10 reasons why I once voted for David de Rothschild as People's Choice Adventurer of the Year

Environmentalist, author and explorer David de Rothschild was nominated for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year award being organised and publicised by National Geographic in 2010. As a supporter of David's naturally I voted for him and continued to do so because you could vote daily.

If you need to know why I have voted for him then read on. Here are 10 reasons I support David de Rothschild.

First and foremost, I support David de Rothschild because he really cares about the environment and about doing something about the state of the planet and the multiple threats to people and wildlife before it is too late. He has said that the time for debating matters to do with climate change and the environment is over. We need to act now and I agree!

David is a man who has been out there in the wild places, including the frozen expanses of the Arctic and the threatened tropical rainforests, as well as recently having sailed across an ocean, and he knows the natural beauties of these places. He knows first hand what we are losing everyday from habitat destruction, pollution and other causes we humans are responsible for.

Before his epic voyage across the Pacific this year on a catamaran made from plastic bottles and called the Plastiki, he said that he knew he would miss the song of birds, and that was something I could understand well. Having completed their journey he has commented on how few marine wildlife he and his crew encountered and how few fish they caught on a voyage of over 3,000 miles from San Francisco to Sydney. When Thor Heyerdahl crossed the ocean on his famous Kon-tiki raft he came upon lots of whales, dolphins and sea birds. The world was a very different one back then in 1947!

My second reason is because David de Rothschild is an animal lover. David loves his dogs Smudge and Nester and misses them when he is away. He sleeps with his dogs and talks about them in this interview he gave to The Sunday Times. I sleep with my cat Tiggy and I miss her if I go away. I am sure anyone with a pet dog or cat can understand this.

Thirdly, I support David because he is a man of his word and does what he says he is going to do. A few years back he announced that he was building a boat from plastic and was going to sail across the ocean on it to raise awareness of marine pollution from plastic and for the need for increased recycling of our resources. The idea sounded crazy - of building a catamaran from plastic bottles, but it was done. There were delays and some people perhaps thought it was all talk and that it wasn't going to happen, but happen it did!

My fourth reason for voting for him is that unlike so many members of the elite families he doesn't hide himself away from the general public at all or act as if he is above other people. On the contrary he makes countless public appearances, shares his news and views via his websites such as his Twitter page, and is friendly and approachable.

David takes time out to read his mail and messages and does his best to respond. David listens to what other people think. He knows very well that we all share this planet and it is a shared responsibility we have to change things for the better. As he says:"nobody is as smart as everybody."

Fifthly, I think David de Rothschild well deserves to win this award because he motivates and inspires other people by sharing his experiences with them via his excellent Adventure Ecology website and his sites on Twitter and Facebook. As a role model he shows that we can look on life as an adventure or series of adventures. Videos made of the Plastiki voyage show what it was like out there on the high seas. We get to see David doing his share of work on the boat. We even get to see him in the early stages suffering from seasickness. He is the real deal. I get seasick too and it is most unpleasant. There were a lot more enjoyable ways David could have been spending his life don't you think?

It wasn't at all easy living on a plastic boat for over three months. Besides getting seasick, David was missing his family and friends, missing his dogs, missing the birdsong, living in cramped quarters and at times he and the crew had to brave the storms they encountered.

Another reason I support David is because of his choice of a hero or heroine. In an interview he once stated that the person he admires most is Sylvia Earle and that made a big impression on me because she is a most amazing lady and I could see why he chose her.

With regard to people David admires brings me to the late great John Lennon, who is definitely one of my favourite singer-songwriters and personal influences and mentors. David recently posted on his Twitter page the link to a great video of Lennon talking, so it is obvious that he is a big fan too. Being a mutual fan of John Lennon is a good enough reason for me.

I also support and would vote for David de Rothschild too because I think he is doing a very difficult job that perhaps people don't really give him credit for. Yes, he comes from a very wealthy family but that doesn't mean he can save the world single-handedly or overthrow the system like some sort of eco-warrior superhero! He does what he can and that is what I admire about him. Some of his fans I think expect too much of him, whilst at the other extreme his detractors are mainly conspiracy theorists who wrongly accuse and blame him for things he has little control over and was not responsible for.

Speaking of conspiracy theorists giving David a hard time, it was Alex Jones who first got me started as a supporter of David's. Instead of treating his guest politely Jones ranted and raved at David, who instead of getting rattled and losing his temper, or being upset and quitting the show, handled it all with perfect composure. He maintained his calm against the storm of abuse Jones hurled at him. I was impressed by this and that is one more reason I support David de Rothschild.

Finally, David gets my vote for having written a great book with lots of excellent advice - The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook. I bought the book and reviewed it here at hubpages.

So there you have my 10 reasons for supporting David and why he got my vote! .