Wading: Carbon Footprints vs. Outdoor Carpet

“On a fall day in the mid-1930s, the warrior god of modern fly-fishing, Lee Wulff, met a photographer and a couple of sports writers on a bridge on the Batten Kill in the Catskills. Wearing unbelted chest waders and clutching a fly rod, Wulff proceeded to dive headfirst into the chilly water 15 feet below; when he surfaced, he rolled on his back, slowly backstroked to shore and crawled out, fly rod in hand.”
OK, here’s an end-of-2008 challenge: Is it more politically/environmentally incorrect to screw outdoor carpet onto your favorite shoes, or to throw away a pair of Tevas? It’s the great Carbon Footprint versus the Aquatic Nuisance Species debate. (Most of know the best answer is probably to stick some Aquastealth treds on instead of carpet, but would that even work with Tevas?)
Jeff Aston covers a lot of ground this morning in the Mountain Express — including the importance of learning how to swim in waders. But the beginning of the piece includes the kernel of what I think is a great idea. Want to get kids involved in fly fishing? Do what Ashton’s dad did: forget about the fly rod and buy a kid a pair of waders. Get them in the water (midcurrent as it were) and the fish will come.