« Previous Story | Front Page | Next Story »
May 2007 Issue
Environmental News
Surfrider Update
By Ben Preston
Santa Barbara Surfrider was privileged to host Yvon Chouinard at their April 5th general meeting. Speaking before a packed house at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Public Library, Chouinard kept the audience captivated with background information on his unique business ethic—always striving to minimize environmental impact and look out for the best interests of his employees—and bits of advice on how we can improve our lives through more careful use of resources.
“Scandinavian countries are way ahead of us,” he informed the audience, “They are resolved to be oil-free by 2010.” He went on to explain that in terms of quality of life, the US ranks 14th in the world—not in keeping with our disproportionate consumption of natural resources. “We’ve got nothing on the Italians as far as quality of life goes.” he said.
Chouinard also talked about volunteering and local land use issues, both important tenets of Surfrider’s modus operandi. He gives each of his employees two months of paid vacation every year expressly for the purpose of volunteering for environmental programs. Many employees opt to travel to far away places to help out, but involvement in local environmental organizations is encouraged as well.
Chouinard also donated a number of signed copies of his book, Let My People Go Surfing, to the Santa Barbara Chapter. “We hope to work with Yvon and Patagonia to achieve mutual coastal preservation goals,” said Chapter Chair Scott Bull.
****************************************************************
By Ben Preston
The fate of Goleta Beach Park—arguably the county’s most frequently visited park facility—hangs in the balance as Santa Barbara County prepares to make a final review of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). The DEIR addresses the two different ways being considered to deal with the park’s beach erosion problems.
One, favored by many Goleta Beach enthusiasts and the owner of the Beachside Café, employs a coastal armoring measure called a permeable pile groin. This concept consists of wooden piles arranged like those supporting the pier, but closer together. Erected perpendicular to the shoreline, the idea is that the closely-spaced piles would cause a reduction in the longshore current and allow sand to collect on the up-current side of the groin, while still letting sediment through to the down-current side. It involves an initial placement of 500,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach, and regular maintenance replenishments. Advocates of this method reason that the gaps in the groin will cause less down-current erosion than a traditional non-permeable groin.
The other method, preferred by many environmental groups, is called managed retreat. Managed retreat moves park facilities and utility lines away from the shoreline in order to allow for a wide coastal buffer zone. Proponents of this approach argue that the beach naturally fluctuates over time, and that allowing a coastal buffer zone is a better way to protect park facilities without compromising sediment deposition further down the coast. Many people favor this method, as it provides a more natural beach setting, and tends to require less replenishment than hard armoring.
Earlier, the hard structures for coastal armoring proposed to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission involved the use of a rock wall running the length of Goleta Pier. Since this approach would have allowed no sand to get past it for down-coast sedimentation, community groups caused enough of a disturbance to get the armoring plan changed to the permeable pile groin setup.
Emergency rock revetments were placed at Goleta Beach in 2003 with a 30-month expiration date. Still there, the concern of many is that if the county doesn’t have enough funding to perpetuate sand place on the beach by a dredge, the rock wall will become exposed and cause more rapid erosion of the beach.
Currently, the final arrangements are being made for a long-term plan for Goleta Beach Park. Members of the public are encouraged to make public written and verbal comments to ensure that their views are held in contention during the creation of the final EIR. This is the time to find discrepancies in the DEIR, and find things which haven’t yet been addressed.
So whether you are a dyed-in-the-wool property rights activist or a Volkswagen-driving environmentalist, now is your time to be heard on this issue. For further information on the Goleta Beach DEIR, please visit the following addresses:
For the County’s official notice of availability:
http://www.sbparks.org/GoletaBeach/docs/DEIR%202007/DEIR%20pdfs/DEIR%20Notice%20of%20Availability.pdf
For the DEIR Executive Summary:
http://www.sbparks.org/GoletaBeach/docs/DEIR%202007/DEIR%20pdfs/Executive%20Summary%2021Mar.pdf
For the entire DEIR:
http://www.sbparks.org/GoletaBeach/docs/DEIR%202007/DEIR%20TOC.htm
Additional information can be found at:
www.sbparks.org
The public hearing, where testimony can be offered by members of the public, is on Tuesday, May 1st, at 6:00 p.m. in the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hearing room at 123 E. Anapamu Street. Written comments are due by Monday, May 14th. Get out and make yourself heard. Stand up for what matters to you.
The Future of Surfing
By Ned McMahon
The kids are the future of surfing. But it is only with a full understanding of the materials and choices available now, can the kids usher in the future of surfboards. Surfing has always been lead by the young with new moves and board design to support the direction. Even the current retro trend is a new interpretation of old designs and they are being surfed with decades of new surfing ability.
Now surfing is at a crossroads. While Clark was making foam, and more importantly, controlling the market things were quite stable and change was slow. In some ways that was a good thing as techniques were perfected both in the water and the shaping room and there was steady progress in one direction.
Clark closed in December of ’05 and simply blew the lid off stability, direction, materials, environmental issues, Asian production, and more. Now is the time to review the materials and directions.
For nearly 50 years surfboards have been made with PU foam and polyester resin. The foam was made with a component called TDI and the “T” is Toluene which causes cancer and is part of the reason Clark closed the doors. Toluene is bad for the environment and bad for the worker. Polyester resins contain Styrene – another cancer causing chemical. Even with protective clothing and a respirator the shop worker is not protected because styrene can be absorbed directly through the skin.
Now many boards are made with PS (EPS and EXP) which is more commonly known as Styrofoam. PS uses Styrene and Benzene in the manufacturing process, both of which cause cancer. Both PS blanks and PU blanks are relatively safe for a shaper wearing a good respirator. The big difference with EPS is it must be glassed with epoxy resin. Workers can develop an allergic reaction to epoxy that will make them sick but it is only from direct contact with epoxy not absorbed through the skin. Epoxy is not as bad for the environment as polyester either.
The blanks made like Firewire or with parabolic stringers all use either PU or PS foam and these are just a different way of putting stringers in a board. They will affect the way the board rides but whether it feels good or not will be personal preference.
Some boards are made in molds like Aviso. This is carbon fiber – which is very strong and stiff with epoxy resin. This technology is used in many other things from boats to cars and can be made light and strong. Again the feel will be personal preference but remember when a board comes out of a mold it looks exactly like every other one out of the mold. I don’t know too many surfers riding the exact same board as their friends.
Many boards are made in Asia today. They are made in molds and made in the traditional way too. The molded boards again are all the same. It is sometimes hard to tell because the Asian factories are coloring the boards nicely and they are making boards for the famous surf brands here. The boards made in the traditional way also look pretty good since shaping machines have made it much easier to duplicate good designs. Many of the workers in these factories though don’t surf and some haven’t even seen the ocean. I think it would be strange to get a board made by someone who hasn’t been in the ocean. These boards are cheaper but then no wonder!
High tech molded boards or cheap boards from Asia are a couple of ways to go but since we all surf in the ocean and it is our duty as a surfer to preserve and protect it, I think there is a better way to go. I believe we need to think about what is best for our environment and we, as surfers, need to take an active role. I have surfed a few times with legendary surfer Skip Frye and every time before he surfs he takes a few minutes to pick up trash on the beach. It takes just a few minutes. Imagine what an impact we could have if we all just took a minute to pick up some trash on the beach before we paddle out – the beaches would be clean!
As for our surfboards, you can see how they are made with some pretty bad stuff but there is now an alternative. A company in San Diego is making surfboard blanks using MDI instead of TDI – it’s the only company doing this. This is a better choice because MDI doesn’t cause cancer. But this company is also combining MDI with the rest of the mix made from plant based materials called Biofoam. Biofoam blanks are sustainable – meaning that it is made from easily renewable sources. Some manufacturers claim other foams are recyclable and yes, that is true. All foam is actually recyclable while it is just foam. Once it is made into a surfboard with a stringer and cloth and resin, none of it is recyclable.
This company is also working on new cloths using hemp, bamboo, and tencel – all plants with very strong fibers and sustainable – instead of using fiberglass. A new plant based resin will soon be available that is 98% plant based and UV cured. This resin has no toxic fumes and is sustainable too. While these are new products and have recently just come on the market, with further development this is the future of surfboards in terms of a board that is safer for the workers, sustainable, and better for our ocean environment.
When I was a young surfer I only wanted a board that was made locally by a shop with local experience. Why would anyone want a board that was made halfway around the world by non-surfers. More importantly though is the environmental impact of shipping on our oceans. Shipping a container of surfboards (or blanks) across the ocean has a huge carbon footprint and is about as far from green as it gets. In addition, shipping is the #1 cause of ocean pollution.
So as we consider the future of surfing, new materials are available from new factories around the globe. There are good sustainable products available locally and I believe the best boards are available from the people surfing right in your area. As you – today’s groms – consider all this, just remember, YOU are the future of surfing!
Posted May 2007 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
