Maldives first carbon neutral country?
March 24, 2009
The pioneering new president of the Indian Ocean nation announces plans for his country – under grave threat from climate change – to go carbon-neutral in a decade
The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, will today unveil a plan to make his country carbon-neutral within a decade. The announcement comes only days after scientists issued stark new warnings that rising seas caused by climate change could engulf the Maldives and other low-lying nations this century.
The president will formally announce the scheme – and make a plea for other countries to follow the Maldives’ lead – this evening, following the world premiere of The Age of Stupid, a major new climate change film in which a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055 looks at old footage from 2008 and asks why people didn’t stop climate change when they had the chance.
From The Guardian: Read full article here
Top tip: Dive destination, Tawali resort, Papua New Guinea PNG
June 26, 2008
“PNG is perhaps the Last Diving Frontier. It’s not the easiest of places to get to but it is a destination for divers who want undiluted adventure”.
At BB-Films.com we usually plan our diving trips at least a year in advance and recently we’ve been considering out 2009 summer trip. After considering Galapagos, Hawaii, and Papua New Guinea, we’ve settled on PNG. Our reasons are simple, its relatively undiscovered and we don’t think it will be that way for much longer.
Getting to PNG truly is a monumental undertaking involving no less than 4 flights from Europe, 2 stop-overs each way and no doubt some bone-cruncing speed boat trips for the final leg. But we learned something from a previous trip to Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras that still strikes a note of truth 2 years later:
If it takes 3 days to get to, then its going to be empty… Perfect 
)
In all likelihood we’ll be staying at the Tawali resort near Alotau:
“Tucked away, only accessible by boat, sits what may be Papua New Guinea’s best kept scuba diving secret – Tawali Resort. Welcome to the exotic culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and to Tawali Resort. Located on a volcanic bluff overlooking the clear protected waters of Milne Bay, Tawali offers travelers a unique location to dive, relax and enjoy the unspoiled wonders of this magnificent part of the world.”
Have you been diving in PNG? Any recommendations/comments/tips? Please post and let us know.
Red Scarlet: 2x higher quality video than HiDef for under $3,000?
June 9, 2008
There is a digital video revolution underway and RED are leading the way.
We’ve been keeping our eye on these guys from RED for some time since they launched a 4,000 pixel wide format digital video camera (that’s 9 mega-pixel video!!) for under $20,000. Although by the time you add lenses, tripods, digital storage and other accessories you can expect to get closer to $100,000 all-in.
Now RED have announced a smaller 3,000 pixel wide version (a mere 5 mega-pixel!!), called RED Scarlet which should retail at about $3,000. Taking into account lense costs, light accessories, storage and Gates housing (when they get round to producing it), this should price a complete underwater filming rig at around $20,000.
Oh, did I mention it can film at 180 frames per second?
Yeah – bring it on!!
Visit RED’s site
Beauty of Komodo Island hides a deadly current
June 7, 2008
Five divers, including three Britons, have gone missing while exploring the Nusa Tenggara archipelago off the coast of Indonesia.
The seas around Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara archipelago are among the most unpredictable and dangerous in the tropics.
This is the area where the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet, where cold water wells up from the abyss, creating a mosaic of tidal races and whirlpools. There is little boat traffic, save for local subsistence fishermen and the occasional ferry. For a lost diver drifting at the surface, it is a vast and hostile environment.
Divers visit these islands because all that roiling water brings nutrients that power one of the world’s richest eco-systems. Komodo Island (famous for the endemic giant lizards known as Komodo dragons) sits at the heart of the archipelago, and has some of the best dives in South East Asia.
From the timesonline: Read more
Head-up display for dive masks!
April 13, 2008
Video: New head-up display DataMask (HUD) for dive masks from Oceanic Worldwide allows divers to monitor gauge readings within their field of view.
The DATAMASK contains a miniature liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, proprietary Digital Optic System, microprocessor, depth transducer, wireless cylinder pressure receiver, diver replaceable battery, and controlling software.
The miniature LCD allows you to keep your eyes focused on the dive while presenting critical dive data including: current depth, elapsed dive time, cylinder pressure, and dive time remaining. The Digital Optic System provides a clear, highly magnified image of the LCD, which is viewable regardless of environmental conditions and may be seen clearly by the vast majority of people, regardless of vision.
Video from Live Science: Watch here
DataMask from Oceanic
