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....
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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.
