Why our Dive Industry does not get too much exposure in North America?

[rhadamantus]

Excuse me, this is somewhat a long post. I am just all fired-up with this 'green' thing.

Mags, no, tell me I am not reading this from you. I do not believe that you are one of those who don't care for the environment. For someone who appreciates the great outdoors and underwater sights...this is truly a sad revelation. Sadly not all backpackers will agree with you about your "don't care" attitude. If the young 'uns like you think this way, I do not know what the world would be in the near future.

well, if it wasn't clear the first time. i am saying it the second time. i dont f*c*ing care. i backpack most of the time because it is cheaper and it is fun. now, when i pick the resorts i am staying, i do not care where they are putting away their ***** as long as there are no cockroaches in the room and they have a trash bin i can do away my trash into.

do not dismiss that as not caring for the environment as a whole. as far as i am concern, i put my trash in the bin BUT i am not going to make a fuss and demand where the management is taking that garbage into. i am on a holiday for ****'s sake, not on mission to save the universe. i will do my own share of what i think responsible guests usually do... and i don't think guests not asking that question make them very irresponsible.

i don't care. i don't care. and you oldies can raise your brow at this attitude but that is the fact. and yes, i would be very interested to learn about a single backpacker who does this, who goes to management and ask about their waste disposal. and i can swear i will take him out diving anywhere in PI (except Tubattaha) at my expense. Hell, if he is hot and i was single, id even sleep with him for his "OUTSTANDING (and ridiculous- i still think)" behaviour towards that.

 

[Babydamulag]

Like I used to tell my troopers....."Opinions are are like @ssholes, everybody has one." Good on ya for voicing yours.

 

[rhadamantus]

this discussion is really too funny for me (no offense, babyD, i guess my humour is just as screwed as the rest of my brain is). but anyway,

granting all backpackers would start asking this question for the sake of this argument,

"hello, we need a basic room, please." the backpacker says to that cute girl from the other side. it was 10pm.

"that would be Php500/night, maximum two people in the cottage, sir." says the receptionist.

"that's no problem. we'll take it. but, before we check in, can we know where do you guys throw your garbage?"

"uhhhh...sir?"

"the garbage. how do you dispose it?"

"we put it in that corner at the back of this resort and someone will take it out every morning."

"to where?"

"eh, sir?"

"to where will that someone dispose the trash? cause you see, miss, i really have strong issues about people not doing their responsibility to the environment. the earth's resources cannot reproduced itself and resources are running out, population is ballooning up, and now this, without proper waste management... what will become of this paradise?"

"the restaurant serves dinner until midnight. and enjoy your stay at our resort!" she would say and smile.

of course i am being sarcastic. and i really am. u guys are assuming just because i and the likes of me do not ask how resorts manage their trash (because we really DO NOT CARE), we do not care about the environment. you are generalizing everything.

having said that, if i know Resort A charges Php4k/night and boasts of advanced waste management disposal system while Resort B charges Php800/night and the receptionist doesn't even have an idea where the garbage goes after its gone from the resort, and assuming both rooms look acceptable (resort A of course looking much nicer than Resort B- but both above minimum standard of tidiness), i would still take Resort B.

that is Php3.2K extra in my pocket i could donate to Caritas Foundation which in turn will use it to send a child to school....

but knowing me during holidays, i would probably piss all that cash on liquor.

i don't know about you, Bisugo, but i am talking real world here as i see it. you cannot impose the same belief on everybody else. and you cannot possibly truly believe that is the only way people can make a difference.

 

[rhadamantus]

Like I used to tell my troopers....."Opinions are are like @ssholes, everybody has one." Good on ya for voicing yours.

if it makes you feel better, you are still way quicker on voicing yours than i am on voicing mine.

 

[Babydamulag]

Old habit. This is one of those bamboo-under-the-fingernails issues with me. It really hurts me to see the natural beauty of our planet destroyed by man's neglect and stupidity. I am as guilty as the rest of the planet.....I just know I need to do something about it.

 

[shugar]

:lol: do sawed off giraffe heads make good shark bait?

no but i do hear they're DIR...

it's the latest must-have accessory to hang on your rig...

Jag

 

[Zippsy]

and yes, i would be very interested to learn about a single backpacker who does this, who goes to management and ask about their waste disposal. and i can swear i will take him out diving anywhere in PI (except Tubattaha) at my expense. Hell, if he is hot and i was single, id even sleep with him for his "OUTSTANDING (and ridiculous- i still think)" behaviour towards that.

Actually, I think your approach - as opposed to BabyD's postings - does more to encourage at least backpackers to question the resorts about their environmental practices. BTW, if I do bother to ask the resort manager about this, do I have to have it filmed for proof before I collect on the reward.

 

[rhadamantus]

Old habit. This is one of those bamboo-under-the-fingernails issues with me. It really hurts me to see the natural beauty of our planet destroyed by man's neglect and stupidity. I am as guilty as the rest of the planet.....I just know I need to do something about it.

i do not think its all bout man's neglect and stupidity or ignorance (if i may put it). there's also greed. and i salute you for doing something about it by doing it right the first time. you are luckier than most people because you can afford to. and hell, im not going to be a knob to challenge that.

but you know what irks me the most about this whole thread, babyD? people speak of things with burning passion... should do this....should do that.... should not do this...should not do that... and from their own little palace somewhere. there is a big difference between thinking outside the box and dressing up manequins with ready-made-clothes. sometimes, you've got to experience something to fully understand what it is all about. you cannot shove textbook knowledge and assume that by reading and understanding the theories and principle, you actually already see the whole, real picture.

PI is unique on its own. it is a beautiful country and has ugly parts all the same. it is not perfect but it is beautiful in its imperfection. and you cannot just tailor it to be like say, Australia, when it comes to waste disposal management. it has a much BIGGER problem than that. people back here have so much more to worry about than where the trash go after it disappears from the bin.

i am not saying that we let all the bad habits eat us and destroy the paradise...my point is, until you experienced first hand what and how the situation really is, then stop making assumptions.

as my friend often tells me, "maggie, a well-traveled man is only truly well-traveled if he has mingled with the locals." having said that, i rest my case.

maybe a year from now when we all traveled and dove all sites in PI and visited all other local tourism areas (this i did already), then we can discuss what exactly went wrong. and why, oh why, for a beautiful country like PI, it still fails to attract a large community in the west.

oh, this time, really. i rest my case.

 

[pakman]

photo of young garbage recyclers in the filthy waters of Manila Bay... coming to Boracay soon...

 

[bisugo767]

Pak, this is what happens when backpackers don't care where the garbage goes...

photo of young garbage recyclers in the filthy waters of Manila Bay... coming to Boracay soon...