Spring Fever: Check Out 3 Scuba Diving Things We Love
Spring has arrived and love is in the air.
We love many things here at Diver’s D\Lyte, but these three are striking our fancy at the moment. Scuba diving nerdiness, scandalous underwater seductions and free giveaways… what’s not to love?
A Fun Scuba Diving To-Do List
1. The History of Diving Museum
Investigate the origins of the sport you love; visit the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada, Florida Keys. The museum offers a collection of artifacts (the world’s largest international collection of diving helmets and artifacts!), books, documents, photographs and oral history that tell the fascinating story of how humans learned to explore the deep blue sea. Discover the ingenious inventions that led to the modern-day scuba diving technology, and learn all about diving’s contributions to marine science, treasure hunting and underwater photography. Take a virtual tour to get started.
Admission Costs
Adults: $12
Children 5-12: $6
Children under 5: Free
Members: Free
Hours
Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
*Extended hours every 3rd Wednesday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Special Events
- Free admission for all moms on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8.
- Free admission for all dads on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 19.
- The History of Diving Museum will host a blood drive with Community Blood Centers of South Florida on Tuesday, May 31, from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. All blood donors will receive free admission into the museum, plus a free gift.
2. Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime
Marine scientist and scuba diver Ellen Prager’s new book, Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime: The Oceans’ Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter, has all the intrigue, nudity and violence of a summer blockbuster, but in this case, the sordid details are all true. Prager has spent 30 years studying ocean biodiversity, and her extensive knowledge paired with a spunky storytelling ability make Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime an educational and fun read. Take this excerpt for example:
They have been called the cockroaches of the sea, were considered junk food by America’s early settlers, and are now the ultimate in fine dining. But rarely are lobsters recognized for the power of their pee, their antisocial behavior, or the growing pains they must regularly endure. Over decades of laboratory and field research, scientists have discovered many fascinating, and in some cases rather bizarre, things about lobsters. And a warning if you choose to read on: the lobster on your plate may never look quite the same or quite as delectable.
Intrigued? So are we.
3. 150 Free Packets of Diver’s D\Lyte
If you are in need of your Diver’s D\Lyte fix, enter a super simple drawing through Guy Harvey Magazine for a chance to win 150 packets (a $700 value) of our energy and hydration drink designed just for divers. All you need to do is email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your name and address, and you will be entered for a drawing on May 31.
What are your favorite scuba diving things this spring? Share your suggestions!
Enter Your Bright Idea in the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge
Big change starts with a little idea. Do you have a creative concept for products or services that will make the world a greener, more eco-friendly place? Do you want to win a tidy sum of money to make that dream a reality?
Enter the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, a worldwide competition that earns the grand prize winner 500,000 euros, expert coaching and a list of customers to get started. The 2010 winner, Scot Frank (USA), proposed a portable, affordable solar device that can be used for cooking, as well as producing heat and power.
Former President Bill Clinton has spoken in support of the competition:
I’m pleased that the Dutch Postcode Lottery has launched the Green Challenge to encourage entrepreneurs to develop new ways to fight one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change. The Green Challenge does just that by providing an incentive for these entrepreneurs to apply their expertise and innovation to move us into a clean-energy future. Additionally, I am grateful for the Postcode Lottery’s commitment to fighting climate change and the support it has given my Foundation’s work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world.
How to Enter the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge
- To enter, you must be at least 18 years old. You can be from any country and can enter as an individual or a business or organization.
- Enter your idea between May 2 and July 29, 2011. The jury will announce finalists on September 1; the Deciding Round is September 14 and the winner will be announced September 15 during PICNIC in Amsterdam (you must be able to attend the conference).
- Your idea should fall into one of these categories: Lifestyle, ICT, Design, Energy or Mobility and be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount you can estimate.
- Your idea should be well-developed and ready to execute. It should be ready to be produced as a usable product or service within the next two years.
Good luck to all you future green inventors!
The BP Oil Spill, One Year Later: What Are Your Thoughts?
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill; on April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded, killing 11 workers and spilling approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
In a statement released today, President Barack Obama said, “While we’ve made significant progress, the job isn’t done.”
He went on to say:
Today, we remember the eleven lives lost as a result of this tragic event and thank the thousands of responders who worked to mitigate this disaster. But we also keep a watchful eye on the continuing and important work required to ensure that the Gulf Coast recovers stronger than before.
In the year since the disaster, scientific experts, media sources, politicians and pretty much everyone else involved have expressed diverse opinions about what the temporary and long-term effects of the oil spill will be on the Gulf.
Among the many questions being debated: Should the US continue offshore drilling? Are Gulf waters safe to swim and scuba dive in? Is Gulf seafood safe to eat? Is BP being held accountable enough? How many people’s livelihoods are affected by the spill?
Here are a few recent articles that explore different points of view on the anniversary of the BP oil spill:
- “Stories from the Gulf, one year on” - CNN
- “BP anniversary: suffering, toxicity and death” - Al Jazeera
- “The BP oil spill, one year later: how healthy is the Gulf now?” - Time
- “The shores of recovery” - The Economist
- “BP ready to resume spilling” - The Onion (OK, that one’s not real news)
What is your opinion? Are you more encouraged by the emerging signs of recovery than you are concerned about the lingering repercussions of destruction? As divers, are you reluctant to dive in parts of the Gulf of Mexico? Share your thoughts in the comments.
5 Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2011
On April 22, the United States will mark the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, an event that many believe helped catalyze the modern movement toward environmental protection and conservation.
At the very first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million Americans gathered for huge rallies across the country and thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the destruction of the environment. As a result, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created and the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts passed into law. In 2000, Earth Day was celebrated in 184 countries around the world.
The founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, said in a 1993 article:
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
We should all work to keep our water, air and land clean year-round, but it’s always a good idea to celebrate the planet and renew our efforts to keep it beautiful.
5 Ways to Take Action for Earth Day
1. Pledge your environmental actions—whether large or small—in the Earth Day 2011 campaign, A Billion Acts of Green. With a couple clicks of your mouse, you can add your commitments to the more than 85 million actions to date from individuals, corporations and governments.
2. Participate in the EPA’s Pick 5 campaign, where you commit to five actions from the following categories: Water, Air, Land, Energy, Waste and Advocacy.
3. Donate to your favorite environmental organization or Earth Day Network, which works with 3,000 groups and more than 100,000 educators in the US, as well as 22,000 organizations in 192 other countries.
4. Write to your House representative or senator about an environmental issue that’s important to you.
5. Spend some time outside! (And on your way to go diving, participate in a beach or shoreline trash pick-up.)
How do you plan on taking action for Earth Day 2011?
Get Ready for the 2011 Formula H2O Season!
Spring has finally arrived, and so has the second season of underwater racing with the Wreck Racing League and Formula H2O!
Formula H2O racing is a fast-paced, beneath-the-surface sport where athletes race on underwater scooters on artificial reefs created by shipwrecks. You can read more about the 2010 season on our blog—featuring the Quest for Atocha Gold in Key West, Florida and the Gold Coast Underwater Grand Prix in Pompano Beach, Florida (Diver’s D\Lyte elite athlete David Ulloa took home a first-place victory in the latter!).
The 2011 season kicks off from May 20 to 22 with the Vandenberg Underwater Grand Prix in Key West, Florida. This year, there will be five Formula H2O races in different locations in Florida, and one in Santa Marinella, Italy, just outside the capital city of Rome. On June 4, the Wreck Racing League will partner with the Italian scuba organization Sea Scout to host the Underwater Grand Prix of Rome.
The Wreck Racing League also partners with the International Association for Handicapped Divers for Formula H2O racing events; the WRL is inclusive and open to all scuba divers over the age of 18. IAHD-trained professionals will be present at all events to assist with adaptive scuba experiences and training.
2011 FORMULA H2O RACE SCHEDULE
- May 20- 22: Vandenberg Underwater Grand Prix, Key West, Florida
- June 4-5: Underwater Grand Prix of Rome, Santa Marinella (Rome), Italy
- June 24-26: Fort Myers, FL
- July 22-24: Gold Coast Underwater Grand Prix, Pompano Beach (Fort Lauderdale), Florida
- August 19-21: Wes Skiles Memorial Shoot Out, Key Largo, Florida
- October 14-16: Quest for Atocha Gold, Key West, Florida
We can’t wait to see what kind of excitement the 2011 Formula H2O season holds! Do you plan on going to any of the events?
