Surfing in Trash

Not caring about the quality of the beaches in low income areas when there's a big press to keep tourist beaches clean makes room for an argument based on Rachel Carson’s environmental justice movement, though at its core is a movement for people's rights. One thing that is important that relates to carson’s work on the environment is the planet isn’t put before the people which has been happening more as sustainability becomes more mainstream. While it's important to care and work towards a better environment but to me this is only to achieve development focused on people or to allow a greater number of individuals to achieve the good life. Which is exactly where the intersection of Schumacher and Carson’s work tie into my creative visual response. This image is from Zak Noyle and represents a love and movement that got me into sustainability and lead me to where I am now. But also connects with the key principles of sustainability. For me the love of nature came through the beach and ocean instead of the forest like Thoreau. But ultimately the love and respect is the same. Being held under by a wave vastly more powerful than you and pressed to the point of starting to drown is comparable to Walden Ponds harsh winter and the utmost respect for nature you have after surviving. You can shape your own board out of “borrowed resources from nature” which is seemingly your cabin that wouldn’t have been possible to build without the wood from the land. Maybe I am stretching things but this is truly how I see it. Surfing is truly a decentralized movement or story. It is powerful in the way it allows any partaker to create their own story through surfing. Every wave is a blank page that can be filled with anything your heart desires. As partakers in surfing or people who support the sustainability movement we are obligated to protect what we love and ensure that it the future generations have the capabilities to meet their needs and seek their good life. This image calls to question whether we are doing that or not. If this was your home break that was filled with heaps of plastic and other non biodegradable products would you care more?
Sustainable Development requires one to think outside of what you were taught, to be willing to lay all the facts down and make an informed decision. It asks to think from an angle of both the village and villager instead of an educated well informed first world citizen. This has changed my thoughts on knowing what's best for those in third world countries to hearing their problems, wants, and needs. It has taught me to respect the land and others when I am in foreign soil and to make sure I leave the place better than how it was if I got there even if that's just picking up one piece of trash on my way out. This makes tackling issues like waste distancing more accessible and easier to manage though that trash still has to go somewhere which is another problem for another time. In the end, regardless of your stance on consumption and waste its hard to disagree that the outcomes of production, consumption, and waste totally ruin this photo op and the surf spot in general. Who wants to surf in trash?

Jordan Palmer

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