Are Divers ENVIRONMENTALISTS?

[cdiver2]

cdiver, I agree with much of your post, but as to the above, if your figures are accurate (I have no reason to doubt you, but haven't checked), please consider:

Airliner emits "x" CO2, and carries 350 passengers (give or take)
Ocean liner emits 7x CO2, and carries 3500 passengers (give or take)

Therefore:

emissions per airline passenger = x/350
emissions per cruise ship passenger = x/500 (roughly 30% less)

That may be the reason you don't hear about it in the same critiques as the airliners get.

JB I am not sure my figures are correct, I was trying to recall from an article I read a month or so ago. However if it is wrong then it is on the low side, I was really amazed at the difference between aircraft/ships. The story was not so much about pollution but a experiment to cut down on emissions from shipping. The experiment, there is a large cargo ship sailing from Europe to the US with a VERY BIG kite flying from the bow at something like 600 feet, the theory is it will cut down on emissions and cost. If it works and shipping Co go for this in a big way then I think it will be a big step forward in the right direction.



Gone with the wind on 'kite ship'
By Steve Rosenberg
BBC News, Bremerhaven, northern Germany



Ms Beluga is now on its way to Guanta in Venezuela


Kite in action
There is something rather magical about being up on deck of a giant cargo ship as it pushes its way out to sea.
Ten thousand tonnes of metal heaving through the water, the ship's giant masts glistening in the winter sun.

But there is something even more magical about being aboard MS Beluga SkySails.

On the face of it, this vessel - which is carrying parts of a timber production line to Venezuela - looks like any other cargo ship.


See how the kite ship works

In recent months, commercial shipping has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle global warming. Of all the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere today, 4% comes from ships. That's more than the aviation industry, primarily because 90% of global trade is done by sea.

MS Beluga SkySails believes it has a solution. It has set sail on a mission to turn the oceans green.

Once the ship has reached the open sea, it reveals its brand new weapon in the fight against global warming: a kite.

Twisted spaghetti


The 160sq m (1,722sq ft) blue-and-white kite is winched up a mast, strings dangling like twisted spaghetti. We can demonstrate that you can combine economy and ecology

Verena Frank, Beluga Shipping

For half-an-hour or so, it sits there at the top of the mast, not doing a great deal.

Wind power is a wonderful thing, but you do actually need some wind to make it all work - and there is not very much at this particular moment.

Half-an-hour later, though, the wind has picked up and the kite is flying hundreds of metres in the air - and helping to tug the ship along.

Kite power means the ship's engines down below can work on reduced power: and that means fewer carbon emissions.

It also means smaller fuel bills. With the price of shipping fuel having doubled in the past two years, kite power is promising big savings.

MS Beluga SkySails believes its fuel bill will be cut by £800 ($1,560) a day.

"We can demonstrate that you can combine economy and ecology," Verena Frank of Beluga Shipping explains.

"Economy, because you can reduce fuel consumption and fuel costs, and on the ecological side of things, we reduce emissions."

Magic wears off

The kite is controlled by computers. One computer helps it to fly in figures of eight in the sky - maximising the power it produces. Another computer adjusts the kite's direction.

If the project is successful, expect to see even bigger kites soon - some up to 5,000sq m (53,820sq ft) in size pulling ships across the seas and oceans.

After several hours on board the ship, the magic starts to wear off.

The sun has gone down, it is freezing cold. To warm myself up I start thinking of the ship's final destination - Venezuela.

But I will not be seeing the South American sun. By the evening, the ship has returned to chilly Bremerhaven to drop off the journalists, before setting sail - again - on its transatlantic journey.


The point of my post was, it is not just one thing (aircraft) causing all the pollution, I think we have to take the blinkers off and look at all aspects of our lives.

I found this article on the same thing
BBC News Player - Ship using 'sail' technology

BBC News Player - Ship sails powered by kite

 

[nwbobber]

I am an environmentalist. I think that some folks would not recognize me as one, and some who have posted here would probably challenge that statement. I am not a radical, and I do not live in a cave to limit my carbon footprint. I am quite sure that most of us who use this board do not either. WIFI doesn't work all that well in a cave. I have certain issues that I am knowledgeable about and I try to enlighten folks who have an ear to hear, and try to act on my beliefs. I don't preach, it don't do no good anyway... And I don't judge some one who claims to be an environmentalist, and does what they can, but violate one of my own standards. What the hey...if they are making a positive impact, who am I?
I know that some who dive are definitely not environmentalists, however, but I guess the original question was how many of us call ourselves that. I fearlessly do.

 

[Teamcasa]

I do not consider myself an environmentalist but more a conservationist. I feel it is my responsibility to conserve where practical, recycle and try to leave as little impact on the environment as I deem reasonable.

That said, economics trumps the concern for our environment almost every time. Some divers make a huge deal about touching the coral. But why? Is it because the dive and tourist industries would suffer financially if the coral in our favorite dive sites died?

Many of us divers fly to these amazing sites on an airliner, charter a dive boat, we use aluminum tanks, we purchase dive gear made in countries where it needed to be shipped by freighter, all the while vacationing in some beautiful remote paradise where virtually everything need in their resort was also flown or shipped in. Not all that environmentally friendly, but we do it anyway.

A somewhat negative comment was also made about underwater photographers. Underwater photographers have contributed more to the conservation effort by illustrating just how bad some areas have become. Their productions may end up on the news, some get posted on youtube and in thousands of DVD’s and countless photo albums. How many people have been inspired to become environmentally concerned after watching/seeing an image of an area or marine situation in serious trouble.

These images make it possible for surface dwellers to see the damage and urge many to become active in its salvation. I doubt that many of today’s legendary underwater photographers/videographers started out with perfect dive and photo skills.

If we all want to contribute, we all need to think through every buying decision.

 

[jason.elias]

Many of us divers fly to these amazing sites on an airliner, charter a dive boat, we use aluminum tanks, we purchase dive gear made in countries where it needed to be shipped by freighter, all the while vacationing in some beautiful remote paradise where virtually everything need in their resort was also flown or shipped in. Not all that environmentally friendly, but we do it anyway.

With all of that being said (and most probably agreed on by every person on this board), it would seem we must at some point reach some sort of break-even point with sustainability of the reefs and oceans. I mean, I think Divers and the accessories they want and require (which you have listed) are increasing every year. But the same cannot be said of pristine dive sights or coral reefs. So following this equation out, at some point the oceans and reefs must become affected and overwhelmed...

So doesn't it make sense that we should do something perhaps before environments are too far gone?

Many here have said that they do what they can and let others do what they wish, without overstepping their bounds. I respect that perspective and believe in it - but it also has parameters. And isn't that the whole point of society, that we agree to leave each other be unless we start to ruin it for others? So if we see that others are ruining it, or maybe not even doing enough to make sure we can all use it, aren't we required to do something?

 

[Hank49]

With all of that being said (and most probably agreed on by every person on this board), it would seem we must at some point reach some sort of break-even point with sustainability of the reefs and oceans. I mean, I think Divers and the accessories they want and require (which you have listed) are increasing every year. But the same cannot be said of pristine dive sights or coral reefs. So following this equation out, at some point the oceans and reefs must become affected and overwhelmed...

So doesn't it make sense that we should do something perhaps before environments are too far gone?

?

I dont' think diving is really bad for reefs. I know of a few heavily dived areas with strong currents that after 10 years of diving and observing, they still are very healthy.
On the other hand, the El Nino of 98 killed vast areas of reef around the world. Silt runoff from development has killed Kaneohe Bay (just an example) on Oahu. Deforestation runoff damaged lots of reef in the Philippines. I see the reef right in front of where I live being raped and pillaged by commercial fishermen and there are no conch left, and very few fish over 1 foot long (not all of Belize is fished like this...fortunately).
But what allows people to dive? Expendable income due to a healthy economy...which means a growing one, which means more fuel consumed etc etc. which means more stress on the oceans. Sometimes it looks pretty hopeless.

 

[DiverBeth]

I consider myself an environmentalist. I try to do my part by recycling, drive a fairly fuel efficient car, etc. I do care about the environment and the oceans. I think most divers care about the conditions of the ocean if for no other reason than to enhance their dives. It may be somewhat selfish but every little bit helps.

 

[Nismo]

I like to think of myself as an environmentalist. A lot of the activities I like require more than what the local parks dept. offers. I think divers are to a point. However, when I go diving at the quarry where I was certified, it seems that one diver may show up with a full size truck. I come up with my wife, two sets of gear, and 4 tanks in a small hatchback. Now I don't what the circumstances are that this persons primary car is a full size truck, but most people who own them do not need them. Overall though I put divers as being like hikers and mountainbikers, where they generally care mostly about the environment they use.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I've seen too many divers kicking the daylights out of reefs and tromping their way through spawning beds to think that very many divers are environmentally aware.

In general, I think diving is just another way to consume the environment.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I like to think of myself as an environmentalist. A lot of the activities I like require more than what the local parks dept. offers. I think divers are to a point. However, when I go diving at the quarry where I was certified, it seems that one diver may show up with a full size truck. I come up with my wife, two sets of gear, and 4 tanks in a small hatchback. Now I don't what the circumstances are that this persons primary car is a full size truck, but most people who own them do not need them. Overall though I put divers as being like hikers and mountainbikers, where they generally care mostly about the environment they use.

I don't know how much diving you do out of your car but I tore up a couple of cars pretty good hauling dive gear...and wet dive gear. Now I have a truck for work and that's what I usually use when I go diving. I have a little hatchback too but the truck works a whole LOT better.

Mountain bikers? LOL there just isn't anything uglier that a bunch of trails through the woods.

 

[Hank49]

Mountain bikers? LOL there just isn't anything uglier that a bunch of trails through the woods.

But man isn't the only animal making trails in the woods. Actually it's a sign of a healthy woods if there's lots of trails. Deer have well traveled paths. It becomes very apparent if you walk into the woods (which I'm sure you have) right after a snow fall. there are little trails used by more than one animal all over the place. Same with reefs. Man may bang them up a bit but look at parrot fish, especially Hump Heads. And hawks bill turtles? They're like rats in a grain bin. I've seen them draped over large spounges munching away on them at Sipadan. Are they environmentalists? Are the deer? I think our impact as divers is minimal. It's the big things like industrial runnoff, temperature change etc etc that are rough on the reefs.