All posts tagged: the wreck of the balboa

People Protect What They Love

“People protect what they love, they love what they understand and they understand what they are taught.” – Jacques-Yves Cousteau, The quote above has always resonated with me. It’s true, people protect what they love. Growing up in the Cayman Islands I learned from an early age that our oceans, marine life, and coral reefs are one of the greatest treasures and assets we have been bestowed custodians of. We have a moral obligation to protect and preserve the precious coral reefs surrounding our islands. After all, our coral reefs are the very heart of Cayman. From a young age, in school, we are taught that Cayman has always had a strong and deep connection to the ocean. Our Coat of Arms has the words, “He Hath Founded It Upon The Seas” inscribed.  For many of us, these words serve as a reminder that our past, present, and future is and always will be linked to the ocean. The generations before us built our heritage on this strong connection to the ocean.  The Cayman Islands heavily …

Selling Out The Coral Reefs

Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, 
only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money can not be eaten. 
- Cree Indian Prophecy A profound quote. It is haunting and heavy with truth. A cautionary warning, foreshadowing what is to come if we don’t recognize the devastating implications of man’s destruction of the environment. There is an urgency for us to stop and take a look around at the state of peril our environment is in. We need to examine the way we are living. Is it really worth compromising the intrinsic value of the land and sea for profit, greed, convenience and to serve man’s ego?  Man has infinite wants with finite natural resources. Sustainable living is key to reversing and repairing the damage already inflicted upon the planet and it is fundamental for generations to come. This planet was neither designed nor created so that man could exploit, destroy and exhaust all the natural resources in …