A life cycle analysis conducted by Sustainable Surf and others shows that the materials used in an Ecoboard result in a 55% reduction in its carbon footprint over a conventional surfboard, for only about $100 more per board. “Literally overnight we could cut the environmental impact of the toxicity of our toys and keep things out of the landfill simply by switching to newer and better materials,” Stewart says. That, of course, also reduces boardmakers’ toxic exposure.

Still, no easy task given that the surf industry has been surprisingly slow to grapple with its carbon footprint. Sure, surfers and groups such as the Surfrider Foundation fight ocean pollution, and companies like Patagonia have long been leaders in sustainability. But the surf industry is like no other. Quiksilver ( ZQK – news – people ), Reef and other big apparel brands may dominate the bottom line, but it’s a group of iconoclastic surfboard craftsmen with names like Mayhem and Stretch and the elite pro surfers who ride their boards who create the image that sells surf couture.

For them it’s all about performance on the waves. A Nascar driver doesn’t particularly care how many miles per gallon his souped-up Chevy Malibu gets, and surfers likewise obsess about speed. For half a century that has meant building boards out of polyurethane, which accounts for about 74% of the market. EPS–expanded polystyrene–is a newer ­material that involves a more benign manufacturing process. EPS surfboards can also be made from recycled material, such as ubiquitous Styrofoam packaging. “It’s difficult to get some of those old-timers to switch and embrace the new technologies,” says Clay Peterson, an owner of Marko Foam, noting that his Irvine, Calif. company’s recycled Envirofoam “blank” (the precursor to a finished board) accounts for only 10% of current sales.

To change that mind-set, Stewart and Whilden are making deals with the big surf brands that sponsor top surfers and world tour contests as well as tapping a network of surfing executives from companies like Google ( GOOG – news – people ) and Disney ( DIS – news – people ) who serve on Sustainable Surf’s advisory board. Last fall Sustainable Surf helped slash the environmental impact of Rip Curl’s San Francisco Pro Search competition by diverting 90% of the waste generated. In April the Association of Surfing Professionals signed up Sustainable Surf to provide green guidelines for all North American pro events.

For the rest of the article and more Financial stories go to Forbes.com

Technically it wasn’t even Earth Day, but in our eyes, every day should be Earth Day. That said, last week at Buccaneer Beach in Oceanside we teamed up with Reef, Billabong Wetsuits, HDX Hydration Mix, Hayden Shapes, Waste To Waves, Global Surf Industries, Marko Foam, and a slew of eager friends and volunteers to clean up one of local beaches.

According to Reef President Jeff Moore the office was closed and they had 98% employee participation (leaving one to wonder what happened to the remaining 2%). A few of Reef’s local team riders showed up as well, including Nick Rozsa, Mike Losness, and Rob Machado. Rob dove headfirst into the clean up efforts and was spotted picking up cigarette butts bare handed. While Rob’s efforts are commendable, he was one-upped by a couple of guys who hopped onto SUPs and paddled into the stagnant pond behind the beach. That’s where the real gnarly shit was and after a short time they had bags full of rubbish including used condoms and other disgusting things irresponsible humans leave behind.

Text: Justin Cote

For the full feature check out TRANSWORLD SURF

It’s all happening at Bird’s Surf Shed May 11th – 13th, 2012.

If you’re in or around San Diego, everyone is invited, and it’s sure to be really fun, so check it out -

San Diego may not be the birthplace of surfing but there is no denying the contributions and innovations that this beautiful city and its ocean loving community have provided to the surfing world. Early in the 20th century, Hawaiians George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku sewed seeds in fertile soil that continue to flourish to this day. Since then, the San Diego surfing timeline consists of such revered names as Simmons, Ekstrom, Gordon, Van Artsdalen, Frye, Diffenderfer, Hansen, Curren, Caster, Hynson, Dobson, Oakey, Lis, O’Rourke, Divine, Preisendorfer, Pendarvis, Mirandon, Roper, Thrailkill, Warner, Kenvin and this is just to name a few. Intertwine that amazing history with 75 miles of diverse coastline, a new crop of creative board designers and an incredibly deep talent pool, you soon realize San Diego simply lives and breathes everything that is wave riding.

The inaugural San Diego Surf Film Festival welcomes one and all to celebrate the passion that we all share for just being in the ocean. Since Bruce Brown sent shockwaves throughout the world with “Endless Summer” the surf film has become a staple in our lives. Surfing and surf cinema alike have been developed by individuals with a deep passion for trying to capture and preserve the very special feeling of just being a surfer. And they will continue to do so long after every one has gone home. So to honor this tradition, we are announcing a call for submissions to all filmmakers with a passion to keep making surf films not because you have to but because you need to.

We are stoked to officially announce the inaugural San Diego Surf Film Festival at Bird’s Surf Shed, May 11-13, 2012 and welcome filmmakers and surf enthusiasts around the world to come celebrate the art of surf cinema in our beautiful hometown.

Hoots and Shakas,
Pierce Michael Kavanagh
Petra Kavanagh
Ed Lewis

For more visit www.sandiegosurffilmfestival.com

More than 50 people, surfers included, drowned at Playa Dominical last year. Richard is anxiously seeking help to re-establish, equip, train and fund a permanent lifeguard service there. If you want to help, he can be reached at (tel) 011 506 8331 7707.

photo: Abrams and the IB lifeguards. 1960s.

To read the heroic rescue story check out THEINERTIA.COM.

To check out more amazing work from Walu International click HERE.

Cesar Ramirez, Salina Cruz’s first surfer, weighs in on the issue in an interview featured on Surfline. The following is an excerpt…

Explain the email you sent last September.
I started with the last part of the article saying we were the delusional guys trying to protect Salina Cruz. Since 2004, we’ve been working with the magazines. The pros get paid more if they get a good shot, they put it in the magazine, the magazine makes money from advertisers and we don’t ask them for anything. We do our work; they pay us. We don’t bother them or ask for a board or say ‘give me this, give me that.’

But after that article, everyone got mad and said, ‘no more photographers’ because they are taking advantage of this place. So we decided to form an association. And at first we said no cameras at all. But some of the camps work with the pros a lot so they insisted. And we had meetings and we said, ‘OK, if they want to come here, they have to pay to shoot in Salina Cruz.’

So where will the money go?
The money is not for us. We’re going to use it to fix the roads around the surf breaks where the villages are. When it rains, those villages flood, so the people don’t have access to the highway. Sometimes even the highway breaks and they get stuck in their villages for weeks. Also, the kids in the schools; sometimes they don’t have money to buy uniforms and school supplies. We’ll go to the schools and help them. And we’ve been training with the Navy to get a lifeguard certificate and we’re going to have a tower on every surf break where there are local tourists, because the government doesn’t provide lifeguard services. And with that money we’re going to give a salary to the ones that want to stay on the tower. So that’s where we’re going to put the money that we ask the media to pay if they want to shoot here. Otherwise, if they don’t want to, they can go somewhere else.

To read the full interview click HERE

Last week (Wednesday, April 11) an 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia, followed by an 8.2M aftershock. While no large tsunami was produced, the quake sits just outside the bubble of the top 10 largest earthquakes on record. There were power cuts to many regions and chaos as people headed to higher ground throughout SE Asia. Five people died, mainly from heart attacks, but fortunately the three tsunamis that were generated only rose to 2 feet.

The trip on Julian’s boat was with Ry Craike and Dom Wills to document SurfAid’s work in the Mentawai since the 2010 tsunami, which killed more than 500 people in the islands. We surfed throughout the islands, stopping in between spots to visit the villages and take in what local life is really like under the threat of tsunamis and earthquakes, and how SurfAid’s programs have been helping the locals prepare for emergencies and recover.

Photos and Text: Duncan Macfarlane

For the full feature click HERE.

In the presence of the 3 directors of the Lobitos public school, Tali Jessamine, Lobitos WAVES Program Manager, Irene Periche, WAVES Associate Director of Administration, Junior Carrera, WAVES English Instructor, Pim van den Hoven, WAVES Volunteer Coordinator, Sylvain Gaeng, WAVES Co-founder and all the teachers and students, WAVES for Development signed the 2012 school year partnership agreement. That is a great achievement for WAVES for Development. After only 4 years of existence, all the children (more than 300) from Lobitos will benefit from the WAVES educational program.

To learn more about WAVES FOR DEVELOPMENT, please click HERE.

Thanks to Mike Chlala for sending over this video clip he shot and edited from their life changing trip.

For more building service projects check out www.buildersbeyondborders.org