Malibu Surfrider Beach – Declared World’s First Surfing Reserve (WSR)!

westla_malibu — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:55:44 +0000

Malibu Surfrider Beach, California’s definitive pointbreak and one of the world’s first ‘perfect waves’ will be declared the first World Surfing Reserve (WSR).

“The WSR program, inspired by UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, helps the surfing community to identify and preserve surfing heritage through their important surf breaks. Malibu makes any short list of the world’s most famous beaches, and remains a reference point for much of what we think of as style in or out of the water,” stated Michael Blum, President of the Malibu Surfing Association.

Following World War II, Malibu helped established directions in technology, surfing style, and the image of the sport that are still followed today. It remains a transcendent name: included in more than 75 surfing films, representative of a Southern California lifestyle, and represented by name on any number of products and businesses.

This designation of Malibu is the first in a series of World Surfing Reserves planned for the iconic surfing coastlines of Australia, Hawaii and numerous other areas worldwide. World Surfing Reserves are nominated through a selection process and currently there are dozens of proposed WSRs covering nearly every continent on the planet.

The enshrinement ceremony for the Malibu World Surfing Reserve will be held at Surfrider Beach on October 9th. There will be a paddle-out celebration, daytime media event, and evening fundraiser to celebrate this special occasion. The October 9th event will also mark the commencement of a stewardship and preservation plan for Malibu aimed at building general awareness around the importance of protecting the world’s greatest, most cherished surf spots.

Ban the Bag! What you can do!

westla_malibu — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:12:17 +0000

Did you know Californians throw away 294,000,000 pounds of plastic bags every year, or 147,000 tons – enough waste to circle the planet over 250 times.

Surfrider, Heal the Bay, Environment California, Clean Seas Coalition and many other groups are working hard this summer to to pass bag ban bill AB 1998 in California! The final vote will take place in mid-August by your California Senators.

HOW YOU CAN HELP BAN THE BAG IN CALIFORNIA THIS SUMMER

1. Sign the petition below and send to your friends and family all over California to do the same before Aug. 10th: http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1827

2. Post the link to the petition above on your social networking sites from now until Aug 10th.

3. Ask your business owners to write a letter of support to your local senator. (contact us below to send you a form letter)

4. Contact your local city officials to write letters of support to your local senator. Use the link below to find out who your senator is!

http://192.234.213.69/smapsearch/framepage.asp

5. Join us on August 10th in Sacramento with Surfrider and Clean Seas Coalition are planning a Sacramento Lobby Day in the capitol, speaking to Senators about the issue of plastic bags and showing your support from the bill.

6. Take a picture of support of the Bag Ban and post to the Surfrider West LA/Malibu Facebook page. These photos will be used to support the campaign!

7. Plan a ‘Rise Above Plastics Educational Presentation’ to your work, school, church or community group. The presentation is given by volunteers of Surfrider so it’s complimentary. We also have student presenters from Green Ambassadors. Please inquire for more info.

For more information, please contact: jschulz@riseaboveplastics.org

Free Music Download Launch Party – Benefiting WLAM!

westla_malibu — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 06:10:47 +0000

Action Alerts in SOCAL!

westla_malibu — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:26:55 +0000

TOP ACTION ALERTS IN SOCAL:

Rise Above Plasticss – Support AB 1998 – to support new legislation to reduce plastic bag litter. – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1827

Oil Drilling – Action Alert – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1727

Support Goleta’s New Plan – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2003

Hands Across the Sand – Mulitiple Locations in LA! Join us!

westla_malibu — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:30:52 +0000

ACTION ALERT – Help Reduce Single-Use Bags

westla_malibu — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:35:20 +0000

We need your help. There is an important piece of legislation working its way through Sacramento that would ban single-use bags at stores of a certain size (”Mom and Pops” would not be affected). Here’s what the legislation will do and why it’s needed, on a fact sheet that you can read or download. Single-use plastics choke out creeks, streams, rivers and kill aquatic and marine life. This type of legislation has been proposed before but has died in committee because the plastics industry and their lobbyists have long held sway over Sacramento. It’s time to change that and here are some easy steps you can take with the simplest ways first! Please take a moment and help.

Sign on to one or all of these action alerts from our friend:

Environment California

Heal the Bay

Californians Against Waste

Contact the Bill Sponsor and/or your legislators expressing your support (you can use our suggested language below and click, copy and paste)

Dear ________,

I am writing to you, as a member/supporter of Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter (”Surfrider”) to urge passage of The Single-Use Bag Reduction Act (AB 1998). For the last several years, Surfrider has been engaged in a highly-active campaign entitled “Rise Above Plastics,” (RAP) with the mission to reduce the impacts of plastic in the marine environment by raising awareness of the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the increase of recycling of all plastics.

AB 1998, as amended, would ban plastic single-use carryout bags and regulate paper carryout bags at supermarkets, retail pharmacies, and convenience stores throughout the state. Already, San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax, and Palo Alto have banned plastic bags and at least 20 more cities in California are considering this approach. Rather than taking a piecemeal city-by-city approach, AB 1998 will create one uniform policy for addressing all types of single-use bags (including paper bags which contribute to deforestation ads waste intensive processes) to encourage consumers to use reusable bags, the most sustainable alternative. I am requesting that you individually support and send a letter of support to the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Julia Bromley.

As a governmental leader whose decisions directly affect the health of our ocean and waterways, you should be aware of the environmental AND economic impact of plastic bag pollution in inland, coastal communities and in our statewide oceans. Californians use an estimated 19 billion single-use plastic bags every year. The state spends $25 million annually to clean up and landfill these littered bags and this figure does not even include the over $300 million that local governments continually to spend to clean littered streets and waterways.

With a staggering less than 5% of single-use plastic bags are currently being recycled, most of these bags end up in our landfills or as litter, clog storm drain systems, and make their way to our waterways and ocean. An estimated 60–80% of all marine debris is plastic. Plastic lasts for hundreds of years and may never biodegrade in the ocean. As a result, it poses a persistent threat to wildlife, and is making it’s way up the food chain – to us. AB 1998 is a first step in addressing this problem.

The State of California has a critical role to play in becoming a leader in eliminating waste from single-use bags and preventing the proliferation of marine debris. The passage of AB 1998 is a first step in achieving these sound environmental policy goals and showing leadership in statewide environmental protection. I again strongly urge that you support this vital piece of legislation.

Sincerely,

Name

Full Address

WLAM Scores Victory By Preventing Seawall At Surfrider Beach!

westla_malibu — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:51:30 +0000

Members of the WLAM Chapter, together with other organizations, scored a Surfrider Foundation victory by successfully removing a proposed seawall from the planned replacement of the septic tanks at Malibu Surfrider Beach.

In 2007, County Public Works put forward a project to update septic systems at 15 bathrooms at Zuma, Point Dume, Topanga Beach, and Surfrider Beach.

To prevent septic effluent connecting to the ocean during very large storm events (1% or 100-year storms), Public Works proposed the construction of a barrier seawall — 90′ long, 25′ deep, and 3′ under the sand.

Seawalls go against ocean and beach stewardship principles promoted by the Surfrider Foundation. Among those reasons, West LA/Malibu Chapter members were worried that, during high surf or with sea level rises in the future, the ocean would come into contact more frequently with the seawall, reflecting incoming waves back into the surfzone, and spoiling the shape of the beautiful waves that make Surfrider Beach world-famous.

Working collaboratively with LACo Public Works, LACo Beaches and Harbors, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Baykeeper, the Malibu Surfing\ Association, and the office of LACo Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (3 rd District), WLAM volunteers were able reconfigure the septic system in such a way that a seawall was no longer necessary.

A win for the environment. A win for taxpayers. And a win for surfers. Stay involved!

Sign the petition that still is still live here – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=319.

Clean Water At The ‘Bu – UPDATE

westla_malibu — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:15:48 +0000

It was exactly six months ago today that 100+ activists filled the seats of a packed hearing room at the Metropolitan Water District in Downtown Los Angeles; gathering in the middle of the week to demand clean water in Lower Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, and at world-famous Surfrider Beach. They came seeking a solution, unified by a passion to preserve this place and a concern for its chronic water quality problem. Many wore shirts and buttons with the simple but meaningful message: “Clean Water at the Bu.” The result? Following 8 long hours of testimony from these activists as well as city officials, scientists, and others, the Los Angeles Regional Water Board took historic measures to protect water quality in Malibu: amending their master plan (Basin Plan) to prohibit and phase out septic tanks in the city’s Civic Center Area. Commercial properties will comply by 2015, and residential properties by 2019. What comes next? Good question. Making this change a reality is still in process. The Regional Board’s Basin Plan amendment must be reviewed and approved by the State Water Board in Sacramento. Since the November 2009 hearing, the Regional Board has finalized their amendment and has sent their findings, and other supporting materials, to the State Board. State Board Staff have initiated their review with an, as yet, unscheduled date for a presentation to the full State Board. We continue to be in touch with State Board staff and monitor their progress. Surfrider WLAM, along with our partners Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Baykeeper, and the Malibu Surfing Association, will keep working to ensure that we, at last, have Clean Water at the Bu.

Stay involved! Sign the petition that still is still live here – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=319.

LOOK FOR OUR UPCOMING UPDATES!

Vote for Environmental Charter High School

xavier — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:35:11 +0000

Congratulations to the students at Environmental Charter High School! Their school has been recognized by President Obama as one of six leading schools in the nation and has invited them to submit a video to compete with five other schools to have him deliver their graduation speech. Within the week, a video they produced will be posted on www.whitehouse.gov/commencement.

Please VOTE TO HAVE PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAK AT THEIR GRADUATION. Voting will only last three days and the date hasn’t been set yet, so add them on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Environmental Charter High School students founded the first ever Surfrider Rise Above Plastics student speaker group. Last year, these students got 7,000+ people in Los Angeles to Rise Above Plastics by delivering educational and inspiring presentations. This year they have trained another group of students at Westridge High School to do the same. They are rewriting the story of education, and of the planet.

The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water

xavier — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:42:55 +0000

The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water is a short, animated film made by a collaboration of creative and dedicated volunteers at The Surfrider Foundation. Several local Surfrider Foundation chapters combined their talents and funds to create the film — and then actress Zuleikha Robinson of Lost, generously agreed to narrate it.

The premise of the film is that the water cycle we all learned about in the 4th grade has been dramatically altered over time, leaving us with a broken system that wastes water and energy, pollutes our natural waterways, harms critical marine life, and poorly deals with flooding and other water management problems. The film serves to take a holistic look at water management, highlight controversial problems, and suggest solutions that integrate multiple economic and environmental benefits. The intended audience includes entire communities: from homeowners and the general public, to public agencies and elected government officials.