The Baltimore, MD area has been relatively hard hit economically the past few years, which has created challenges for us in the recreational dive industry.  It has made it a lot more difficult to convince new entry-level divers of the value of making contributions to anything beyond what is needed to get an Open Water Diver certification (Project AWARE, for example).  For many of them, just getting together the money to complete Open Water has been a challenge, and a few dollars more for something, even something of value, that they couldn't get an immediate return upon was almost a non-starter.  However, since the introduction of Dive Against Debris in late 2014, we have started to notice a pleasant change.  Being able to earn a "one-initial dive" certification in our local dive environment (our "Quarybbean" will never compete with the Caribbean!) following Open Water Diver certification has proven attractive.  Every diver in our final Open Water Diver class opted to take the Dive Against Debris Distinctive Specialty, as well as opting for the Project AWARE C-card.  They liked the idea of getting an immediate return on their investment; an entry-level certification and their first specialty for relatively little additional time and money.  Quite a few of them are now looking toward using that as a springboard to Master Scuba Diver and are making inquiries as to the availability of additional AWARE courses.  We have made it finacially attractive for them to take the next step, but we feel like this will pay long term dividends, begin a ground-swell of environmentally conscious divers in the local area, and ensure our own "Quarybbean" dive area is a model for others to follow .