You know, I have been diving since I was a young pup; I started in 1974.
I have dove, taught, taught Instructors, and dove again. I have seen more useless crap sold under the guise of "it's the future of sport diving" than you would possibly believe.
Agencies, in all their wisdom, feel that everyone and their grandmothers should be scuba diving. So they can sell 'em all a bunch of gear they are supposed to depend on. It takes too long to teach swimming skills and common sense.
Gear seems to be the primary focus of diving. Not that it isn't useful...
The problem occurs when an average trained person has a gear related problem;and they weren't trained how to get out of it.

The ocean is a killer; it doesn't need help.
I see articles like Chad's and I say "Learn to take off your damn fins!"
and "it's more stuff to break"
No offense Chad; fins are for use underwater, not for climbing ladders.

The Industry wants to remain self-regulated but won't mandate continuing education. They won't put expiration dates on "C" cards. Won't teach solid swimming skills at the most important level; the beginner.
I hate equipment dependency. It hurts and kills people that trusted the Industry to teach them properly. A person that earns certification in a quarry has no business diving in the ocean; the same holds true for a tropical resort cert wanting to dive anywhere else.
People won't regulate themselves, and the Industry won't either;
It will sell 'em gear, though.