Undercurrent Is Awarded a Grant for Environmental Coverage

In June, Undercurrent was awarded a $1,000 grant from diver Jonathan Scott, who heads the Singing Fields Foundation, for "your coverage of environmental issues, advocacy and fundraising for marine conservation causes." It's quite an honor for our little nonprofit 501 (c)(3) to receive such an honor -- Singing Fields has made the grant for six years running now -- which only encourages us to do more.

Since our inception, we have had a strong point of view about protecting the environment, such as chastising guides and photographers for handling creatures, as early as the '80s, when riding a turtle or inflating a pufferfish was all the rage. We've criticized those who fed fish with Cheez Whiz (yup, a squeezing a tube was common practice for many years). We've decried the shark-finning trade that, for odd reasons, never made the pages of dive magazines. And we've explained to divers how global warming induced by burning fossil fuels is destroying our reefs and oceans (a discussion which many in the dive industry still seem to avoid). Like him or not, Al Gore is right, or should I say, "correct."

Thanks, Jonathan and Singing Fields. We'll keep at it.

-- Ben Davison