Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
waterlust.com / @abamabam
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
waterlust.com / @oceanraysphotography
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.
The perpetual disaster has direct, negative consequences on our local economy, tourism, marine life and growing public health concerns for residents of San Diego County. A problem that has remained dormant for many years has come into the spotlight in recent months due to the direct effect it is having on U.S. Border Patrol agents and, consequently, our national security.
A trip to the Tijuana River Valley with public lands liaison agent Amber Craig, supervisory border patrol agent Bill Rogers and Chris Harris, the secretary and director of Legislative & Political Affairs for the National Border Patrol Council, was indicative of the devastation to the area. Conditions were far less than ideal for the agents working in the Tijuana River Valley—and even worse for those without homes living amidst the sewage and rubbish on either side of the border. Nauseated daily by foul smells and constant exposure to toxins, metals, and raw sewage, many border patrol agents have been concerned about long-term health complications. In fact, some agents are keeping daily health records to document their respiration disturbances and rashes. Even cases of Hepatitis A, MRSA, and flesh-eating bacteria have been linked to exposure in the South Bay.
Former Border Patrol agent Joshua Wiley recalls symptoms of the necrotizing fasciitis—a flesh eating bacteria— he contracted in 2010 from the contaminated waters off of Coronado during training.
In fact, Joshua Willey, former Border Patrol agent, was permanently disabled due to a flesh-eating bacteria he contracted in April 2010, while training in the waters off Coronado after a heavy rain. At the time, Joshua assumed that he had an overuse injury due to rigorous physical training. Perseverance and determination kept Willey from being sent home, since this type of training was meant to clear some agents out. By day 11 of a 30-day intensive academy, Willey said "the pain got worse and started spreading down into my arm, and down in my chest area. I woke up in the barracks confused, with night sweats, the shakes, and didn't feel right." The next day, Willey was sent home and went straight to bed. He woke up later that night to use the bathroom and ended up on his floor—after suffering a febrile seizure. He was transported, by ambulance, to the hospital, where he recalled his arm swelling to "the size of a volleyball." Doctors told his family that his arm may have to be amputated, but that fortunately was avoided after a successful emergency surgery. After his operation, and a series of blood tests, it was revealed that he contracted necrotizing fasciitis—a flesh eating bacteria—from the contaminated waters off of Coronado.
Fenced border in Goat Canyon, where cross-border stormwater and sewage runoff collect on U.S. soil. Agents are required to physically check the gates, regardless of the presence or depth of contaminated water.
Border Patrol agents have taken precaution in some areas along the international border. "Many of the agents are told not to bring their boots and gear home." Said Craig. This is an effort to mitigate the possibilities of exposure to the families of the agents. At times, agents now wear face masks and gloves to protect themselves from the exposure to the hazardous waste. Craig noted that holes have burned through the soles of agents' boots and gloves in recent months, and agents are breaking out in rashes. "Whatever is in the water is damaging and eating away at our agents' boots. There appears to be chemicals or something in the wastewater."
U.S. Border Patrol agent shows a rash expected to be from contaminated water exposure.
Water quality testing commissioned by U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Division measures the level of fecal contamination in the wastewater that agents come in direct contact with, and the results are horrific. The Tijuana River bacteriological results from May 2018 (below) indicate levels of fecal indicator bacteria, E. coli, and fecal coliform that are literally thousands of times higher than national recreational exposure standards.
| Tijuana River Fecal Bateria Study Results, May 1, 2018 | ||
| Station | E. coli (MPN/100 mL) | Total Coliform (MPN/100 mL) |
| Public health standard | 235 | 10,000 |
| Drain 234-2 | 898.8 | 54,750 |
| IBWC gauge | 5,730 | 198,630 |
| Goat Canyon | 23,330,000 | 86,640,000 |
Water quality test results from May 1, 2018, provided by the Public Lands Liaison of the US Border Patrol, San Diego Sector.
Border Patrol agents knew the potential threats and inherent risks of guarding our country's Southern Border when signing up for training. "We could be shot at, get into a high speed chase, but didn't really sign up to be at risk from raw sewage." Noted Craig, With the warmer, summer months approaching, more threats to the agents are going to be lurking in the lowlands of the Tijuana River Valley. Mosquitoes spawning in this sewage present considerable health suspicions to Customs Border Patrol and the Public Health of San Diego County and beyond, as mosquito-transmitted viruses include West Nile, yellow fever, dengue and Zika.
Trash and debris collect at a border fence.
In addition to the health risks of contaminated water exposure, trash and debris wash down the Tijuana canyons during storm events, causing these streams to send sewage, chemicals, and solid waste into the marine environment. Gates and border walls can act as collection points for trash. To prevent flooding, agents are forced to open the gates of these collectors when it rains, leaving the busiest international border access in the world open to possible dangers and risks.
Hilly topography surrounding the Tijuana Rivery Valley form multiple stormwater and debris collection areas that eventually flow across the border.
Many residents, especially those in the South Bay communities, are longing for a solution to this enduring problem. Amber Craig, who has been with U.S.C.B.P for two decades, says that spills have been an issue for as long as she has been there. I asked her about a possible solution, since she is an expert on the crisis:
"All we can do is put a Band-Aid on it. The real problem is there is not a Band-Aid big enough. These problems keep getting bigger and bigger. It is going to have to happen at very high levels of government."
On May 15, Surfrider Foundation San Diego sent the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) a Notice of Intent to Sue for repeated violations of the Clean Water Act. The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) is the federal agency with the jurisdiction over transboundary flows of waste. Lack of foresight, management, leadership, priority and diplomacy has resulted in an IBWC that has not been proactive. Their stance is "we cannot do anything about it." However, they have also not yet considered the options or costs involved in mitigating contaminants that cross the border, or cleaning up when they happen. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching a diagnostic of possible solutions as a result of the February 2017 spill that should be completed by November. However, the IBWC should have been engaging in these sorts of diagnostics for the last decade.
"Clean water and healthy beaches are critical drivers of our coastal economies and provide over two million jobs and $114 billion in spending in the U.S. annually," said Firewire Surfboard CEO Mark Price. "As co-owner of a coastal business, offshore oil drilling makes no sense for the coasts, ocean, the planet, or our business."
Businesses dependent on a clean coastal environment are taking action to protect the ocean and coasts. On the East Coast, the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast consists of 41,000 businesses and 500,000 fishing families that are opposed to offshore oil drilling. The Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast also recently launched with more than 1,000 members.
Pete Stauffer (above) is the environmental director of the Surfrider Foundation. Surfrider Foundation
"The health of our ocean and beaches is critical to support our nation's coastal tourism, recreation and fishing industries, which are significant contributors to the U.S. economy," said Roger Spatz, president of Reef and Eagle Creek. "At Reef, we see offshore oil drilling as a clear danger to coastal economies, communities and our ocean, waves and beaches. We will continue to stand up and work to keep them protected and pristine for future generations."
Opposition to offshore drilling also includes bipartisan representation. Republicans and Democrats have called for the administration to reverse its position on new drilling, including:
● Governors from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, California, Oregon and Washington all announced their opposition to offshore oil drilling.
● 37 senators, most of whom represent coastal states affected by the proposal, sent a letter to Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke expressing strong opposition to the department's plans to expand offshore drilling to new areas.
● Florida's entire federal delegation of 29 lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis expressing concerns over expanded offshore drilling.
● 16 federal lawmakers from the Pacific Northwest sent a letter to Zinke opposing offshore drilling off Oregon and Washington.
● More than 150 municipalities on the East Coast and West Coast have passed resolutions against offshore drilling.
● The California Senate, California State Lands Commission, California Fish & Game Commission and California Coastal Commission have all passed resolutions against offshore drilling.
"I believe the potential consequences of offshore drilling and exploration outweigh the possible benefit," said New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith (R-4th Dist). "In short, New Jersey's pristine beaches, marine ecosystem and economy are far too important to take a chance on drilling."
Even when there is not a spill and everything goes "right," the process of oil drilling releases thousands of gallons of polluted water into the ocean, called drilling muds. These muds are generally unregulated and contain toxins such as benzene, zinc, arsenic, radioactive materials and other contaminants. High concentrations of metals have been found around drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, and a study by the Pew Charitable Trust concluded that a single oil well discharges up to 2,000 tons of waste material.
"Our nation's coastal tourism, recreation and fishing industries, which are built around clean water and healthy beaches, provide 12 times as many jobs as that created by offshore drilling," said Pete Stauffer, environmental director for the Surfrider Foundation. "We will continue to work together with the many businesses, communities, and elected officials that have already demonstrated opposition against the expansion of destructive new oil drilling to fight for the protection of our ocean, coasts and communities for the future."
'Not a Single Drop': California to Block Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan https://t.co/EAyrGEBkeW @greenpeaceusa @Sierra_Magazine @foe_us— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1518128409.0
"Our ocean, waves and beaches are vital recreational, economic and ecological treasures to our coastal communities that will be polluted by new offshore oil drilling, regardless of whether or not there is a spill," said Dr. Chad Nelsen, CEO of the Surfrider Foundation. "Without a massive mobilization by coastal communities around the country in opposition to new offshore drilling, our voice will be drowned out by the lobbying power of Big Oil in Washington, DC."
New offshore drilling would threaten thousands of miles of coastline and billions in GDP, for a relatively small amount of oil. Ocean tourism and recreation, worth an estimated $100 billion annually nationwide, provides 12 times the amount of jobs to the U.S. economy, compared to offshore production. Even under the best-case scenario, America's offshore oil reserves would provide only about 920 days, or 18 months supply of oil at our current rate of consumption, according to federal agency estimates.
"Tourism drives our local economy, and the approval of offshore drilling poses a huge threat to the livelihood and quality of life in our beach community," said Nicole D.C. Kienlen, tourism director of Bradley Beach, New Jersey. "The effects would be devastating on multiple levels."
Even when there are no accidents, offshore oil drilling seriously pollutes our water and food supply at every stage. The ground penetration, the drilling, the rigs, and the transportation tankers all release toxic chemicals and leaked oil. The standard process of drilling releases thousands of gallons of polluted water into the ocean. High concentrations of metals have been found around drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and have been shown to accumulate in fish, mussels and other seafood.
Fortunately, any attempt by the Trump Administration to revise the 2017-2022 Offshore Drilling Plan will require an extensive review process with multiple opportunities for public input. Surfrider's grassroots network is both ready and motivated to stand up for the protection of our nation's coastlines!
Last year, Surfrider chapters on the East Coast played an instrumental role in reversing the Obama administration's plans to open the Atlantic to new oil drilling. Through raising awareness about the impacts of offshore drilling and building opposition from coastal businesses and communities, Surfrider and our partners prevailed in protecting the Atlantic. Now, we must rally once again to stop new oil rigs off our coasts!
Please join our campaign to stop new offshore drilling off U.S. coastlines. See below to learn how you can take action.
- Send an email to your federal leaders by completing this action alert.
- Call your representatives in congress to tell them to oppose new offshore drilling! Find your member's phone numbers here: Senate and House.
- Join the Ocean Recreation Hill Day February 15-16, 2018 and find out more here.
- Participate in Hands Across the Sand on May 19th to demonstrate grassroots opposition to new oil and gas development click here.
- Visit Surfrider's Stop New Offshore Drilling campaign page click here.
Pete Stauffer is the environmental director for the Surfrider Foundation.
About 40 percent of our nation resides along America's unique coastlines. Healthy beaches fuel coastal tourism and recreation economies that are worth more than $100 billion and provide 2.15 million jobs nationwide. However, beaches are disappearing at an alarming rate, due to both natural processes and human intervention. Coastal erosion causes approximately $500 million in coastal property loss annually in the U.S., including damage to structures and loss of land. To mitigate erosion impacts, the federal government spends an average of $150 million every year on beach replenishment and other shoreline erosion control measures. In addition, scientists predict that sea levels could potentially increase up to six feet by 2100, which would impact coastal economies, public access, recreation and healthy ecosystems.
In response, Surfrider has produced the State of the Beach Report Card to serve as a tool to empower concerned citizens to work with coastal municipalities and ensure that their local communities actively protect coastal resources. The report is also intended to provide a basis for decision-makers and agencies to form proactive, long-term solutions for increased coastal protection for the future.
Key Highlights
- Surfrider's report finds that only eight states are doing a "fair or better" job (e.g., earned grade of A or B based on relevant criteria) of protecting beaches.
- The states scoring higher had strong policies regarding coastal building setbacks, prohibitions against coastal armoring and rebuilding in coastal hazard areas, and support for incorporating sea level rise and coastal adaptation into planning documents.
- More than 22 states assessed are doing a "barely adequate to poor" job (with an earned grade of C or less). These states tend to have less stringent policies regarding development in hazardous coastal zones, sediment management, no prohibitions on coastal armoring, and/or little in the way of policies that require the incorporation of sea level rise projections into coastal planning.
- The latest science and frequent coastal damage from storms show that our nation's beaches are under siege and highly vulnerable to erosion.
- The report findings underscore why NOAA's Coastal Management Program must be adequately funded to support stewardship of our nation's beaches.
- Most of the states that experience extreme weather events lack solid coastal preservation and sea level rise policies.
As a result of the assessments and recommendations provided by Surfrider's State of the Beach Report Card, it is our responsibility to work together to drive awareness of the increasing challenges facing our nation's coasts and improve local, state and federal government responses to erosion and sea level rise, to protect our ocean, waves and beaches for the future.