Surfrider Foundation: MAKING WAVES

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Coastal water pollution is a persistent problem	Editorial, 1999 National Campaign By Michelle C. Kremer, Esq. Interim Executive Director MAKING WAVES, April/May 1999

Abuse can only exist in an environment where complacency allows it. When we fail to voice our opinion or act on the behalf of nature, the result is rarely in the environment's best interest and never reversible. Once a development is build, it won't be torn down. Once a spill occurs, as the Exxon Valdez disaster has shown us, the damage can't be "mitigated". Once our wildlife and children are poisoned no amount of money will purify them. And once the cameras have left and the photo-op is over, no one will care.
      Which leaves us, and only us, as persistent keepers of the coast, especially when it comes to water quality. As surfers and ocean users, we are the first ones to know when something has gone afoul in the water.
      The first article I wrote for Making Waves was on the Clean Water and the need for stronger Environmental laws. Things at Surfrider Foundation have changed a bit since then, but the importance of having strong environmental regulations and the mission of the Surfrider Foundation has not.
      The Surfrider Foundation is and most likely always will be concerned about water quality. Because of that concern, we will always be preaching the need for enforcement of the laws and regulations we have enacted and the need for more.
      This year, our National Campaign is to educate our members and the community at-large about the need for national uniform water quality testing and monitoring. Currently, there are inconsistent standards and posting requirements from state to state, with the majority of states opting not to adopt the EPA recommended criteria.
      Until such day that coastal pollution is completely eliminated, monitoring is the best way to protect those of us who surf and swim. (Check out the cover story, the BEACH Bill is a step forward in our efforts to get uniform standards.)
      It may be six years since that first article and I may have a fancy new title, but I am still preaching about the need for strong environmental laws- some things will never change.

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