Bummer, Dude. Global Warming Will Swallow Good Surfing Beaches.

“It may seem that stronger storms and swells would be a boon to surfers. But as with many aspects of living in a changing climate, the outlook is far more complicated.

As a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey predicts, by 2100 many of Southern California’s most popular surfing spots could be subsumed beneath rising seas. Others could simply wash away.” 

— “California May Lose Popular Surfing Spots to Rising Seas,” Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian

West Coast surfers will have to hit the beaches of North Carolina, where sea level change is against the law.

More:

“Will Climate Change Wipe Out Surfing?” Sam Kornell, Pacific Standard

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-pEV

Image (“The Great Wipeout Off Kanagawa, after Hokusai”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Climate Change and Surfing: It’s a Bummer, Dude.

Climate change means extreme weather. When it’s stormy there will be some monster waves, but there will also be long periods of flat water. The really bad news is that climate warming causes sea level rise:

“Even a foot change in the tide line can mean the difference between great and mediocre waves…. Researchers believe sea levels could rise six inches by 2030, and a foot by 2050, or more.”

Except in North Carolina, of course, where sea level change is against the law.

At beaches where the water has a sandy bottom, there will still be some slope and maybe some decent wave formation. Where the bottom is rocky or made of coral, the outlook is not so good.

More:

“Will Climate Change Wipe Out Surfing?” Sam Kornell, Pacific Standard

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-dO7

Image (“The Great Wipeout Off Kanagawa, after Hokusai”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Surf’s Up: America’s Most Bacterial Beaches

Summer’s here, and microbes are cavorting in the waves at beaches across the country. If you like to body-surf with bacteria and paddle through pathogens, the Natural Resources Defense Council has your itinerary ready. It’s their annual Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches.

Call the local visitor’s bureau before you pack the car, though. At a time when great white sharks terrorize bathers on both coasts, some spoil-sport health agencies close down beaches just because some teeny critters might cause stomach flu, skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, meningitis, and hepatitis. Wimps.

More:

“America’s Dirtiest Beaches,” Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-dzl

Image (“The Great Wipeout Off Kanagawa, after Hokusai”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Surf Munich!

Germany has an active surfing scene, and its capital is Munich. That’s pretty amazing, since the Bavarian city is nowhere near the ocean. Wet-suited enthusiasts surf a well-formed wave in the Eisbach River in Englischer Gartens park. Munich has a surf festival, a surfing magazine, a surfer bar, and a surfboard company (be sure to get the right fin for riversurfing).

Aloha, Terps

The “Mighty Sound of Maryland” marching band rode a wave of sound out of college park into TV land recently. The University of Maryland musicians won a contest by performing the theme song of televison’s “Hawaii Five-O” with appropriate precision formations:

Big Wave Weekend

Spectators at Saturday’s Mavericks Surf Contest  in California came out to see big waves, and they got them — up close and personal.  50-foot waves crushed the awards ceremony stand, swamped the sound system, and sent a dozen spectators to the hospital.  Surf’s up, dudes.

South African Chris Bertish won the “Super Bowl of Surfing” and the $50,000 prize.

Image (“The Great Wipeout Off Kanagawa, after Hokusai”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Spring Break Surfin’

College students: Spring Break is a good time for reflection, especially in the hours after your hangover lifts but before your parents wire your bail money. Take this moment to reconsider your life goals. The economy is at low tide, and who knows what jobs (if any) will be available when you graduate? Fight despair and follow your waves of passion. Declare a new major: surfing.

Giving fresh meaning to the phrase “college boards.” the folks at Surfline have hit the beach with a list of the ten best colleges for surfers.

The rankings: