Oceans, Waves and Beaches

How many sewage spills did you think there were in California last year?
Twenty?
One hundred?
Four hundred?
Five thousand!
I work at Surfrider and I didn’t know the number was that large. Truth is that we don’t really hear about sewage spills in the news. With nearly 5,000 last year that’s…
More than 13 sewage spills per day.
“Last year, over [...]

A few years back we learned that while our mission statement says “… protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches…” we’ll fail if ALL we do is only focus on the beach and further out to sea.
Unlike Vegas, what happens on land doesn’t stay on land… it goes out to the oceans.
The land and [...]

It looks like all the public commentary regarding Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to close 48 State Parks mattered.
The 48 State Parks slotted for closure will remain open.
Nice.
Obviously this call was a tough one to make and the related budget process will be anything but easy.
On behalf of the millions of visitors to California State Parks, [...]

Click here to invest a minute in the Trestles fight.
As you may know, the TCA appealed the California Coastal Commission decision to reject the toll road through San Onofre State Park. We have until May 28th to contact the Secretary of Commerce and ask him to deny the TCA appeal and uphold the California Coastal [...]

Santa Cruz, CA
Feb 2008
City of Santa Cruz adopts ban on polystyrene food service waresThe City of Santa Cruz has passed an ordinance prohibiting the use of polystyrene food service wares.More info.
San Mateo, CA
Feb 2008
Stopped Destructive Development Project at the Fitzgerald Marine ReserveThe San Mateo County Board of supervisors voted to reject the application for a [...]

Above.Matilija Dam. 200 feet high and, after being filled with river silt and cobble for over 60 years, a non-functioning dam
Below.After a large rain the dam “fills”. Truth is that at the deepest point this water is 15 – 20 feet deep.

I was up in Ventura the end of last week with more than 40 [...]

Mark Babski, On The Beach at San Clemente Pier in Southern California.
Few people reflect the Surfrider brand with as much accuracy as Mark Babski: global citizen yet locally integrated, highly educated yet accessible and down to earth, politically astute yet environmentally conscious, a listener and yet the first person to act. Mark has been around [...]

San Onofre State Beach, which is currently enjoyed by 2.5 million people a year, is the fifth most heavily used park in the California State Parks System.
The park was established for the citizens of California by then Governor Ronald Reagan and then President Richard Nixon. At the dedication of the park, Governor Reagan said
“I firmly [...]

New York Times
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The battle here over a proposed toll road near a state park has entangled powerful interests from across California: Labor is pitted against surfers, American Indians against developers, commuters against campers and coastal people against inland dwellers.more

First time I heard about this… I found it hard to believe.

Male fish off the coast of Los Angeles are turning into females.
“Study finds human medicines altering marine biology
Sewage-treatment plants in Southern California are failing to remove hormones and hormone-altering chemicals from water that gets flushed into coastal ocean waters, according to the results [...]