Totally Awesome Lobbyists

by Annie Scott
February 16, 2010

Here’s what’s going on in a land far away but not so far apart from the Mitten …

Picture a surfer. What does he (or she) look like? Sound like? Act like?

If you’ve ever seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High, then I’m guessing you’re picturing Jeff Spicoli (quite possibly Sean Penn’s most memorable character of all time). Come on, admit it.

Even if you’re not picturing that infamous airhead “surfer dude” stereotype, others are. For years that has been the most commercially available portrait of a surfer — the dumb, bleach-blond Southern California guy with a lazy attitude and even less ambition. He frequently says things like “Totally awesome,” “Radical” and “Dude” in that annoying accent.

When I moved to the San Diego area a few years ago, I wondered how many of these Spicoli types actually populated Southern California’s coastal communities.

To be sure, there are a few. But the vast majority of the surfing-adept do not fit the Spicoli mold. Away from the beach, you can’t exactly pick the surfers out by sight. They might be in a business suit or doctor scrubs or construction gear. They might be your dental hygienist, accountant or the teacher next door. They have their own vernacular, but their vocabularies aren’t limited to “Totally” and “Gnarly.” And some of their extracurricular activities might come as a surprise.

A growing number of surfers out here are actually a more-bronzed breed of lobbyist.

They don’t go to Capitol Hill or Sacramento in their board shorts and flipflops (though wouldn’t that make for a charming photo-op?). They trade their wetsuits for business suits and employ legal and scientific know-how to advocate for change.

What do they care about most? Planet Earth. Clean water. Conservation and protection, especially of surf breaks. Pollution prevention. And so on.

In contrast to the more extreme, vigilante style of some environmental groups (read: Greenpeace), grassroots organizations like Surfrider Foundation take a more practical approach to activism.

The Surfrider Foundation was started in Malibu in 1984 by a group of “visionary” surfers who teamed up to protect a local surf break. Today their activities focus primarily on protecting beaches and ocean waters through legal challenges to harmful coastal development (yes, there are plenty of surfing lawyers), beach clean-ups, environmental and water safety education, and advocacy to “protect our oceans, waves and beaches.” They work to preserve the right of low-impact, free and open access to the world’s waves and beaches for all people.

A couple of summers ago, a friend of mine was working as a legal intern at Surfrider’s national office in San Clemente. I was impressed by his stories about how accomplished and passionate his coworkers were. Their backgrounds were all so different, but they were united by their love of the ocean and surfing. It is hard to imagine a cooler office environment than one that understands employees’ need to surf on lunch breaks or have flexible hours on “epic” wave days.

Surfing isn’t solely for those on the ocean coasts, though; it is also alive and well in the Great Lakes.

Given their unique climate and water conditions, the Great Lakes are host to a unique brand of surfer. A die-hard, fearless human with few qualms about being submersed and tossed about in hypothermic conditions, the Great Lakes surfer takes the sport to another level. Serious Great Lakes surfers routinely dodge ice chunks as they paddle through frigid water, in chilling air temperatures and icy winds. Although there are legions of hard-core surfers on the west coast, even some of them, when checking out Great Lakes winter surfing photos, simply say, “Those dudes are crazy.”

The surfing bug isn’t the only thing to spread from West Coast to Fresh Coast. A burgeoning movement of environmental activism in the surfing community has also expanded in the Mitten.

It led Grand Haven resident Vince Deur to start the Lake Michigan Chapter of Surfrider Foundation (one of 90 chapters worldwide) in 2007. As an avid surfer and maker of the film Unsalted, Deur is passionate about the health of the Great Lakes and the right of Michiganders and other residents in the region to enjoy them without having to compromise their health.

In that regard, Deur is also working the lobbyist role these days. News reports cited him as the lone surfer invited by the Healing Our Waters Coalition to lobby with 100 business leaders, lobbyists and activists in Washington on Great Lakes Day.

It’s no wonder surfers care so much about keeping the planet’s oceans and lakes healthy. They’re the ones most likely to get sick first when water is contaminated from storm runoff or other pollution. As I mentioned in a previous column, they are the “canaries in the coal mines” of water quality (a term coined by public radio). It’s only natural that they should take an active interest in protecting their own health by protecting the health of the lakes. And all of us benefit.

Not surprisingly, Surfrider CEO Jim Moriarty is pictured in the organization’s publications wearing a wetsuit and clutching a board. But his message is one calling primarily for environmental activism in local communities.

Surfrider has many successes behind it. Nationwide victories include:

• Securing approval of the federal BEACH Act in 2000 to require a uniform national water quality monitoring, reporting and beach-posting program;
• Winning the second largest Clean Water Act suit in American history in 1991, brought against two pulp mills in Humboldt County, California, that were charged with over 40,000 violations of the law;
• Mapping the location of storm drain outfalls at coastal beaches for use in city planning and regional water quality control boards;
• Educating thousands of school children on beach safety, coastal pollution and beach ecology.

The young Lake Michigan chapter already has had success of its own. The members’ efforts recently overturned a 30-year surfing ban at all Chicago area beaches. They also are leading a charge to implement a “first of its kind” water quality testing program in partnership with Grand Valley State University and the Norcross Wildlife Foundation.

When it comes right down to it, surfers’ media image can actually work for their cause. Writing in the latest issue of Transworld Surf magazine, Matt McClain explains:

“By and large, surfers are looked upon with mock and amusement from the powers that be…However, all these people…seem to think that just because we get painted like flaky apathetic burnouts, that we are going to act that way…It always catches them off guard when it’s surfers who end up throwing a wrench in their [latest development] plans.”

The Surfrider folks and their supporters — in California and Michigan — seem to have mastered the work-life balance of living and protecting their passion. In the immortal words of Jeff Spicoli, they are, like, totally awesome.

Annie Scott lives and works in San Diego and sends dispatches back to her beloved Michigan.