For years, the surfer’s life was one of wanton self-indulgence where tiresome details, such as jobs, were irrelevant. Now, with the prospect that a romp in the ocean could cause health problems besides broken bones, surfers suddenly have a cause: they want to save the planet – or the shorelines, at least. Many surfers are developing viral infections from days on the waves that are already something less than idyllic. “[Surfers] are environmentalists whether they like it or not,” says Surfrider director David Saltman. In recent months the group found that 60 percent of Pacific beaches they tested were contaminated by sewage that can damage human skin. Flulike symptoms, as well as ear, nose and throat infections are also common. Now the Surfriders are fighting back with a toll-free number to report polluted beaches and by handing out free water-sampling kits that anyone can use to test for chemicals.
The Surfrider’s mission is a familiar one to California, where ecoconsciousness is as abundant as buddy-movie scripts. What’s new is the demographics. “We’re probably the only environmental organization with an MTV membership,” says Saltman of his group, populated as it is by many people whose voting rights extend only to all-star ballots. (There are also corporate sponsors, including Patagonia and Esprit de Corp.)
Growing by some 800 members a month, the group is becoming a potent ecoforce poised to fight all enemies of surfdom. Following up on complaints by local surfers, Surfrider is now engaged in a colossal battle with two powerful Humboldt County, Calif., pulp mills: Louisiana-Pacific and Simpson Paper. The surfers claim the mills have committed more than 40,000 violations of the Clean Water Act since 1984 by dumping toxic, rash-inducing chemicals into a surfing area. During the Reagan years, Congress gave the companies waivers to allow some dumping, but the EPA is re-examining their records. A lawyer for Simpson Paper says the number of violations is greatly overstated and that the mills are spending millions in “following an environmentally sound approach of reducing pollution.” He also said he is confident the case will be settled out of court.
Meanwhile, Surfrider aid and lobbies local governments to open more shoreline to the public. It’s also trying to develop alternative surfing sites to replace those destroyed by coastal development. Clearly, one point is sinking in, even among the world’s most legendary free spirits: if you can’t touch the water, you can’t ride the tube.
