Browsing: News

August 2 was Earth Overshoot Day. Unlike Earth Day or Canada Day, it’s not a time to celebrate. As the Earth Overshoot Day website explains, it marks the time when “we will have used more from nature than our planet can renew in the whole year.” That is the definition of unsustainable and means we’re using up the biological capital that should be our children’s legacy. We would require 1.7 Earths to meet our current annual demands sustainably.

RAID are leading the way in the UK diving industry with the opening of three brand new dive centers. Dive Blue Horizon in Wakefield, Severn Tec in Shrewsbury and The Fifth Point in Northumberland are dedicated RAID Dive Centres offering solely RAID training.

Environmental organisation WWF-New Zealand, today cautiously welcomed the Ministry for Primary Industries’ new draft squid fishing plan and called for precautionary action to save the New Zealand sea lion. The ‘Squid 6T Operational Plan’, released today for consultation regulates trawling for squid around the Auckland Islands, home to the most important breeding colony of this endangered species.

Coral reefs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate around the world. A select team of divers, photographers and scientists set out to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

Governments change — along with laws, regulations and priorities. It’s the nature of democracies. In Canada, we’ve seen environmental laws implemented, then weakened or overturned, then strengthened and re-instated. But the basic necessities of health, well-being and life shouldn’t be subject to the shifting agendas of political parties. That’s why Canada should recognize the right to a healthy environment in its Constitution — something 110 countries already do.

This weekend is looking sunny with temperatures in the low-to-mid 20’s in the Brockville and Kingston area. It is getting busier on the river after a bit of a slower start than usual, but as we head towards August boats are filling up fast. If you are looking for some diving call the charters to see who has spaces. There are still spots for one or two last-minute divers on a lot of the boats.

Humans are an astonishing anomaly. As many species teeter on extinction, our populations grow in size and complexity. From exploring space to eradicating diseases and other remarkable achievements, human curiosity has pushed the outer limits of our physical universe. Yet our ability to embrace shared values has been challenging. More than a billion people live in poverty, inequality gaps are expanding, and we face unprecedented environmental challenges that threaten our survival.