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One of Britain's greatest scientists, the veteran diver David Bellamy, has done a huge amount for wildlife and conservation, both in the sea and on land.
Now, however, he is threatened with what amounts to expulsion from the presidency of Plantlife International and the Wildlife Trust. These acts of madness will badly damage both trusts.
Bellamy has brought awareness of the need for conservation to generations of young people through his popular wildlife... programmes on television. Through both TV and his many books he has brought the same TLC to the seas of the world, helping to inspire hordes of British divers to treat all marine life with respect.
Early on, when he was at Durham University, he received the first-ever British Sub-Aqua Club grant - of £100 - to help him enrol divers in his Operation Kelp, the first diver study of pollution in the seas around Britain.
This was a great success, even if wives of divers were less than pleased with the use of their kitchen ovens to dry the hand-picked fronds of seaweed!
It seems to Beachcomber that, far from being ejected by the popinjays on the executives of these wildlife organisations, they should have rewarded his dedication long ago by seeing to it that he became Sir David Bellamy, at the very least.
What has our hero done to deserve this brutal treatment?...Beachcomber can reveal that it is all down to his statements in lectures and in print that climate change due to global warming is a myth.
He says that global warming is largely a natural phenomenon, and that the world is wasting stupendous amounts of money on trying to fix something that can't be fixed.
The trusts didn't like that, because they have been warning that wildlife faces a catastrophe through global warming. Some members have even alleged that Bellamy is in the pay of the oil industry.
He has denied that, but he has stopped short of saying what many others think - that warning of disaster has become a global industry, and that the livelihoods of thousands of scientists depend on frightening enough people into keeping on funding their research.
Nor, I think, would he approve of a letter from the Vice-President of the Royal Society which appeals to "all parts of the UK media to be vigilant against attempts to present a distorted view of the scientific evidence about climate change and its potential effects on people and their environments around the world".
The Vice-President concludes by hoping that he can count on my support. Sorry, Beachcomber is with Bellamy. And so too will be thousands of British divers.
As promised last month, Dr Beachcomber is dealing this time with nips and tucks and nose jobs for women divers.
Judging by the swarms of ladies who have besieged Eaton House, the fabulous home of the DIVER Group of magazines, pleading for "just a peep" at Dr B's column before publication, females who dive would be well advised to place a long-term subscription for DIVER as soon as possible.
Dr Beachcomber, recently awarded an honorary doctorate of the DBA (Diving Beauticians Association, for new readers) has been highly praised by his colleagues in that organisation for passing on their confidential advice to Britain's lady divers.
So pleased are these American plastic surgeons that there is talk of awarding Dr B an even higher honour - no less than a professorship!
Before going on to specific operations, I have been asked to stress the obvious - that going under the knife will create scars.
These can in theory hold up the blood flow and might lead to trouble off-gassing, increasing the risk of decompression sickness. But most members of the DBA describe such a risk as very low.
Indeed, one of the highest authorities has told me that "most of the gas exchange happens internally in the lungs and at the level of the capillaries. Limited scars should not be detrimental."
But all are also agreed that women divers with their artificially enhanced beauty must allow ample time for healing before plunging back in. They say that following cosmetic surgery, especially facial surgery, there should be a minimum wait of six to eight weeks before diving again.
The surgeons feel that if a cooling-off period is not observed, the pressure of a diving mask on the face might create unwanted lines and dents during the healing period. Diving too soon also puts pressure on blood vessels that have been sealed after surgery, and this could cause bleeding and bruising.
They are even firmer about delaying diving after "major reconstructive surgery", and single out "rhinoplasty" - the nose job - for special care, because it can cause excessive swelling and breathing difficulties for extensive periods of time....Women should always ask their own doctor to tell them when it's safe to dive again.
On that cautious note, Dr B ends this consultation. Next month it could be Professor Beachcomber advising on the dangers of wiping out wrinkles. Ladies of a nervous disposition should get someone to read it for them.
On the other hand, perhaps that's enough cosmetic surgery just for now.
Beachcomber's is without doubt one of the widest-read of any columns in a diving magazine. His Leaks are just as widespread.
My best Leak in the People's Republic of China tells me that divers there have been following with great interest my campaign to stop divers referring to flippers when they mean fins. He takes it further, referring to the questionable practice of divers talking about tanks when they mean bottles.
He tells me that one expatriate in Shekou has passed him an e-mail for my attentionwhich reads: "A long time in the past I was taught by a rough tough Royal Navy diver that Flipper is an effing TV show and effing tanks is for squashing pongos - RN slang for soldiers.
"So fins and bottles it is then."
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