[Coral-List] Save the date - Intl. Scuba Diving Sustainability Workshop - 19-21 October

[Steve Mussman]

Hi Martina,
Wish I could make it to Genoa for your workshop. Better yet, I wish that the U.S. Scuba Diving Industry would launch such a commitment to real sustainability. As many scuba diving entities around the world are showing a willingness to address all the major issues it is my opinion that that is still not the case in the USA. Here, to their credit, the scuba diving industry is supportive of efforts to remove trash, control lionfish, stop shark finning, reduce the use of harmful sunscreen products and promote coral reef restoration, but still no assertive efforts to educate divers on the effects of land-based pollutants, over-fishing and most importantly, no call for action on anthropogenic climate change. Personally, I don’t see how we can commit to sustainability without such an effort. On the bright side, perhaps things are (slowly) changing. The latest issue of Alert Diver magazine (affiliated with DAN; Divers Alert Network) ran an article entitled “Faces of Climate Change”. A good sign to be sure, but the article failed to connect the dots by not mentioning impacts on coral reefs, instead focusing on climate change’s harmful effects on the polar regions. Still, it’s a step in the right direction and gives reason to hope that one day soon the U.S. Scuba Diving Industry will realize that it is in their best interest to aggressively promote sustainability by totally and unabashedly joining you and others in promoting “Green Diving” in the truest sense.

Regards,
Steve Mussman

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