If you have not heard about Greta Thunberg by now you’re either living under a rock or have terrible priorities when it comes to the environment and the state of our planet.
You know things are BAD when you have a generation of young people choosing to not go to school to instead protest and appeal to the world and the government because they believe it is pointless to get an education if there won’t be a future to grow up as the world is dying.
I’m Gen X’er, we grew up on “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle”. We protested, we adopted the “think globally, act locally” ethos. I was lucky to take part in Canada World Youth when I was 19, worked for Greenpeace for a few years, in 1992 I joined S.A.V.E. Tour (Student Action for a Viable Earth) A national speaking tour composed of amazing human beings where for a year we travelled coast to coast across Canada speaking at high schools, colleges and Universities about the environment, civil rights, civil disobedience, human rights and how to take action, we created a S.A.G. (Student Action Guide). We were optimistic to change the world and do our part!
Then I got jaded! I stop giving a #@%$, I went on to university, joined the corporate world, had a career. I did what the boomers did before me. I gave up! Or did I?
I often say I was a better man in my 20s than in my 30s, I spent the larger part of my 40s reevaluating my goals, my values and taking actions to revert back to the idealistic human I used to be. Perhaps as I creep toward my 50s I will become the men I was meant to be.
It is heartbreaking to see the conflicts around the world. The ignorance of corporations, global governments and people. It’s amazing to see young people kicking adults asses and being brutally honest! We need to have these conversations, we need to make these changes now, but more importantly, we need to take action.
Protect, Restore, Fund
in 2015 when we open Ceningan Divers, our eco-friendly PADI Five Star Dive Resort, we aimed to be the change we seek in this world. It’s amazing how much we learned in the past 4 years, how much growth has occurred, especially in the past 18 months as we finalized our action plan based on our personal values, our core believes, our life principles, without compromise. Not for the sake of profitability, but to build something sustainable which we can be proud of.
It’s been a long road since my 20s, hell it’s been a long road since we open our doors in August 2015. However, the essence of our core values is visible in our work and our actions. We said NO to single-use plastic, we invested in our team, we educated our employees to better understand the impact we have in this world both as a business and as an individual. We invested in reusable straws, water stations, planting new trees, bamboo and plants, our mangrove nursery, building sustainable options. We work with industry partners, foundations and NGOs to educate the community and our guests. We host daily educational workshops, weekly clean up, and work with local organisations to protect our coral reef, mangrove forest and the beauty of our small island. We put our money into action, and invested it in community programs, building better training facilities. We empower our team to own their actions, to be part of the change, part of the solution.
Everything We Do Counts!
We can become the change we seek in this world, we can boycott their products, we can voice our opinions about the global issues and apply pressure which will hopefully lead to changes. We can make a difference by doing our part with the people that we surround ourselves with to make sure that our actions make a difference and that we limit our impact on the world.
No generations should be left behind.
Protect, Restore and Fund is the only way to move forward.
Written by Robert Scales, co-founder and co-owner of Ceningan Divers and Ceningan Resort.