Coastal Blog
October 17 2012
RAPTOBER - A Month Long Challenge to Rise Above Plastics
For the entire month of October the Surfrider Foundation is celebrating Raptober. We’re sharing plastic related facts, as well as tips on how to reduce your individual plastic footprint in an effort to raise awareness about the need to Rise Above Plastics to help protect the marine environment. RIGHT NOW…
October 12 2012
Funding News for Beach Water Testing Programs
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality
While Congress has yet to pass a federal budget for next year, they did manage to agree on a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government in operation until March 31, 2013. This CR includes level funding to keep the EPA BEACH Grants program in operation.
October 12 2012
OFG Branching Out Through Teacher Training
Ocean Friendly Gardens Basic Class
The San Diego Surfrider Chapter utilized their current OFG Series (Class, Workshop, Workday) to train new teachers. More trained teachers mean being able to scale up the Program to educate and transform more gardens. Good timing: the Chapter is a partner on a large grant-funded program with the City, County…
October 11 2012
Taking OFG To The Streets: Parkway Curb Cut & Bio-Swale
After creating an Ocean Friendly Garden on this property, the owner went after street runoff. In water quality circles, it's referred to as LID, or Low Impact Development. But for the most part, it's removing asphalt and concrete barriers to landscape-based solutions.
September 28 2012
See You At The Summits
This weekend and next the Surfrider Foundation is hosting West Coast and East Coast Summits to help our activists be better chapter leaders through shared experiences, peer interactions, tangible tools and training. It's semi invite-only as you need to be involved with one of the local chapters and there are…
September 28 2012
Portland, OR Chapter Installs Their First Ocean Friendly Garden
After holding a class then conducting a planning workshop in the landscape to be retrofitted, volunteers came ready to build the garden - and celebrate afterwards with a BBQ!
September 26 2012
Skin Care In The Ocean
If you live near the coast it’s quite likely that your skin care products end up in the ocean. It’s generally not a big issue as most ingredients are made from sources that biodegrade but that appears to be changing. Recently scientists have been documenting microplastics on beaches and in…
September 25 2012
Haiti Bans Plastic Bags and Foam Foodware!
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
News stories are circulating stating that Haiti’s government has announced a ban on plastic checkout bags and plastic foam foodware. “This is a logical decision and makes sense,” Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said. “Importing, manufacturing bio-degradable items will benefit Haiti’s short, mid- and long-term environmental interest.”
September 24 2012
Lawn Gone Without Chemicals
When the City Parks Department expressed uncertainty about killing turf grass without chemicals, the Santa Barbara and Isla Vista Surfrider Chapters brought out their (pitch)forks and got cooking in the garden with the lasagna method.
September 20 2012
Bag-Related Legislation Comes out of Sacramento
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
This week California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1219 (Wolk) into law, extending the in-store recycling program for single-use plastic bags. Unlike the former version of this bill AB 2449 (2006), there is no local preemption for municipalities in California that want to require a charge for plastic bags.
September 20 2012
China Gets Tough on Plastic Recycling
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
The mantra that big business seems to push is ‘Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!’, but at what cost? Many of the shipping containers that bring us goods from Asia don’t want to head back empty and in 2010 the #1 export from the U.S. to China was ‘Waste and Scrap.’ China recently…
September 19 2012
Plastic Pollution Hangout
KQED SCIENCE recently hosted a Google Hangout round table discussion about the growing problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Much of the 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally each year is carelessly discarded and goes from landfills or streets to streams, eventually floating out to sea.…
September 17 2012
International Plastic Bag Reductions
Plastic bag restrictions have been enacted in many cities and towns on the West Coast of the U.S. while international plastic bag reductions are picking up speed. There is no solid data on the number of plastic checkout bags used every year but estimates range between 500 billion and 1…
September 16 2012
City of San Francisco Wins Legal Battle over Plastics Industry
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
The City of San Francisco successfully fended off a suit by the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition that challenged their new broader single-use bag ban. This win will likely encourage other cities to stand up to industry scare tactics and enact broad local ordinances.
September 11 2012
Coastal Cleanup Day This Saturday!
Just like every day is Earth Day for some people, every day is Coastal Cleanup Day for some of the regulars lucky enough to make it to the beach day in, day out. This Saturday September 15th is the chance for everyone to make it Coastal Cleanup Day by joining…
September 07 2012
Offshore Drilling: Obama Vs. Romney
With the Presidential election just around the corner, let’s take a look at the respective positions of President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on offshore drilling. What would each candidate’s Presidency mean for oil and gas development off our nation’s coasts?
September 06 2012
“Surfonomics” above the fold
Surf Protection Surf Economics
The Washington Post recently ran an excellent article entitled "Surfonomics" on the cover of their Sunday business section. Read all about it.
September 04 2012
Cheap Plastic Keeps Flowing In CA After Legislators Fail To Act
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Late last week both of the statewide plastic reduction bills weaving through the California legislature failed last week. While it’s a bummer these plastic litter reduction bills did not pass, it was great to see the efforts of Surfrider Foundation Chapter activists in some of the target districts: San Francisco,…
August 31 2012
Doheny - The Plot Thickens
As practically any surfer in southern California knows, there has been a long-running problem with poor water quality at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. Doheny has made NRDC's "Beach Bummer" list for several years straight and routinely gets Ds or Fs on Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card. Despite…
August 28 2012
Press Conference on the Jersey Shore
Original BEACH bill sponsors Senator Lautenberg and Representative Frank Pallone held a press event on the boardwalk to bring attention to the importance of beaches in supporting jobs and a huge tourism economy in New Jersey. They are continuing their fight to restore funding for beach water testing programs throughout…
