Water scooters -noisy little demons
by Ann Novek on 07 May 2005 @ 11:56 AM
I thought waterscooters were banned in Sweden due to noise pollution and negative impacts on wildlife.
To my big annoyance I have found out that there's no ban on waterscooters in Sweden and now young men are terrorizing the waters near us when riding their little demons , disturbing seabirds and pedestrians who want a quiet walk!
In times when we are more and more disturbed by noise pollution it's totally insane to give permission to waterscooters in Swedish waters.
Internationally, the Norwegian government voted for a nationwide ban on the use of "wetbikes", promoted by ecological and noise concerns.
Ann
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Hi Ann - I know the feeling. I here the little f**kers from my house and we don't even live on the water! Would you believe that there is a jet ski club here who are making a movie to promote themselves and have made a big deal about how ecologically responsible they are.
How ridiculous!
The government will never outlaw these things since they benfit our tourism industry and here in Bermuda - NOTHING comes before the toursm industry except maybe the finance industry! And that's so stupid because without this beatuiful environment Bermuda would have no tourist industry and a much reduced finance industry (the CEOs of big comapnies like to live here because it's so pretty and nice).
I’d like to get rid of the false impression that these noisy annoyances are “little”. They are big, powerful machines that drink impressive quantities of fuel. In the region where I was raised, the selfish idiots driving these annoyances think of themselves as modern day explorers and go up small rivers where their machines move about half of the river’s water out of its bed and back causing many erosion problems. Of course, these guys/gals, just like the ones riding ATVs and snowmobiles, claim to “love” nature.
They “love using it” would be more appropriate if you ask me.
Talking about the snowmobile (I don’t think this is changing the subject since, to me, sea-doos, ATVs and snowmobiles are the same thing). Last winter, in Quebec, a family won a civil action forcing the closing of a snowmobile path that was to close to their home. The government’s reaction was to outlaw any such civil action for the next five years! Wouldn’t want to upset the all mighty tourist industry. Interestingly, the government was overfeeding the population the “sustainable development” oxymoron platitude at the time. When asked by journalists if this new law was in contradiction with their promotion of sustainable development, the prime minister mentioned that the law was in fact in perfect accord with their sustainable development policy.
I guess there are now many definitions for sustainable.
Luckily, politicians are not connected to lie detectors. Imagine the energy consumption and the noise pollution from all those detectors buzzing all the time!
Perfect Indian, Ekkaia: "Sea-doos, ATVs and snowmobiles are the same thing". I agree 100% - gas-guzzling little monsters usually driven by inexperienced, inconsiderate operators who have little or no respect for the natural environment. I do a great deal of sea-kayaking in areas of Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Ontario, and there are places I can no longer paddle because of the hazards of being run-over or harassed by sea-doos. These machines a creating problems in rivers here as well. As for snowmobiles, insurance costs have risen sharply and seriously curtailed this sport last winter - yeah. As global warming acclerates, these yahoos will have to travel further north, so we have to look at creating more National parks that exclude snowmobiles.
Note that US government has been steadily relaxing its laws to allow more machines - snowmobiles, ATV's in National Parks, eg. Yellowstone. But the gas guzzling helps the oil and gas companies, right! echo
From Alaska's Denali National Park to the flagship Yellowstone National Park, our forests and parks protect and preserve some our most untamed and beautiful landmarks. Indeed, these places embody American ideals of wildness and originality.
But the trail of pollution and destruction left by snowmobiles threatens this heritage. Approximately 250,000 snowmobiles run roughshod though the Park System each year. More than 60,000 snowmobiles zoom through Yellowstone National Park alone.
Our National Parks need your help. Currently, Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth, is engaged in a legal fight to protect Yellowstone and the remainder of the park system from snowmobile damage. We need assistance from people who have had their park experience ruined by snowmobile operation at places such as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Denali National Park, Voyageurs National Park and others. If interested, please contact Sean Smith at bluewaternetwork@bluewaternetwork.org, or (415) 544-0790, ext. 19, ASAP.
From Alaska's Denali National Park to the flagship Yellowstone National Park, our forests and parks protect and preserve some our most untamed and beautiful landmarks. Indeed, these places embody American ideals of wildness and originality.
But the trail of pollution and destruction left by snowmobiles threatens this heritage. Approximately 250,000 snowmobiles run roughshod though the Park System each year. More than 60,000 snowmobiles zoom through Yellowstone National Park alone.
Our National Parks need your help. Currently, Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth, is engaged in a legal fight to protect Yellowstone and the remainder of the park system from snowmobile damage. We need assistance from people who have had their park experience ruined by snowmobile operation at places such as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Denali National Park, Voyageurs National Park and others. If interested, please contact Sean Smith at bluewaternetwork@bluewaternetwork.org, or (415) 544-0790, ext. 19, ASAP.
I don't know much about water scooters - but they sound just like weeled scooters. Here in the big, polluted city, we get cars, high pitched mopeds and motorbikes, sirens, dogs barking, drills, helicopters, etc etc etc... I'm so tired of all the carbon monoxide. Pollutes you physically as well as spiritually. I was walking down to the cybercaf' and a bloomin' truck flattered my nostrils with a load of noxious fumes. What annoys me the most is that they've already put a hydrogen zero emmission motor-bike on the market, but esso and company are making so much money out of petrol that we're forced to keep breathing their bloody fumes! I bet esso CEOs don't live in big, polluted cities, no they've got bloomin villas in clean-aired natural paradises, makes me want to puke. Bastards.
On the other hand, bannings and more bannings are just threats to freedom and don't really cure the problem anyway: people will always find something that isn't banned.
I say we'd better educate on respect, both of people and nature, not only the consumers who deteriorate the environment but also the innovators who doesn't create respect-friendly engines/products.
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