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Natural Life Magazine May/June 2007 People who participate in action sports like skiing, surfing, snowboarding and BMX cycling can be among the first to notice polluted water and landscapes. However, these so-called extreme sports can cause problems for the environment, often using eco-unfriendly practices and materials. Surfing is a good example of the problems surrounding extreme sports. Surfers, who cultivate a groovy image that speaks of living simply on pristine beaches, are often made ill from navigating raw sewage discharged into oceans near their favorite beaches. On the other hand, the toxic nature of surfboard manufacturing, which has included urethane, fiberglass and polyester resin, has become a well-known downside to the sport. In 2005, the primary supplier of polyurethane foam “blanks” for surfboards went out of business, rumored to be under investigation for poor environmental practices and having been sued by the widow of a former worker, who claimed her husband died from exposure to toluene diisocyanate at the factory. The company’s demise created a temporary inconvenience and price hike for surfers; it has also spurred innovation into the use of alternative materials for surfboard construction. Some manufacturers have been using epoxy resins in place of polyester resins, resulting in about 75 percent fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs.) Epoxy resin has made the use of polystyrene possible, which can be, theoretically at least, recycled. Other companies have developed boards that use a woven bamboo mat in place of fiberglass cloth. Hemp is being pursued as another alternative component of eco-friendly surfboards. Some users claim hemp-based surfboards are as good, if not better, than fibreglas ones. In 2006, a company based in Nicaragua and the UK, called Ocean Green, won an award for green surfboard manufacturing with its EcoFoil boards, which are made in a Fair Trade environment entirely from natural materials like FSC-certified sustainably forested balsa wood and organically grown hemp cloth. No matter what the impact of the board, a surfer needs clean beaches at which to surf. And that’s the aim of the Surfrider Foundation, an organization founded in 1984 in California by four surfers determined to protect their favorite surfing area from a proposed seawall.... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition, which includes access to this and other back issues. Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with over 30 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Visit her website. |
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