News
Diving instructor calls for balloon and sky lantern releases to be banned
Rosemary E Lunn, aka Roz Lunn, an Associate Member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and a SSI Platinum Diver recipient, is calling for support to get balloon and sky lantern releases banned.
“I’ve been diving in and round the UK for over two decades. For several years, I along with many of my friends and colleagues, have known about the plastic pollution crisis – we routinely ‘dive against debris’ and take part in beach and seabed clean ups. And thanks to Blue Planet 2 the public are finally realising we have a problem.”
Positive things are happening. Microbeads now banned in some products in England and Scotland, and it looks as though plastic straws and plastic ear buds will be banned too. There is also a vigorous debate going on about one-time-use plastic packaging. However one piece of litter literally on the rise is debris from balloon and sky lantern releases.
Balloon releases are conducted to raise awareness – the sex of a baby, a wedding, a charity – or to pay respect to someone’s legacy. This is is ironic because it just creates sky litter that can kill, entangle or maim. Regrettably education only goes so far, hence we have seen the introduction of the sugar tax. Some people will still carry on releasing balloons and sky lanterns no matter how much or often you advise them it’s not good for animals or the environment.
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about ‘biodegradable’ balloons. So many people think that if they use these balloons then that is ok, but sadly there is no such thing as an environmentally friendly latex balloon. They take fewer years to rot down, but they can still kill wild, farm and marine life before they decompose.
A number of divers have been actively campaigning to get balloon releases banned, aw well as organisations including the Marine Conservation Society. Earlier this year many of us were pushing a petition asking the Government to ban balloon and sky lantern releases. It garnered 30,000 signatures very quickly. However DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) responded and ‘killed’ the momentum by stating “they considered the current regulatory regime, supported by existing information and guidance, effective and proportionate.”
Unfortunately DEFRA quoted from a Government Report – http://bit.ly/2GcuEU0 – they had commissioned in 2013 to assess the impact and risks that balloons and sky lanterns have on livestock and the environment. In 2013 this environmental impact was judged as low. That was five years ago. Roz Lunn says she is now routinely picking balloon litter out of the hedges.
A new peer-reviewed study by Delia M. Webb has just been published that reveals 2,223 pieces of balloon litter were found on 39 beaches across Cornwall between July to December 2016. The study entitled “Just a balloon? A local study of the extent and impacts of balloon litter on beaches” has reported that some of the balloons found on Cornish beaches had travelled from other parts of the UK, Ireland and Europe.
We know that balloon litter and debris can kill and maim farm, wild and marine life. Ponies have been found choking to death, skeletons of dead birds are discovered entangled in balloon ribbon and turtles have starved to death having snacked on balloons thinking they were jelly fish. There really is no need for this mass littering.
Roz has therefore launched another balloon release petition asking Parliament to ban this anti-social practice. At the time of writing this the petition has received 29,485 signatures – see https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/215782. The Government’s response has been to effectively kick the can down the road by again referencing the 2013 study and saying everything is fine. We now have verified research that is no longer the case, and 70,000 signatures are needed by September, so that Parliament can consider debating this issue.
So please take a moment and sign the petition. Write to your MP and start making noises that balloon and sky lantern releases are bad. Together the voice of British scuba divers can make an environmental difference.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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