Why do some surfers resist the notion of climate change, and how will it impact surfing as we know it? Photo: Liz Foote
Surfing, like all sports, subcultures, and lifestyles, is comprised of a diverse pool of humans. Diversity meaning an array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and political leanings. The latter often manifests itself in the comments section of this website and on our Facebook page, particularly with stories related to the phenomenon of climate change. So-called deniers are quick to cling to a handful of common refrains. “The climate has been changing long before we existed on planet earth and will continue to change long after we’re gone,” goes one. “Climate change is a conspiracy leveraged by political elites and big business to maintain social control over the people of the world,” goes another.
Presumably, these are surfers or outdoor enthusiasts eschewing a resounding scientific consensus about anthropogenic global climate change. It’s curious because, well, these constituencies are on the front lines of the effects of climate change – rising sea levels, an increased frequency of severe weather events, etc.
Recently, as part of their ongoing look at how climate change will impact the future of the globe, Vice analyzed explicitly how surfers would be affected. A cornerstone of the article is a recent scientific study published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management in which researchers analyzed how sea level rises would affect surf spots up and down the California coast. Here’s a brief excerpt:
“More subtle effects of the changing planet will be everywhere, however. Not far from those drowned homes, surfers may wonder where the waves went.
‘”Surf spots are going to disappear,’ Dan Reineman told me, summarizing the findings of a study he published earlier this year that focused on California surfing. Reineman is a lecturer at Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, and a lifelong surfer. His study says that by 2100, sea-level rise could be an existential threat to about 18 percent of California’s surf spots, and could cause 16 percent to be worse. By 2050, surfers will have just started feeling these effects. (Interestingly, Reineman also says climate change may also improve about 5 percent of surf spots.)
“Climate change’s effects vis a vis surfing are still a developing area for researchers like Reineman, and things like the quality of breaks as well as the overall surfing experience are highly subjective. Reineman’s findings come from a survey of California surfers reporting their own experiences, but they square with basic logic, according to John Weber, the Surfrider Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic regional manager.”
Okay, so less spots generally, but a select few will improve. Surfers have been a particularly vocal constituency when their local breaks have been under threat. Consider the toll road extension battle at Trestles, or other similar fights waged between surfers and city councils, state legislatures, and in some cases representatives in Washington. If world class waves from Rincon to Sebastian Inlet could, according to scientists, be underwater in 50 years, where’s the outrage?
Maybe climate change is too abstract a concept. Maybe 2050 sounds a long way off. Or maybe still the impacts sound overly dramatic and alarmist to possibly be true. Whatever the reason for surfers’ reticence, by the time the initial impacts of climate change on surf breaks around the world are felt, it may very well be too late.
