I recently purchased a pair of Aqualung Slingshot fins. I have several different sets of fins but have always been a die hard Blade fan. I kinda hesitated on the slingshot thinking they were just another gadgety product with no benefit.  After using them I have to say I am impressed.

They are really great especially if you are having to chase students. The foot pocket is very comfortable and not to rigid.  The different settings make them great for easy dives or for hard currents. They are easy on the legs, to me, even at the tightest setting. It was even easy to change the setting underwater with gloves. I have used them on a few regular dives with students and on some drysuit dives. They were still powerful with my drysuit.

Plus you’ve gotta like the “mermaids don’t like competition video”!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Until recently, many people had never heard about or seen pictures of a massive floating patch of discarded plastic waste larger than Texas floating in middle of the Pacific Ocean. Victims include sea birds, fish, sea turtles, ocean mammals, and ultimately humans, creators of the “Throw-away Society.”

Kate Bradshaw, writing for Maui Time, estimates the massive floating plastic patch is twice the size of Texas:
The Great Garbage Swirl http://www.mauitime.com/Articles-i-2009-01-29-68584.113117_The_great_garbage_swirl.html

Please invest seven minutes to watch this riveting presentation concerning this deadly problem by Captain Charles Moore, who is credited with having discovered this symptom of a planet gone mad: Captain Charles Moore’s Presentation http://www.ted.com/talks/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic.html

The article below, by Jacob Silverman, provides additional information, and links to numerous sources illustrating how humans have turned the world’s largest ocean into the world’s largest “landfill”.
Pacific Ocean = World’s largest “Landfill” http://science.howstuffworks.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm

Finally, this Wikipedia link provides detailed diagrams of how the ocean currents distribute out plastic waste into massive patches:
Wikipedia Link To Ocean Plastic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch#Plastic_photodegradation_in_the_ocean

What We Can Do:

1. Become informed. Read the above links or explore on your own.
2. Support conservation efforts toward recycling plastics.
3. Use less plastic! For example, don’t purchase water in those small bottles, which clog landfills or end up floating in the ocean. Instead, fill re-usable containers, and/or install home-based water purification systems.

This Chris Jordan photo (http://www.chrisjordan.com), showing a dead albatross on Midway Atoll, illustrates the point. Clearly seen in the decayed bird’s stomach are a plastic cigarette lighter, bottle caps and miscellaneous plastic trash.

Albatross, killed by ingesting floating plastic

Popularity: 40% [?]