By now, you've heard a bit about coal export in the Pacific Northwest and the many environmental impacts from the midwest to the Pacific that these operations will likely have on groundwater quality, surface water quality and air quality; but, how and will coal export and transport affect surfing?
Most of us know in the Pacific Northwest that we are intricately connected by water. From the mountains we love to ride to the waves peeling off your favorite point (or sandbar if you live in Oregon), water connects us as a life-giving resource in addition to providing the medium for our playgrounds. We depend on clean water for nearly everything we do in our lives. With coal strip-mining, transport and export hot on the agenda for energy resources, we can't help but consider how this will impact our water resources from the ranchers in Wyoming and Montana to the Pacific Ocean. At Surfrider, we have yet to develop an organizational-wide environmental policy on coal export facilities, however, many of our chapters in Washington and British Columbia have been working on campaigns at the local level.
Surfrider Foundation has developed policies on global warming, offshore oil drilling, liquified natural gas and renewable ocean energy, all which point towards more renewable resources for our future energy and capital demands. Additionally, these competing resource demands and the various existing uses and ecological benefits of our oceans call for greater attention to marine and ocean planning efforts . If you're not already engaged in this issue, now's a good time to educate yourself on coal exports and learn more about our existing environmental policies. Below are a couple of stories and documentaries in the making about the cultural, environmental and political considerations of coal export, learn more how you can help out and check out these films:
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