This Sand Is Your Sand

The greatest obstacle for clean beaches is awareness of how beaches get dirty to begin with. Smokers need to understand that their cigarette butts end up down storm drains and on beaches. Golf-course managers and farmers need to understand the impact their pesticides have on the coastal ecosystem. Much of what we do at Surfrider is raising awareness regarding this very subject. This shouldn't be abstract. We should tell our friends who smoke not to litter; we should refrain from dumping paint or oil down the drains. We should make living at the coast synonymous with protecting the coast.

Regarding people: mostly no. Surfrider exists to point out that we all need to step up to not only enjoy oceans, waves, and beaches, but to protect them as well. We want individuals to adopt the "zero impact" mentality that climbers have embraced. Regarding companies: overall, the answer is no. There are some standouts like Patagonia and Billabong, and more and more are looking into organic materials, but we're talking about moving entire industries, changing proven manufacturing processes, and cutting into profits. Many times, what is right isn't easy and getting there doesn't come quickly. This said, I am heartened to see some shifts in the right direction.

Excellent point and one that some water enthusiasts struggle with. Clark Foam, manufacturer of 90 percent of surfboard blanks, closed its doors last December; finally the industry is awake to higher-strength, longer-lasting boards. There is a rebirth within the industry around materials; many are looking at lower-impact processes. For me, one never "arrives" at an environmentally optimal destination ... it's an ongoing process.

Thank you very much. Rick Wilson, one of our amazing staffers, wrote it and I agree -- it's strong. As you know, global warming is a topic that is literally as large as the planet. Rather than get caught up in much of the hand-wringing and finger-pointing, we are heads down with programs focused on the coasts (arguably where global warming will be felt the most). The scope of our programs is also scaling up; you'll see us expand our international presence (we're operating on five continents now and growing more chapters on those continents). One more distinction: we're not the "Washington, D.C./policy" kind of environmental organization. We're hands-on and local, with 64 chapters in the U.S. We're all about your local, coastal neighborhood.

Climate change of a few degrees will wreak havoc on the coasts. Examples include massive coral reef die-off and higher-intensity storms. This is already starting to happen. A rise in sea level will have massive and unprecedented effects on the coast. "Planned retreat" -- moving homes and structures away from the ocean -- is not a popular concept today ... but it will become necessary in the future.

We believe beach access is a right, just as freedom of speech is a right. Just as many of us don't agree with some ways freedom of speech is exercised (especially around children), all of us believe that right should exist. Your example is similar to this. There are various situations and places that would be better off without humans, but we're not going to draw that line. We believe you should be able to walk down to the ocean, wiggle your toes in the sand, and experience what a wonder the beach and oceans are.

Surfrider isn't about just protecting surf breaks; in fact about half of our members don't surf. We are about the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves, and beaches. We're beach people. We're people who simply love the coasts and are acting to protect them. We're working on multiple levels to keep trash off the coast and out of the ocean, and maintain natural and healthy beach zones. For me, the large lesson of Katrina is that of nature's muscle; fishers have good reasons for not having built houses on the East Coast beaches for centuries -- hurricanes hit them pretty much every year. For some reason, we now think that open land means we should build something -- even though thousands of locals protest it. Our hubris is stunning. There is no contest: nature is stronger than humans. We need to live along coastlines with that in mind.

What we stand for resonates with people -- all kinds of people. We have the highest-caliber artists, musicians, lawyers, and many others who volunteer their time. Regarding advertising, we have been blessed with working with some of the most creative and amazing people on the planet -- and that's not an overstatement. Saatchi and Saatchi, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Young and Rubicam, Publicis, and 72 and Sunny are agencies that have represented Surfrider in the past 12 months.

About a month ago, I was surfing off the coast of El Salvador at the beginning of rainy season, and massive tree trunks were floating around in the lineup. There was also a sickening amount of trash and (human) waste runoff. I've been feeling ill since that time and had a myriad of tests but nothing named. Four out of five of us on the trip had similar, long-term sicknesses. You don't have to go elsewhere, though; people at the San Diego beach cleanups find syringes all the time.

Thanks for the kudos on the value of beach cleanups. It's another simple yet valuable project our chapters do. I suggest contacting your local chapter.

Absolutely. My 20 years in tech taught me that the world can be changed, and in fact, it is changed day in and day out. The founders of Google aren't that different than the founders of Surfrider Foundation; they are people who think massive, new, and unbridled thoughts. They don't listen to people who tell them something can't be done. Tech ingrained in me to step up, go big, and then execute like your life depends on it. I have no interest in working at a place where that doesn't apply.