IMPACT ON SURFING
INTRODUCTION
For my tenth and final inquiry I decided to spend my three weeks learning about surfing and more specifically the impact that the environment will have on it in the future. During my research I found out that there will be a lot of people that will be affected and not only just people that surf. The ocean is one of the most important things on this planet and we are slowly killing it. The ocean is a place where people can have a break and relax, play in the waves and not have to worry about what's for dinner or what you have to do tomorrow. You can go there and have fun with your family or friends. I came up with three solutions and also some small things that surfers can do to improve the environment to help save the ocean. The first one is to build more wave pools, the second is to build surfboards out of algae and the third is to stop burning fossil fuels.
WHAT IS SURFING?
Surfing involves riding waves, waves are created by wind energy that is transformed into waves that break when they hit a reef, sand or a rock. There are many different types of surfing that different people have as a hobby. There is windsurfing, kite surfing, body surfing and just surfing which is the most popular. Surfing has been around since the 12th century. People have found cave paintings that have clearly stated that surfing (an ancient version) has been traced back even longer. People usually surf for pleasure, but you can surf competitively. This year surfing got introduced to the olympics and was quite a popular event. surfing has been an international sport since 1953 when the Waikiki surf club hosted the first ever international surfing competition. This competition was marked as the official birth of the sport. Surfing competitions are becoming more popular and more people are taking up the sport which means it will become more of a problem if the ocean becomes unsurfable.
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO SURFING?
Like I said before it's not just surfers that are going to be affected, it's everyone because the ocean is an important part of this planet. But the 35 million people that do surf well won’t be able to surf and for some people that is a go to thing. So why is surfing going to be affected? It’s Because the ocean absorbs 90% of the heat that comes from greenhouse gases it makes the water more energetic( there's more power in the water). This will mean when a storm hits, there will be so much power in the water it will make a huge swell. This will create even more dangerous waves than there are today. You will see storms happening more frequently and you will most likely see some of the biggest waves surfed in history which will be cool but if it happens all the time. Not everyone can surf waves that big.
There are also reef breaks being destroyed because of the temperature in the water. This will ruin good wave spots all over the world and they won’t be able to form. Aswell as sea level rising could cover up reef breaks and beach breaks. But there is the potential that new ones and maybe better ones will aslo form. Of course people would rather the sea level not rise because it will also cover up a lot of land.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF CLIMATE CHANGE DOES DESTROY SURFING?
Climate change won’t completely get rid of surfing. There will always be the option of surfing in waves pools or surfing off the wake off a boat. But the problem is that there will not be enough wave pools or money to have every surfer be able to surf and have the same amount of fun that you would in the ocean. Today there are 15 wave pools that are open to the public and that is not a lot. There's about 17-35 millions surfers around the world and 15 wave pools. There is no way that many people can all share 15 at the same time. Even if we had 1,000 it would still not be enough. Aslo not every surfer has a boat and boats don’t generate big enough waves.
FOOD CHAINS
The ocean's temperature is increasing quite rapidly and sea life needs to adjust to this change. Unfortunately not all creatures will be able to adjust and will most likely go extinct which will mess up food chains. If the bottom of the food chain dies the animal that uses that as food won’t have any, and if that dies the animal that eats that will die ect. Fortunately all the heat is hanging around the surface and will still take about a century before it reaches deeper waters. But because of this food chains will constantly be changing as well as the way certain species live. I think this will have not a big impact but not a small one. On the surfers and swimmers. Imagine going for a surf and there are sharks that have nothing to eat and you're slower than a fish and you're bigger. You would most likely be the target. This will probably happen if phytoplankton (the animal at the bottom of the food chain.
WHAT IS THE CAUSE BEHIND ALL OF THIS?
The cause is of course global warming, but why is the earth heating up? The earth is heating up because of all the fossil fuels that are being released into the atmosphere. It is because we use coal, fuel and oils to power our cars, many power plants are run from those things. A lot of people are trying to get people to use electric cars, get people to make power from wind, solar power, and water. There are many but not nearly enough as there should be.
ARE SURFERS GOING TO BE AFFECTED IN NEW ZEALAND?
Surfers in New Zealand are going to be affected just as much as everywhere else but we probably won’t lose good surfing reefs because there aren’t many of them. Most of the breaks here are beach breaks which are good but reef breaks create better waves. We have many good surfing spots that will unfortunately lose their touch. But there is a possibility that other good surfing spots will pop up. There is also the pollution that is going to have a massive effect on the ocean and the surfers that use the ocean.
IF WE ARE ABLE TO SAVE THE SPORT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE SPORT IN FUTURE?
The sport is already evolving. More surfing competitions are starting to use wave pools in competitions. Like the WSL had a competition at the surf ranch in Lemoore California. Which was the first wave pool to be used in the world surf league. The Japanese have also been using wave pools in their surfing competitions. Surfing in wave pools is becoming more common in surfing competitions.
Other than wave pools becoming more common I think surfing will be the same as it is today if climate change doesn’t interfere.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP THE OCEAN?
There have been people trying to do things to help the ocean and global warming. But most of these things are focused on global warming. But the world surf league (WSL) is working on a project so that future generations can use the ocean as a playground. It’s about spreading awareness to people and getting people to sign for the ocean or the future of the ocean. Their target is “WORLD LEADERS AT THE 2021 UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY”.
Like I said there are also people that are trying to stop global warming and that is helping the ocean. I think all the lockdowns that are happening around the world have put a halt on climate change because cars haven't been burning fuel. As Well as some factories who also release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
SOLUTIONS
I came up with 3 solutions that I think surfers and the world can do to help. So the ocean can still be a playground.
The first solution is making more surfboards out of algae. This may sound weird and impossible but some shapers have started to use algae to make surfboards. They are also good surfboards. But they are not the best compared to UV H61 and silma resin. But algae surfboards do the job.
But why algae? One of the best reasons is that when algae grows it takes CO2 from the air, the second is it can thrive in waste water and it can purify it. So I think making all or most surfboards out of this will make a difference.
The second solution is to build more wave pools around the world. This is not the best solution though because it's not really helping the environment. It's just saving surfing if you can’t surf in the ocean. If we don’t save the ocean some people will be able to surf in wave pools, but there are only 15 surfable wave pools around the world and 35 million surfers.
The third solution is what most people have already been told to do, which is stop burning fossil fuels. Take care of the environment if you're going for a walk or a run and pick up some rubbish. As surfers, instead of driving for hours to find the perfect surf spot just go where you think is good because you're still going to have fun at the place where you go.
CONCLUSION
Out of my three solutions the first one is definitely more effective and the second one is more of a back up plan than a solution and it's not helping the environment in any shape or form. Which is why algae making algae surfboards would be the best solution. The third solution is by far the most effective. But it will cost quite a lot. So when I did my PMI the first and third solution were by far the two best and most effective.