I think sometimes we underestimate the value of water. I don't mean those stupid prices some people pay for bottles of water that have been packaged and transported half-way across the planet (when there is usually perfectly good water from the tap - I talking about the Western world/UK). What I'm talking about is the economic value of water - whether a lake, waterway, river, pond, canal or ocean, these bodies of water are huge generators of revenue. Globally the surf industry alone is estimated to generate over £13bn ($20bn) per year. You add in the other contributing industries/sports and you get an idea of the financial input water has to give. However, as our demands on water increase, so does the competition for it (use and not consumption). As yet, no one has put an economic value on their water. Maybe it's about time governments did. At lease that way they could then make sound economic judgements and cost/benefit analysis when making policy decisions involving water.
Should you agree, then now is the time to take e-action. Get the UK government to at least notice that water is a valuable economic resource and as such should be treated with the financial respect that other resources are given. Initially the result might be in a all-party discussion but ultimately it would be just amazing if this lead to new legislation being introduced to protect this valuable resource and revenue generator.
Sign the Protect Our Waves petition.
This guy hasn't surfed in the ocean for 6yrs now but gets his surfing stoke from North American rivers. I think it's brilliant and another demonstration of how we get our stoke in different ways.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Enjoy the water ...
It's summer over here at the moment but looking off the balcony you wouldn't really think so. We had some excellent weather the other week and at one point the lake hit the barmy temperature of 24'C. Wakeboarding and wiping out was actually a pleasure....shame it's dropped into the mid-teens again now.
Well, technically I'm on my summer break now but I'm not getting a lot done. Lisa is getting me involved with the little ones she's nanny for as often as possible. Yesterday morning was a swim and then lunch back here. Today I'm being left alone but tomorrow we're off to Blenheim Palace for a spot of jousting. Obviously we're only watching.
Once this weekend hits, there should be plenty of time to hit the lake, drive to the coast & even try a cable-lake out (think that's Monday). I'm sure we'll even get the mountainbikes out. Not forgetting my Sprint Tri in about 3-weeks. Until then I'll just stay stuck in front of the TV watching the London Olympics .... come on Team GB.
Bouncing around the web this morning I spotted a great video link (via the lovely Finisterre people). Two guys enjoying the water as it should be done....enjoy.
A slight rant....
Almost got into a grump with a friend from work last night. Out for a few beers and she's still a smoker. Apart from them blowing smoke in my direction I have no objection to folk smoking but it's the idea that they think it's ok to drop their butts on the floor. As a vegetarian (her not me) I would have liked to have thought she'd have had more respect for the environment (make no mistake, I'm no hippy but have a healthy respect for the environment). She was neither concerned about the visual impact of the her habit (apparently used cig-butts are too disgusting and she wouldn't want to carry them about) or the longer term pollution - they don't actually degrade but rather break down into smaller particles & then enter the living eco-system. An estimated 1.7 billion pounds of cigarette butts gum up the world's waterways a year, delivering nicotine, heavy metals, benzene and other carcinogens, along with plastic fibers. No wonder many ducks and geese seem cranky. All that nasty stuff in those filters can also enter our drinking water supplies, where it can be tricky to remove (think of second-hand pollution). I'm sure I've mentioned this to her a bunch of times now but all she's done is offer her waste to me ... oddly, I wasn't up for that (yet). A couple of times a year I hit the beach with SAS to tidy up other peoples mess and when I'm on the beach on my own I'll regularly pick up the rubbish that folk leave behind. No wonder our coastline & oceans is in such a mess when intelligent people add to the chaos simply because of a simple lifestyle choice.
There are loads of options out there and a few years ago I even got my old dad a personal butt bin from the good guys at SAS. Still, there are other folk that offer a solution - Portable Ashtray Solutions.
Well, technically I'm on my summer break now but I'm not getting a lot done. Lisa is getting me involved with the little ones she's nanny for as often as possible. Yesterday morning was a swim and then lunch back here. Today I'm being left alone but tomorrow we're off to Blenheim Palace for a spot of jousting. Obviously we're only watching.
Once this weekend hits, there should be plenty of time to hit the lake, drive to the coast & even try a cable-lake out (think that's Monday). I'm sure we'll even get the mountainbikes out. Not forgetting my Sprint Tri in about 3-weeks. Until then I'll just stay stuck in front of the TV watching the London Olympics .... come on Team GB.
Bouncing around the web this morning I spotted a great video link (via the lovely Finisterre people). Two guys enjoying the water as it should be done....enjoy.
A slight rant....
Almost got into a grump with a friend from work last night. Out for a few beers and she's still a smoker. Apart from them blowing smoke in my direction I have no objection to folk smoking but it's the idea that they think it's ok to drop their butts on the floor. As a vegetarian (her not me) I would have liked to have thought she'd have had more respect for the environment (make no mistake, I'm no hippy but have a healthy respect for the environment). She was neither concerned about the visual impact of the her habit (apparently used cig-butts are too disgusting and she wouldn't want to carry them about) or the longer term pollution - they don't actually degrade but rather break down into smaller particles & then enter the living eco-system. An estimated 1.7 billion pounds of cigarette butts gum up the world's waterways a year, delivering nicotine, heavy metals, benzene and other carcinogens, along with plastic fibers. No wonder many ducks and geese seem cranky. All that nasty stuff in those filters can also enter our drinking water supplies, where it can be tricky to remove (think of second-hand pollution). I'm sure I've mentioned this to her a bunch of times now but all she's done is offer her waste to me ... oddly, I wasn't up for that (yet). A couple of times a year I hit the beach with SAS to tidy up other peoples mess and when I'm on the beach on my own I'll regularly pick up the rubbish that folk leave behind. No wonder our coastline & oceans is in such a mess when intelligent people add to the chaos simply because of a simple lifestyle choice.
There are loads of options out there and a few years ago I even got my old dad a personal butt bin from the good guys at SAS. Still, there are other folk that offer a solution - Portable Ashtray Solutions.
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