the troop and look forward to seeing this movement growing.
This year we are going for 1,000 CFL’s and we like to hear from other troop on how their efforts are going.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
Congratulations to this exceptional boy scout troop for taking action on an issue they deemed important. It is amazing to see how much they have accomplished with ingenuity and action. This is the type of leadership our country was built on.
Let this example of achievement without greed inspire all of us to put aside complacency and take action as well.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Well done scouts!
I just want you to know that your efforts are spreading to others. I already know of a girl scout troop in the Denver, Colo., area that heard about your idea and success, and they are planning to do something similar Fall 2008.
You all are doing a great job of leading by example…keep it up! You’ll all will continue to be fine leaders.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Wow!!!! What an idea!!! Your idea is growing, Scout troops around the US are joining the Boy Scout movement to fight global warming!!! Thanks for planting the seed that is growing every day!!!