Again, avoiding the political melodrama this thread has stirred up, I'll simply reply to the OP and address their question directly.
The nature of diving as a serious long-term activity makes environmentalism almost an implicit requirement in a way - since the activity is directly linked with the most abundant, and easily affected resource on this planet - it would be counter-intuitive to be anything but.
This isn't the case for many divers though - particularly the divers who strictly dive at resorts for recreation - the overwhelming conclusion I have come to is that there are a lot of fiscally endowed first-world dwellers rolling off the backs of boats who don't give a flap six ways from Sunday what their environmental footprint is - never mind the cosmic irony of staying at a club med, driving around in a jeep, purchasing cheap trinkets from hurricane impoverished locals, and then paying the 2 dollar marine park fee to engage in water activities like diving.
The diving community is both an incredible source of environmental triumph, and hypocrisy at it's worst. The situation can only prove though - as more and more people discover the under-water world, the desire to protect it grows as well.
The nature of diving as a serious long-term activity makes environmentalism almost an implicit requirement in a way - since the activity is directly linked with the most abundant, and easily affected resource on this planet - it would be counter-intuitive to be anything but.
This isn't the case for many divers though - particularly the divers who strictly dive at resorts for recreation - the overwhelming conclusion I have come to is that there are a lot of fiscally endowed first-world dwellers rolling off the backs of boats who don't give a flap six ways from Sunday what their environmental footprint is - never mind the cosmic irony of staying at a club med, driving around in a jeep, purchasing cheap trinkets from hurricane impoverished locals, and then paying the 2 dollar marine park fee to engage in water activities like diving.
The diving community is both an incredible source of environmental triumph, and hypocrisy at it's worst. The situation can only prove though - as more and more people discover the under-water world, the desire to protect it grows as well.