Join Ocean First Divers on Sunday, September 21 when we spend the morning sprucing up the beach at the Boulder Reservoir! We will be at the reservoir from 9am - 1pm. Everyone is welcome to help do their part to keep one of Boulder's "oceans" clean!

In celebration of Earth Day 2008 on April 26th, the staff and friends of Ocean First Divers cleaned up a 2 mile section of Colorado Highway 119 (Boulder-Longmont diagonal). Dodging the spring weather for a few hours we managed to collect 30 bags of rubbish before we celebrated at our BBQ.

According to officials at CDOT in 2005 "Taxpayers realized a $1.5 million dollar savings through the Adopt A Highway, Sponsor A Highway and prisoner litter programs."

Ocean First Divers is proud to support our community and invite you to join us for the fall 2008 cleanup. Contact us at info@oceanfirstdivers.com.

The U.S. Green Building Counci is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation. The organization's mission is to transform the way buildings are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous built environment that improves the quality of life in communities. The USGBC serves as a forum for industry dialog, a steward of market transformation and a place where expertise and education are provided for the building industry and the public. OFD founder Graham Casden began his Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) coursework with an introduction into Green Building workshop. Graham is participating in the LEED for New Construction seminar this month in Denver and is working towards his professional accreditation. For more information or to join your local chapter, visit http://www.usgbc.org.

The 4th annual beach cleanup yet first as Ocean First Divers was a big hit on the 29 of September at the Boulder Reservoir.

Four divers were in the water looking for anything that doesn't belong there. The rest of us were patrolling the beach and surrounding grounds for the same. All in all it was in good shape yet many bags of rubbish were captured or recycled.

Thanks to everyone who participated and we look forward to seeing you next year as we do our part to the environment clean.

Many off the shelf cleaners contain a host of dangerous chemicals.  Each time you use them you risk the health of yourself, your family, and your environment. Common household cleaners contain ammonia, chlorine, and formaldehyde. These chemicals are not necessary to clean your home effectively.  In fact, they are a prime cause of health problems and environmental issues.

Ocean First Divers’ frustration finding reliable cleaning services that use green cleaning products came to an end when the company hired Clean Conscience, Boulder’s premier cleaning service that’s safe for people, pets and the planet.
Do you, your family and the environment a favor and clean with green products. For more information on Clean Conscience, visit http://www.cleanconscience.net

Last year the Colorado Department of Transportation spent $5.6 million dollars to remove 145,478 cubic yards of trash from the highways. Of that, almost 49,000 cubic yards were removed through the Adopt A Highway, Sponsor A Highway and prisoner litter programs, savings taxpayers $1.5 million. As a taxpayer, you have a say in how the funds are appropriated. Disposing of litter in trash receptacles and recycling commingles and paper products helps to prevent litter from finding its way onto our interstates.

On July 15th, 2007, Ocean First Divers adopted a two-mile stretch of highway at mile marker 50-52 between Longmont and Boulder in an effort to keep our community clean and reduce the taxpayer’s significant annual expenditure on litter removal. Do your part to ensure that trash and recyclables end up in their appropriate receptacles. For more information on adopting a highway, visit http://www.dot.state.co.us/AdoptAHighway/index.cfm

On July 19th, 2007, Ocean First Divers contacted The City of Boulder to perform an energy audit on our business. The City of Boulder provides consultation in energy efficiency, pollution prevention, water conservation and sustainable design, along with comprehensive on-site assessments to determine resource and cost savings. It is the company's intention to use this audit to find ways to reduce electricity and gas consumption, thereby minimizing our footprint. For more information on The City of Boulder's Energy Audit Program, contact Kevin Afflerbaugh at afflerbaughk@bouldercolorado.gov.

“By definition, carbon neutral represents the point at which carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been identified, measured, reduced where possible and 100 percent of the remaining emissions have been offset through high quality renewable energy, energy efficiency and or reforestation projects.”

Shortly after the company’s inception in March 2007, Ocean First Divers began calculating our carbon footprint, using information gleaned from non-profits and industry standard carbon calculators. On July 16th, the company teamed with Sustainable Travel International, a carbon offset industry leader, to help finalize our footprint and develop a strategy for offsetting our emissions.

This comprehensive analysis consists of determining facility electricity consumption, estimating the volume of waste and recycling generated each month, the total number of nights employees stay in hotels, the amount of miles driven in cars and the total miles flown each year. With this information, Ocean First Divers has a clear understanding of our footprint, allowing the company to find ways to reduce and offset our emissions. To our knowledge, no other dive shop in the region assumes this environmental responsibility, further assenting that Ocean First Divers is the leader in the dive industry for environmental awareness, accountability and conservation. For more information on Sustainable Travel International and carbon offsets, visit http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org

On July 16th, 2007, Ocean First Divers took the next step in reducing our organizational footprint when we adopted Western Disposal’s Zero Waste Program. This new and exciting arrangement aims to increase the amount of recyclables at the business while reducing our trash.

This program entails dividing refuse into four distinct categories: compostables, commingled containers, mixed paper and trash. This division of waste allows almost everything to be recycled or composted and the end result is very little trash. Currently, Ocean First Divers has a three cubic yard container for mixed paper, a ninety-six gallon bin for commingled containers and compostables and only a few 41-quart containers throughout the store for trash. As this program gains exposure, the company first hopes to reduce our waste until it’s merely one 41-quart container a week with the ultimate goal of producing Zero Waste. For more information on Western Disposal and their recycling policies, visit
http://www.westerndisposal.com/enviornmental_westernsefforts.html

In an effort to promote conservation and reduce our footprint on an organizational level, Ocean First Divers purchased four beach cruisers, including two Schwinn Select Series and a Nirve Classic, to offer our employees and customers an alternative to driving around town.

This Eco option has fewer and less accidents per capita, offers the rider free exercise, has zero emissions, requires no gas, no meters, no tickets or insurance and provides a perfect parking spot every time. For more information about a mindful life, visit http://www.iamelephant.com.

“The new owner of a Boulder scuba-diving shop aims to reduce the environmental impact of the excursions it organizes to take divers beneath the seas.

Graham Casden, who recently bought Boulder's venerable Scuba Joe dive shop and tour operator, plans to add solar panels to the shop, remodel the facility with recycled materials and buy enough carbon credits to offset the emissions of all the planes, boats and automobiles used in the scuba trips it organizes.

The environmental consciousness is a way to tap the loyalty of area divers concerned about the deteriorating state of the seas. It's also being done out of a sense of responsibility to the planet and the hope that the scuba industry will follow its lead, Casden said.

"We want to make companies that aren't doing this stuff an anomaly," said Casden, a Boulder resident.
On June 2, Casden's 30th birthday, the shop officially will change its name to Ocean First Divers and throw a grand opening party.

Casden arranged to buy the dive shop at 3015 Bluff St. months ago. Since then, he negotiated the purchase of the 7,500-square-foot building for $950,000.

The sale of the Scuba Joe store comes four years after its founder, David Cain, died on a dive trip to an island off the coast of Colombia. His son Michael Cain and widow, Linda Cain, owner of the Cain Travel company, took over.

Casden, a California native who became immersed in diving over the past decade and was a Scuba Joe regular, one day asked store manager Amy Christopher and educational director Bob Ross whether the shop's owners would sell.

Talks developed, and the transformation of Scuba Joe — with Christopher, Ross and the rest of the six-person staff staying on — will be complete with its "re-launch" next month.

Casden's purchase comes at an interesting time for the industry.

Scuba diving has struggled to regain its strength following the national decline in travel after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The number of new divers picking up the sport nationally has shrunk, according to the Boulder-based Leisure Trends recreation and sports market research firm.

The lean times sparked consolidation in the $726-million-a-year industry, said Jason Gee, director of retail sales tracking for Leisure Trends.

Shops in Colorado have largely avoided the industry troubles, he said.

Gee suspects it's because shops in land-locked Colorado have always had to work harder to hold divers' interest, and that makes them better at it, he said.

The shop's impact could be widespread, he said.

Ocean First Divers, like Scuba Joe, is one of the few dive shops that trains other scuba instructors. Ross said the store plans to ingrain the importance of an environmental consciousness in its curriculum for diving teachers, who then hopefully will pass it on and help keep the undersea world healthy for future divers.

"We want to do this for a long time, not just a weekend and then it's gone because we spoiled it," Ross said.”

For the complete Daily Camera article, click on the link below.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/may/22/with-an-eye-to-the-environment-scuba-shop-going/

“North America has the greatest wind power potential. Researchers say that converting as little as 20% of potential wind energy to electricity could satisfy all the world’s energy demands.”

Ocean First Divers took the first step in our green initiative on May 14th, 2007 and switched to 100% wind power by purchasing Clean and Green Renewable Energy Credits in an effort to support a cleaner and healthier environment. Our customized offset membership level is equivalent to eliminating 62,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, planting 2,385 trees or removing 3.5 cards off the road for one year.

For more information, check out http://www.cleanandgreen.us/