Shaping Room

The Line of Sand Gets Thinner (New York Times)

By Tina Kelley,  New York Times

Published: November 29, 2005

 

BEACH HAVEN, N.J. - Robert Pacicco has owned the two-story house on the end of Merivale Avenue for a decade, but the Atlantic Ocean now seems poised to move in for the winter and beyond. Last winter, the waves broke over the foundation slab, from which the house rises on stilts. This year, half the pilings under the foundation have been exposed by the tides. more

Save Trestles: Coastal activism meets punk rock

Click on this link and check out this site.

The "Save Trestles" campaign is alive and kicking. Using a backround of rock and punk rock visual metaphors... they are engaging thousands. Yes, over a thousand came to the first event a few weeks back. If you care about saving Trestles get a shirt, get a sticker on your car... don't be swindled... help save Trestles!

Click on any of the pages below...

Talkin' 'Bout Wave Degeneration

Talkin' 'Bout Wave Degeneration
by ALEX BRANT-ZAWADZKI

In your full manhood and womanhood, you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so thoughtlessly destroyed. (Theodore Roosevelt, 1907)

Nature works in great complexity at Trestles, a spot known worldwide as the Yosemite of surfing. more

Surfrider National Staff Visit Oregon

Recently, the Oregon Chapter of Surfrider enjoyed a visit from Jim Moriarty (Executive Director) and Steve Blank (Director of Development). We spent 3 busy days meeting with Surfrider volunteers, speaking with state coastal managers, and traveling Oregon’s beautiful coast.

Surfrider has a rich history of accomplishments in Oregon. These include important victories related to shoreline access and water quality monitoring. As recently as 2002, Oregon did not have a state water quality testing program for its beaches, but thanks to Surfrider advocacy and input, the state now conducts regular testing at 25 beaches along the coast.

The Oregon Chapter of Surfrider was also fortunate to have Rick Wilson (Coastal Management Coordinator) attend our Chapter Training Retreat in Lincoln City. Rick gave a presentation on the Blue Water Task Force program and provided valuable input to our volunteer water quality testers. And, unlike Jim and Steve, Rick remembered to bring his wetsuit and joined the rest of us in catching some cold Oregon swell!

Thanks again to Jim, Steve, and Rick for visiting us here in Oregon!

Pete Stauffer
Oregon Policy Coordinator
Surfrider Foundation

Clint Eastwwod votes to protect Trestles

TAHOE CITY, Calif.

— The fight over a proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach Park moved north Friday as the State Park and Recreation Commission urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to block the controversial 16-mile project.

At a TahoeCity meeting chaired by Commissioner and actor-director Clint Eastwood, the panel unanimously called for Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to intervene in the Transportation Corridor Agencies' project to relieve congestion in south Orange County by building an $875-million toll road from Oso Parkwaynear Mission Viejo to Interstate 5 near San Clemente.

The commission's action followed a contentious Nov. 3 meeting in San Clementeattended by more than 1,000 people who were largely against the most likely route for the proposed Foothill South.

The toll road is opposed by environmental groups and public land advocates because it would slice through 320 acres of the state park's sensitive habitat and within eyesight of the famous Trestles Beach surf break.

"I used to surf down there at San Onofre in the early 1950s," Eastwood said. "I don't find the idea of putting a highway through a state park very appealing."

Link to LA Times Article

No Shangri La, Ned Evans on Painting, Surfing and Venice

"I grew up surfing Malibu, I’ve been going there since I was ten. If you frequent a beach for forty, forty-five years, you see it deteriorate. I sit in the water all the time, it just became obvious to me to do something."

"It’s a gargantuan thing—water pollution. It’s interesting to learn about it—just how bad that problem is, it’s so monumental. What it comes down to is: Surfrider—it’s about awareness, they are not going to solve anything. You raise $20,000, $25,000 dollars and it’s just a drop in the bucket. It’s a multimillion dollar problem. "

 - Ned Evans  The complete interview

The Ned Evans board from the recent Art for the Oceans

Surfers Against Sewage - Brothers in Arms

We’re always stoked to read about the efforts of our friends Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) in the U.K. In addition to some very worthwhile educational events, these guys seem to specialize in media-grabbing demonstrations that do a great job to highlight the very real human health and environmental effects of discharging inadequately treated sewage into the ocean.

Their latest such event was when the “chemical sisters” (male cross-dressed SAS campaigners in wetsuits and carrying surfboards) appeared at the European Parliament to highlight the hormone disrupting nature of many of today's toxic chemicals.

Along with Surfrider Europe, SAS is carrying the fight for clean water to the halls of political power on the other side of the pond.

Trekking with Ian

A few days ago we were finishing up a trip through the Pacific Northwest. I have total respect for the crew in Oregon and Washington .  Their version of surfing is pretty different from our experience in the southern regions of the country. Surfing really isn’t the same sport from one place to the next. Even if one compares the Pacific Northwest to the Northeast (Maine, Mass, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey) it’s different.

In the Pacific Northwest there is a sense of adventure and trekking that isn’t the same as other places. Sure the water’s cold  and sharky in places . . .  but that’s once you get to the coast.  Just getting to the oceans edge falls somewhere between an art (knowing where to go), a science (knowing local conditional characteristics, no Surfline cams in these environs) and a sojourn (it’s nothing to hike 20 – 30 minutes through dense woods to just check the conditions). Surfers also look different… no surf garb here… Gore -Tex , Carhartt and boots are the call.

Me and Ian Miller on top of a  private dam, a project we’re working to take down. Ian is our Washington Field Coordinator.

Another view of the dam. This baby is tall... and it's just one of two dams on the block to be taken down... the other dam is over 200 feet tall. Repeat after me... "free the sand and the barrels will follow".

River runs through it. This is an unnamed river ending it’s run at… an unnamed break. In all my travels on the globe I've never met a group more protective of thier breaks. Once you... eventually... find your way to a break you start to understand why. This land is gorgeous... the backdrops over the coasts are thousand year old forests and miles and miles of coast.

A big thanks to all the crew in Oregon and Washington for an amazing week. Your coast is… stunning definitely worth fighting to protect. See that... I wrote this entire piece and named... nothing.

Jim Moriarty
Executive Director

TAX ALERT FOR DONORS

CONGRESS APPROVES SIGNIFICANT INCENTIVES FOR CHARITABLE GIFTS IN 2005

Under the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act ("KETRA") you might qualify to deduct charitable gifts of cash to any qualified public charity up to 100% of your contribution base (generally your adjusted gross income). Deductions for charitable gifts of cash are normally limited to 50% of your contribution base. To qualify, these gifts must be made between August 28, 2005 and December 31, 2005.

Consult your tax advisor to see if this incentive applies to your specific situation.

YEAR END GIVING

If you're like most people, you do your major giving toward the end of the year. Some do this for tax purposes; others do it just in the spirit of the season. Before you ring in the New Year we hope you will consider making a gift to the Surfrider Foundation to help us in our efforts to protect and preserve the nation's oceans, waves and beaches. To make an outright cash donation visit our secure online giving page. To find out about alternate ways to make a gift to the Surfrider Foundation such as transfer of securities or tribute and memorial gifts please contact our Director of Development at (800) 743-SURF

DON’T FORGET ABOUT MATCHING GIFTS

Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees. To find out if your company has a matching gift policy, please contact your company's human resources department or email us at [email protected]. Most companies match dollar for dollar, and some will double or triple match donors' gifts. If your gift is eligible, simply request a matching gift form from your employer, and send it - completed and signed - along with your gift, to:
Surfrider Foundation - Director of Development
PO Box 6010
San Clemente, CA 92674.

Billboards we'd like to see...

To Scott and the crew at Publicis and David and the crew at Optimedia, THANK YOU for the 30 billboards you created and posted throughout the Seattle region. You teams are amazing. Here's a sample of the work.
Jim Moriarty
Executive Director