Readiness Ethics
Readiness is an ethical pursuit. Readiness impacts more than the immediate outcomes of outdoor pursuits. Modern approaches to readiness must consider more than individual ability and preparations matched with chosen pursuits to ensure success and personal safety in the outdoors. Today, more than ever, readiness must consider other people and nature, sociological and ecological impacts–ethics for our crowded modern world.
Choices matter. The outdoor pursuits we choose and the methods we use impact others and the wild places we enjoy. Readiness, in the broadest sense, is a condition of cognitive maturity and personal responsibility for oneself, one’s family, for one’s community, and for natural habitats and local and extended ecosystems we impact through our outdoor pursuits and our everyday lives. Readiness enables nature-neutral or reduced ecological impacts of outdoor pursuits. Readiness improves sustainability of outdoor activities we enjoy. Readiness gets us home safely, avoiding unexpected necessity for rescue, rescue embarrassment, and rescue impacts.
Why outdoor ethics as readiness? Why choose self restraint in the outdoors when immediate negative personal consequences are unlikely, when we have more reckless ‘fun’ today while doing whatever gives us satisfaction or a momentary thrill? It’s about personal character, conservation character. That stuff a select few of our forefathers exercised so that we could discover grandeur in undisturbed wild places and take for granted our ample outdoor opportunities, today. It’s our turn to exercise restraint. It’s your turn. It’s up to you, that’s how ethics works.
Conservation efforts in the past have ensured today’s opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. We are in debt to conservationists. Our interests in the wild outdoors, yours and mine, fuel conservation today. Many of us defend wild places from reckless use and development. A new generation of conservationists will face greater challenges during this century. By 2050, the global population will double its year 2000 number. Imagine the impacts of that number of people on exploitation and development of wild places and unrestrained reckless use of wild places.
Ethical behavior, the cornerstone of democracy, is essential for outdoor leaders, today. Equally essential, the next generation of defenders of conservation, young people. Lovers of wild places dedicated to conserving this resource. We know that young people do not fit themselves for outdoor life unless we create opportunities and guidance. Just go outdoors and do it, take young people outdoors! Begin in backyards. Advance to wilder locations and greater outdoor challenges. Graduate to wilderness immersion. If young persons do not use wild places, they will not defend wild places. Involve young persons in responsible use of the great outdoors. Readiness pays forward.