Howard Rotter Diving in the Philippines

In 2014 while my good friend, Howard, was wasting away from the progressive horror of ALS we suddenly had the Ice Bucket Challenge. It raised more than $115 million dollars to help fund ALS research. More importantly it gave me and many other friends of Howard something to do. It gave us a way to demonstrate that we cared. The money didn’t find a cure. Howard still died but we “didn’t stand idly by.”

The same logic applies to ocean pollution. Not using straws is not going to solve ocean pollution but it gives us something to do. A way to show, however symbolically, that we care about this issue and want to help.

This doesn’t mean we need laws outlawing straws.  Laws might be counterproductive because they would feel to many to be a top-down imposition not a bottom-up groundswell of caring.

In 2009 the Codger Divers went to the Philippines. It was a great trip but at one location, Puerto Galleria, the resorts had grown faster than the infrastructure and were polluting the bay. We took a stand, put up a fuss and refused to dive in the polluted nearby bay. This meant that our guides and the boat owners had to go farther to take us diving. I understand that it has now been cleaned up. Sometimes in some places we can have a positive effect, in the margin, on the major cause of ocean pollution, lack of infrastructure in the developing world. But mostly they need to get to prosperity before they can fix their piece of the problem.

In the meantime it is a good thing to stop using straws to signal your virtue and make yourself feel better. But also we need to support policies that encourage free trade, good government and sustainable development everywhere because they are what will really help to clean up the oceans.

Finally don’t listen to Henny Penny. The sky is not falling. Our planet and the oceans are remarkably resilient. The harbors in the USA, which were awful, have recovered amazingly well and so will the harbors and rivers in the developing world, when they become prosperous and can afford the luxury good of cleanliness.