"This is a win-win situation!"
Surfers have a rep for being pro-environment. A remnant of the long-gone counter-culture days of the early seventies.
It ain’t true.
But still we diligently affix Big Oil Don’t Surf stickers on our SUVs and write passionate screeds on Instagram posts criticising government for inaction on climate change and for its use of fossil fuels while celebrating energy and water guzzling wave pools built on parched inland soil.
We buy boards, we bust ‘em, we throw ‘em away.
Our bodies are wrapped in cheap cottons and nylons made in Bangladeshi hellholes for “surf companies” owned by venture capitalists, profit-at-all-cost villains who have no idea of the beauty and brilliance of nature.
The pro-environment thing is, therefore, a chimera, a mask we wear for whatever reason, surfer identity, ignorance.
Now, a project by a New Zealand company, exposes surfers for what we are, as heroic butchers of the natural world.
As reported by Newsroom’s wonderful lead investigations editor, Melanie Reid, (mama of Elliot Paerata Reid, wild shredder from our time-travel wetsuit movie a couple of years back).
Ambitiously named World Wave Project (WWP), the company plans to dig up sections of coral reefs off the remote Qamea and Taveuni Islands in Fiji in what it describes as a “world leading project” to create “a world class wave”.
In its own public consultation submission, WWP boasted it believed the planned waves would bring in 200 tourists per day spending $1000 per day across 300 days, “creating long term employment.”
The proposed development, at two sites near Qamea, would use a jack-up barge mounted with an excavator to dig two channels through coral reefs in a region globally renowned for its pristine waters and popular diving.
In an extensive and highly polished list of ready-to-go answers on the company’s website, rationale for the project is described as follows:
“The surfing population has exploded in the last few decades. As a result, the number of quality surfing locations around the world have become more crowded; the demand for surf breaks is massive and continually increasing, forcing surfers to travel further and consume more resources for the same surfing experience. We believe that creating more waves will lead to more surfers and more stewards of our oceans.”
And,
Brings to mind the New Zealand-born reporter Petey Arnett’s quote from the Vietnam war, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it!”
Heroic butchers, yes?
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Todays generations even just after and even part of my generation, gen x, and because of the birth of the internet ppl would latch on to these heroic causes and pile on, thanks to internet, and thanks to internet facilitating these sudden pile ons the power that came with large numbers of ppl promoting a cause or protesting one it was an effective tool and often got some kind of a result but over the years it has become less about passion for the cause and more about being seen pretending to care much like how democrats are all about appearances they project one face of equality and electric power defund this whatever the mob wants to hear thats what they are told but then behind the scenes doing whatever it takes and not giving a crap they care only about how they look not what they do, and since the days of flower child hippies fighting for what they believed in living the life they marched for today activists are nothing more than actors, and oportunists, more anarchist than activist, ppl who would rather fight against you or i than fight for their cause .perfect example would be BLM who have completely abandoned protesting police brutality against blacks by standing in solidarity with their oppressed brothers and sisters to shed light on the injustice and open ppls eyes to this apparent reality. instead it has become nothing but an excuse to go sack the city’s and loot whatever isnt bolted down and in the end only prove to the world that maybe police are handling the situation the best way possible and that we have given far too much credit or support to causes we know nothing about personally and only support them because of how it looks either for or against we live our lives and do everything we do these days according to how it will look or be preceived by others, and lack any meaningful connection to the cause we claim to be outraged over.
From the swellnet forums apparently these con artists are threatening the website with a defamation court case.
Not one of the numerous artificial reefs they’ve built anywhere in the world actually creates surfable waves. Mt Maunganui (my home), UK, several others worth googling. They are con artists with scientific degrees. I’m lucky enough to have dived in Fiji an unforgettable experience, water as clear as air and full of life. These beautiful reefs should be protected and preserved not destroyed for foreigners shitty vanity projects.
According to certain politicians Climate Change™ is going to kill me in 11 years so…
Some need to step their game up, for what they are bidding.
Inaction on climate change? What do you want them to do, arrest people flying? You’re all a bunch of freedom hating communists.
Reading the responses below, I feel like DR would be getting the same pleasure as a good pinch and roll of ones sack.
Which one of you poor bastard$ has a $1,000 dollars a day just to surf?
This article needs a trigger warning.
Every virtue signaling surfer in the world is chiming in on this.
Xi figured out a way to reduce his dependent population.
It just so happened to lead to a worldwide pandemic but since “capitalists” like Tim Cook are giving the ChiComs nine figures no one is going to hold him accountable.
Dick heads
The track record says we don’t have to worry about this happening.
That is a big NO! Money is never more important than saving our habitat. I am not a tree hugger but this as very real stupidity.
I am Tuhoe from Aotearoa. I don’t know who these people from New Zealand are but that is not your home. You leave Fiji and their land alone. Maori would never come up with shit like this. Take out a coral reef? Is that for its value for so called jewelleries and such. Disgusting people. What about the marine life that depend on that area for certain foods to get by for that peticular season. This world is suffering and so are we, because of idiots running around with too much money trying to claim shit that ain’t theirs. Hear me when I say this. It’s the man with the money that is poor. Not the man with the land. Get it right. I’m so mad.
You are missing out on one of life’s great pleasures.
After Marcunti tried to come on here (before deleting all his comments) calling people names and just saying its all lies with nothing behind it other than his words, you guys need to keep on this Chas and Derek. Keep hammering these leeches until they decide to explain the reasoning behind this other than money or they go away. You guys go after completely worthless stories (Jonah Hill and Chas’ Whoop and fathering), here is a chance to go after something that will keep moving and keep people interested.
Bro. Have you had the Two Cheeseburger Meal?
who did they sell the 1000 a day by 200 hungy surfers for 300 days to ? even the wolf of wall street after a double hit of meth would have a sparkle in his eye verbalizing this call, that’s a potential cool 60 million up for grabs if they get the onland sheepfucking sexshow up and running
THIS IS NOT SMART. THIS IS A GET RICH QUICK SCEAM FOR THE COMPANIES. THE COMPANIES ARE JUST GOING TO REEK HAVIC ON THAT AREAS ENVIRONMENT. MEAN WHILE THE COUNTRIES PEOPLE ARE TEMPERARILY SATIFIED TIL THE NEXT HOTSPOT IS FOUND. ONCE FOUND AND THE REVENUE IS DRY THE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE LEFT WITH THE CLEAN AND ASKING FOR HELP TO THEM OUT OF THE WHOLE THEIR IN!
I AM NOT A SURFER BUT, I DO KNOW HOW PRECIOUS OUR WORLD IS, AND WHAT DAMAGE WE’VE ALREADY DONE!
Man and his money. Fuck up the planet.