AN INTRODUCTION:
why do we dive for climate?
by Divers for Climate
As divers, we by default, are the watchers of the underwater world. We have experienced nature in a way that those who have never been underwater might struggle to understand. But, and not to sound too much like a superhero movie, with this gift comes responsibility. We know better than anyone just how much there is to lose.
Climate change is threatening our blue planet. From marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, extreme weather, coastal erosion… the list goes on and it ends in one thing – total ecological collapse. Not to mention the vast social, cultural and economic effects of a climate changed ocean.
And yet, despite all this, climate change, and more specifically climate action, is not often the focus of conversations about saving the ocean. Instead, more visible issues like plastic pollution and shark-finning, tend to take the limelight. But here’s the rub, “We cannot save the ocean without addressing climate change, and we cannot address climate change without saving the ocean.”
Our climate and our ocean are intertwined. We have an ocean-climate crisis on our hands, and we need to start talking about it.
Why should divers be involved in the fight against climate change?
The impacts of climate change are not limited to physical impacts. In fact, the impacts of climate change can get pretty personal.
You see, for us divers, climate change threatens our way of life, our identity even. As our favorite habitats deteriorate, our dive sites become too dangerous to enter, and some of our bucket-list destinations succumb to higher sea levels, climate change is and will continue to become a divers’ worst nightmare.
This is why we started Divers for Climate. Because who better to make a stand against fossil fuels and fight global warming than those most intimate with the ocean, than those most passionate about the sea and all that lies beneath? While the fight for a renewable future heavily relies upon governments and corporations to make the right decisions, individuals and communities like ours have an important role to play. By bringing together a global community of passionate people, we can begin an ocean-climate movement and together, we can make a difference.
We already know that diving in groups is best. It turns out that fighting for the ocean is better in groups too