Revolutionize the way we raise awareness about conservation! Monetizing the Arctic??

No, I am not talking about oil exploration or deep water drilling.  What if there was a way to capture the beauty and exhibit the delicate nature of the Arctic ecosystem and to visually infuse this into every-day experiences.  The goal here would be to raise awareness and inspire people to care about the preservation of this ecosystem.  Rather than preaching to a choir about the need to do this and that…individuals would come to see for themselves the necessity for preserving this ecosystem.  The desire to do so would come from within them, rather than from others.  

This concept is being explored by Tim Richards who is the owner and founder of ReefCam.  Unlike many traditional environmental projects, Tim is looking to build an environmental business model that is self-sustaining and creates jobs.  

Here is how it would work.  Underwater video equipment is set up in some of the most beautiful and threatened coral reefs in the Caribbean that is positioned to stream live HD video feeds of the reefs.  These video feeds are sold to resorts and spas, and corporations, schools, restaurants, even hospitals. 

Tim acknowledges the paradox of monetizing something that he considers priceless, but it is not about exploitation of the reefs at all.  The mission is to show people how naturally beautiful and important coral reefs are to the health of our plant.  Being for profit means that there is a better opportunity to reach as many people as possible. By helping people to enjoy the reefs, Tim hopes it will inspire people to do what they can to care for it.

Maybe Tim can help us set up Arctic video feeds to show the world that we need to protect the Arctic too.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/12/can-monetizing-coral-reefs-save-them/?source=link_tw20121013ngnw-moneyreefs&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20121013ngnw-moneyreefs&utm_campaign=Content