Coastal Economy and Tourism Are Being Put at Risk by Offshore Oil Drilling

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The US government wants to open
more than 1 billion acres of

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ocean to offshore oil drilling.

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That decision can threaten beaches,
fisheries, tourism, jobs, and coastal

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communities across California,
Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico.

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In this episode, surf Riders Pizza
offer explains why this plant is

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so dangerous, who really benefits.

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And how everyday people can still stop it.

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We're gonna talk about that
on today's episode of the How

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to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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Let's start the show.

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Hey everybody.

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Welcome back to another exciting episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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I'm your host, and/or Lewin, Marine
biologist and science communicator

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here to tell you what's happening with
the ocean, how you can speak up for

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the ocean, and what you can do to live
for a better ocean by taking action.

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On today's episode, we're gonna focus on a
major federal Prosple that could reshape.

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America's coastlines For decades,
the Trump administration has released

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a new offshore oil and gas drilling
plan that would expand leases across

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vast areas of the US Ocean, including
regions that were previously protected.

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How are they doing this?

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I have no idea.

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Is it right?

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I have no idea.

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We're gonna find out today to help
us understand what is at stake.

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I'm joined by Peter Stoffer,
national Ocean Protection Manager

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at the Surf Rider Foundation.

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Surf Rider is a grassroots
organization with chapters and

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volunteers across the US and beyond.

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And for over 40 years, they have
been protecting oceans, waves, and

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beaches from threats Just like this
one, Pete works directly on offshore

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drilling policy and has spent more
than 20 years inside surf riders.

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Starting as a volunteer and
rising through the organization.

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In this conversation, we talk about
why offshore drilling is an existential

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threat, how it affects coastal economies
and communities, and why this issue

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is not partisan, and what listeners
can do right now to speak up and.

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Protect the ocean.

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They depend on.

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This is going to be a great interview.

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I can't wait for you to listen.

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So here's the interview with Peter
Stocker from the Surf Rider Foundation.

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Enjoy the interview and
I'll talk to you after.

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Hey Pete, welcome to the How
to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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Are you ready to talk about this new oil
and gas plan in the us this drilling plan,

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as well as surf rider's position on it?

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I am ready.

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Thanks so much for having me, and/or.

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You bet.

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I'm super excited for this because,
you know, we've, we've had on at this

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point we've, we've, I've recorded
and I've posted Oceania's recording

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with this interview about this plan.

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I'm doing the same thing with you
'cause I wanted to get surf writer's

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perspective, uh, you know, on this.

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'cause it's, it's good to get
everybody's perspective and I know.

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Surf Rider Oceania have
worked together before.

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We're gonna have other, uh, people on
as well to talk more about this plan.

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Um, but I want to get
everybody's perspective.

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'cause Surf Rider has this
unique positioning within sort

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of the, the ocean conservation
world in that it's a grassroots.

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Um, you know, a grassroots organization
has a lot of people on the ground of

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all over the us, even in Canada and
other places, and you guys have been

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able to accomplish so much, so much
with the staff as well as the army

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of people that you have to, you know,
speak up and speak out against stuff

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that's happening, not only to prevent.

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You know, beautiful surfing spots
from being ruined, but also just to

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protect this lovely ocean that we have.

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So, really appreciate you coming
on the podcast to give Surf Riders

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position on this oil and gas plan.

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I think it's very important to hear
everybody's perspective and what they

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can do, Um, So before we get into all
that though, Pete, why don't you just

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let us know who you are and what you do.

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Yeah, thanks, and/or.

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Uh, my name is Pete Stoffer.

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I'm the National Ocean Protection
Manager for Surf Rider Foundation.

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So I lead Surf Riders national
campaigns to protect the ocean.

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So right now, uh, a huge amount of effort
focused on stopping new offshore drilling.

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That's, that's great.

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There's been a lot of stuff, um, I, I,
you know, we're gonna focus on this, this

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offshore drilling plan, but there's been
a lot of stuff that, uh, we are speaking

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up against and speaking out against.

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Right.

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There's deep sea mining, there's
oil and gas, there's like the EPA

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problems that are going in just.

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You know, no funding being cut and a
lot of people being, uh, thinking how,

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how is everybody at Surf, surf Rider?

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It's a lot of work.

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You know, you're working
in over overdrive.

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How is everybody doing there?

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Yeah, well, you're right.

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It has been a really challenging time
under the current federal administration,

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but, uh, surf Rider's great.

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You know, we're a volunteer based
organization and we are so lucky to

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have incredible chapters, credible
student clubs, and a lot of what

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Surf Rider does is programs, uh,
beach cleanups, water testing.

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Uh, we work on, on local projects.

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You know, everything from, you know,
protecting and restoring our beaches to

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making sure there's good public access.

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So, yeah.

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Uh, I, I think that's kind of
the magic and the stoke mm-hmm.

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That bring people, uh, to surf Rider.

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I've been with Surf Rider
for over 20 years and Wow.

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I started as a volunteer that
I became a chapter leader than,

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uh, a regional manager, And so.

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Um, sort of the classic example of
someone who's kind of worked their way up.

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But I, that's what I've always
loved about the organization is,

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is just that grassroots muscle.

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And when we do have these federal
threats, that's the real power of

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being able to unite our chapter network
and our clubs across the country.

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You know, working with partners
like Oceana and many others.

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Uh, to try and stop bad things
from happening to our ocean.

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I, I, I completely agree.

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You've been with Surf for 20
over 20 years, which is amazing.

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Uh.

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In that time, there have been some
ups and downs, as you mentioned.

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There's a, there's
federal threats right now.

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You've had federal threats before,
probably had state threats and all,

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you know, across like things are so
dynamic across the US it's so different

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culture and everything like that that
goes, that goes on, uh, you know,

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whoever's the governor at the time or
whatever the states are doing at the

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time, even from a municipal level.

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What has helped you like
through like what parts?

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Like you've, you've seem like
you've done a lot of different

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parts within, within Surf Rider.

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What do you find like people really
clinging to during these tougher times

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that are volunteering or working within
the sort of the, the surf rider umbrella?

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'cause like.

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In my, like, just to the assumption
here is people like the hands-on stuff

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they're doing, like the beach cleanups
or you know, something, you know,

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that's, that's more hands-on that you do.

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Um, is that what helps or are there
other things that help as well?

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Yeah, I think, you know, at Surf
Rider it is very much about place and

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you know, when I was younger I moved
around a bit and it was always so fun

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to be able to move to a new place.

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Go to a surf writer chapter meeting
and just knowing that you would

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meet great people and mm-hmm.

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You could have a way, not just to get
involved with conservation work, but

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to actually be part of a community.

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So Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I think that's, that's a big part of the
appeal of, of wanting to work on something

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that feels a little more tangible.

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Mm-hmm.

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Um, but I think the other thing is, is
being part of something that's bigger.

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You know, this national network,
the international affiliates.

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Because with issues, you know,
facing our ocean and our environment,

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it can get really depressing.

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And so, yeah, as one person, you can
think, well, what difference can I make?

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But if you're plugging into, uh, a
national campaign or you're getting your,

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your hand sandy, you know, restoring
a beach, uh, it all kind of, you know,

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adds to that feeling of yeah, you're
really doing something and it matters.

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And when people come on, I know
there's like an onboarding process

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when people come on as a volunteer.

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You guys provide videos, you know,
online videos and, and things like that.

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And there's, everybody does their
own thing within their chapters to

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help people, uh, you know, stay up
top, stay at top of, of the issues.

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And then what?

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You can do for people who are listening
to this, who want to do something,

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especially during a time like this where
they're seeing a lot of federal cuts and,

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and, and a lot of proposals for drilling
and for deep sea mining and stuff, what

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do you recommend, especially with your
experience, what do you recommend they do,

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uh, you know, to help speak up and help,
you know, speak out against these things?

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Yeah, I mean a, a few things.

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One, of course, getting involved in,
whether it's Surf rider or another

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organization, uh, because they can
help you make a difference Yeah.

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On the things that you, you care about.

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Mm-hmm.

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Uh, and the other thing is just
communicating with your elected officials.

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And it's so important, whether
it's city council Yeah.

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State legislator, uh, your
representatives in Congress.

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We live in a democracy and it's their
job to listen to their constituents.

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So.

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Um, that is so important too.

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And that can come in the form of like
emails, phone calls, tweets or exes

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or whatever you call them now or Yeah.

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Any way of communicating 'em so you can
send them, you know, uh, information

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based informa, like information that
you want, like, you know, evidence-based

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information is what I meant to say,
like to, to, and, And then what I

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always tell people too, and I'm sure
this goes a long way with surf fryers.

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Is the stories.

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Tell the stories of why you
love that specific place.

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If you're a surfer, why have you been
surfing there for 30 years or for 10

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years, or for 15 years, or, or if you're
a fisher, why you've been fishing this.

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'cause I think it's important
to tell those stories 'cause

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we connect over those stories.

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Is that something that
Surf Rider encourages?

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Oh e exactly.

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And especially with elected officials,
we love to invite them to our beach

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cleanups, nice to water testing events.

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Um, nice.

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You know, to show them that, that
the places, not just the environment

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and the wildlife, but show 'em,
you know, how businesses and their

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constituents, you know, really depend
on a clean, coastal environment.

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So, absolutely.

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Uh, and we're nonpartisan.

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We believe that.

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You know, it shouldn't be some sort
of, uh, political stance one way or

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the other to wanna protect our public
resources Um, So, you know, that's

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our goal is, is to build that broad
support and do it from the bottom up.

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Absolutely.

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And everybody should
love the ocean, right?

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I know.

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And everybody loves the ocean, but we
all should, you know, love the ocean.

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Doesn't matter on political
spectrum, cultural, professional,

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wherever you're from the world, we
all need, we all need the ocean.

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So we, we should all, you know,
protect as much as possible.

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Obviously that's how you and I feel,
don't wanna speak for you, but I'm

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sure that's how you feel as well.

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Yep.

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And so I, yeah, that's the way I see it.

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Um, this is great.

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No, I, I, you know, before we get into
the, the, the offshore plan, I have one

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more question 'cause I know, uh, a lot of
people will be kicking me and screaming

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and being like, and/or, you gotta ask.

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How people can work for sea, like for,
for surf rider, you know, like based

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on your experience, you know, I know
you, you talked about how, but how did

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you, like what was your background when
you first volunteered, uh, with the

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organization and did the organization
inspire you to do more schooling or how

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did that all, how did that all work out?

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Yeah, no, great question.

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I get it all the time too.

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Uh, I mean, I began as a volunteer with
Surf Riders, so that's certainly one way

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to, you know, gain relevant experience
and show your interest in Yeah, in, you

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know, being part of the organization.

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Uh, in my case, you know, I work
for the environmental department

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within Surf Rider, so I have a, a
science and a policy background.

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Mm-hmm.

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So, before actually getting hired by Surf
Rider, I was working for Noah, which is

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00:11:38,065 --> 00:11:39,715
the lead federal agency Oh, interesting.

228
00:11:39,745 --> 00:11:41,185
For managing the oceans.

229
00:11:41,185 --> 00:11:45,625
So I think from their standpoint,
you know, they probably saw my

230
00:11:45,625 --> 00:11:50,515
grassroots and volunteer background,
but also the, the academic background

231
00:11:50,515 --> 00:11:52,165
and, and professional experience.

232
00:11:52,170 --> 00:11:55,530
You know, working within Ocean Management.

233
00:11:55,860 --> 00:11:57,959
So I, I think that was
a helpful background.

234
00:11:57,959 --> 00:12:02,430
But, you know, we have, um, you know,
people who work in our marketing

235
00:12:02,430 --> 00:12:07,829
team, communications, um, you know,
doing grassroots training and,

236
00:12:07,829 --> 00:12:09,060
and things like that, so, mm-hmm.

237
00:12:09,510 --> 00:12:12,510
It really depends on the type of
position that you'd be seeking.

238
00:12:13,395 --> 00:12:13,905
I love it.

239
00:12:14,055 --> 00:12:14,444
Perfect.

240
00:12:14,444 --> 00:12:15,645
Thank you so much for that.

241
00:12:15,944 --> 00:12:19,755
Let's get into this offshore,
uh, oil and gas drilling plan.

242
00:12:20,235 --> 00:12:24,765
Um, can you just tell us, like, give us an
overview of what that plan entails, where

243
00:12:24,765 --> 00:12:26,895
it, it plans to do leases And so forth?

244
00:12:28,094 --> 00:12:28,694
Sure.

245
00:12:28,755 --> 00:12:28,964
Yeah.

246
00:12:28,964 --> 00:12:32,439
So three weeks ago, the Trump
administration released their

247
00:12:32,594 --> 00:12:35,084
offshore drilling federal Prosple.

248
00:12:35,385 --> 00:12:38,415
So this is something the federal
government does every five years.

249
00:12:39,090 --> 00:12:43,440
They create a new offshore drilling
plan, uh, in this case, uh, they're

250
00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,160
doing it sooner than that because
they didn't like the Biden plan.

251
00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:52,380
Uh, but this, the, the Trump
administration plan, it's really alarming,

252
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:59,135
uh, proposes over 1.2 billion acres
of ocean for oil and gas development.

253
00:12:59,595 --> 00:13:03,150
And that includes, uh, multiple
regions throughout the country, right?

254
00:13:03,450 --> 00:13:05,580
So the entire California coast.

255
00:13:06,045 --> 00:13:10,515
Uh, most of the Gulf of Mexico, uh,
including the central and Western

256
00:13:10,515 --> 00:13:15,405
Gulf, but also, uh, a large portion
of the Eastern Gulf off Florida

257
00:13:15,555 --> 00:13:17,354
that was previously protected.

258
00:13:17,714 --> 00:13:23,925
Uh, And then the Alaska and Arctic waters,
hundreds of millions of acres, uh, of

259
00:13:23,925 --> 00:13:28,724
waters, pretty much around the entire
state of Alaska, including the high

260
00:13:28,724 --> 00:13:34,604
Arctic, which is incredibly sensitive,
so massive, unprecedented Prosple.

261
00:13:34,995 --> 00:13:39,224
Uh, no public meetings on this, but
there is a public comment period

262
00:13:39,435 --> 00:13:41,985
that's open until January 23rd.

263
00:13:41,985 --> 00:13:47,235
So we're doing everything that we can to
get the word out and, uh, to get people

264
00:13:47,235 --> 00:13:49,185
to get their comments on the record.

265
00:13:49,830 --> 00:13:50,490
Amazing.

266
00:13:50,550 --> 00:13:54,120
I mean, this is something that's,
as you said, is quite alarming.

267
00:13:54,330 --> 00:13:59,610
How did it differ from the offshore
plan for the Biden administration?

268
00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,360
Obvi there Was there obviously an
increase, but by how much, like what was

269
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,295
the the Biden plan doing compared to what
this Trump administration plans to do?

270
00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:13,260
Yeah, so the Biden plan that was
finalized, uh, just a couple years

271
00:14:13,260 --> 00:14:19,530
ago, it, uh, limits new leasing to
just the central and Western Gulf.

272
00:14:19,530 --> 00:14:19,560
Okay.

273
00:14:19,950 --> 00:14:25,980
Um, So it still is a significant amount
of new offshore drilling, uh, but

274
00:14:25,980 --> 00:14:30,540
compared to what the Trump administration
is looking to do, uh, you know, a

275
00:14:30,540 --> 00:14:33,360
really a, a, a fraction of the impact.

276
00:14:33,870 --> 00:14:37,140
The other thing is before
President Biden left office.

277
00:14:37,950 --> 00:14:42,450
He used his authority, uh, under the
executive powers of the president

278
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,370
to permanently protect the Atlantic
Coast, the Pacific Coast, and the

279
00:14:47,370 --> 00:14:49,590
Eastern Gulf from New Drilling.

280
00:14:49,650 --> 00:14:53,220
And so those protections
should still be in place.

281
00:14:53,970 --> 00:14:58,110
But when President Trump came in the
office, uh, he issued, uh, an executive

282
00:14:58,110 --> 00:15:01,920
order and essentially announced that
he was revoking those protections.

283
00:15:02,865 --> 00:15:06,045
Even though there's nothing under
federal law that says he can do that.

284
00:15:06,645 --> 00:15:06,735
Right.

285
00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:08,265
But, but that's, that's my next question.

286
00:15:08,685 --> 00:15:09,285
Yeah.

287
00:15:09,285 --> 00:15:13,275
So there have been multiple,
uh, lawsuits filed.

288
00:15:13,275 --> 00:15:16,605
So this will continue to
play out within the courts.

289
00:15:16,605 --> 00:15:21,525
But, um, you know, for all
intents and purposes, uh, those

290
00:15:21,525 --> 00:15:24,975
protections are not there right
now because they have been revoked.

291
00:15:25,650 --> 00:15:29,969
We have a federal agency that's
proposing huge amounts of

292
00:15:29,969 --> 00:15:31,920
drilling in many of those areas.

293
00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:32,010
Right.

294
00:15:32,490 --> 00:15:35,910
So when, when Biden put in those
protections, because I remember Obama did

295
00:15:35,910 --> 00:15:38,579
that as well up in the North slope, right?

296
00:15:38,939 --> 00:15:40,319
In, in Alaska.

297
00:15:40,650 --> 00:15:40,829
Yeah.

298
00:15:40,829 --> 00:15:41,910
He put in these protections.

299
00:15:41,910 --> 00:15:42,390
He did.

300
00:15:42,390 --> 00:15:43,829
And I remember him doing it.

301
00:15:44,310 --> 00:15:48,180
I remember it saying that he did it
through Congress to protect it so

302
00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:52,319
that it was, it it, you couldn't use
an executive order to take it away.

303
00:15:53,250 --> 00:15:57,600
Is that, like for this one did, did
the Biden administration, like, did

304
00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,650
President Biden use an executive order to
protect these areas that you mentioned?

305
00:16:01,650 --> 00:16:03,060
The Eastern Gulf.

306
00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:06,180
The Atlantic, I believe it
was the California coast, uh,

307
00:16:06,270 --> 00:16:08,070
to, for those protections.

308
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,210
And that's why that, you know, Trump
thinks that he can use an executive

309
00:16:12,210 --> 00:16:14,730
order to, to take those away.

310
00:16:14,730 --> 00:16:17,580
Or was it more solidified than that?

311
00:16:18,569 --> 00:16:18,930
Yeah.

312
00:16:18,930 --> 00:16:20,550
You know what President Biden did?

313
00:16:20,550 --> 00:16:24,839
He used his authority under
federal law, so it was more

314
00:16:24,839 --> 00:16:26,430
than just an executive order.

315
00:16:26,459 --> 00:16:26,819
Okay.

316
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:31,650
So there's a federal law called the, uh,
outer Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

317
00:16:32,069 --> 00:16:32,339
Right?

318
00:16:32,370 --> 00:16:36,750
Basically provides the framework for how
the federal government determines where

319
00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:39,689
and if new offshore drilling will occur.

320
00:16:39,990 --> 00:16:40,260
Yeah.

321
00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:44,550
There's a section, uh, under
that law that says, and it's very

322
00:16:44,550 --> 00:16:46,229
succinct language, but it says.

323
00:16:46,770 --> 00:16:51,990
Uh, essentially that the president
can withdraw, uh, temporarily or

324
00:16:51,990 --> 00:16:56,370
permanently certain, uh, areas
of the outer continental shelf

325
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,830
from future oil and gas leasing.

326
00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:00,270
That's all it says.

327
00:17:00,270 --> 00:17:04,890
It doesn't say anything else about
a future president being able to

328
00:17:05,220 --> 00:17:09,750
reverse those protections, but
essentially the, the argument

329
00:17:09,750 --> 00:17:11,520
that's being debated in the courts.

330
00:17:12,645 --> 00:17:17,625
For all the non-lawyers, and I'm not
a lawyer either, but it's this debate

331
00:17:17,655 --> 00:17:22,724
of, well, did the law really intend
for this to be used at that scale?

332
00:17:23,234 --> 00:17:28,095
Which, um, from our standpoint is
sort of an arbitrary, you know,

333
00:17:28,099 --> 00:17:31,425
the, the determination, you know,
of course we're going off what,

334
00:17:31,754 --> 00:17:33,375
what the language of the law says.

335
00:17:33,555 --> 00:17:33,615
Yeah.

336
00:17:33,915 --> 00:17:37,725
Um, and, and it's also
probably worth noting that.

337
00:17:38,310 --> 00:17:42,480
Offshore drilling is broadly
unpopular across the United States.

338
00:17:42,750 --> 00:17:45,960
This is particularly true on
the Atlantic Coast, the Pacific

339
00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:47,940
Coast, the Eastern Gulf.

340
00:17:48,420 --> 00:17:51,510
You know, we'll get to this in a
second, but we're seeing this play

341
00:17:51,510 --> 00:17:55,650
out in real time in terms of the
Trump administration's Prosple, but

342
00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,840
Um, So yeah, in, in, in short, uh,
the Trump administration revoked

343
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:02,970
those protections that were.

344
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,700
Highly popular and we're advocated
for by communities for decades.

345
00:18:09,570 --> 00:18:15,120
And now his administration is looking
to expand over a billion acres of

346
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:17,070
ocean for new offshore drilling.

347
00:18:17,820 --> 00:18:18,389
Interesting.

348
00:18:18,450 --> 00:18:22,860
And of course, we know that this is
not just about energy because he's

349
00:18:22,860 --> 00:18:29,040
canceled a lot of the ongoing activities
and proposals for renewable energy.

350
00:18:29,865 --> 00:18:33,195
On offshore, uh, like
on the Atlantic Coast.

351
00:18:33,195 --> 00:18:37,005
I don't know if there's anything else
on the Pacific, but I know he's canceled

352
00:18:37,005 --> 00:18:41,385
a lot of that stuff that was going on
because he just didn't think it was right.

353
00:18:41,385 --> 00:18:43,035
He didn't like, he doesn't like windmills.

354
00:18:43,035 --> 00:18:46,425
We all know he doesn't like windmills
and the administration doesn't like, so

355
00:18:46,425 --> 00:18:51,615
it's not an energy thing because we know
that if they had continued with this

356
00:18:51,615 --> 00:18:55,065
official plant and renewables, at least
they could have a case that we're trying.

357
00:18:55,065 --> 00:18:56,205
They're trying to increase energy.

358
00:18:56,205 --> 00:18:58,935
This is more about oil and gas drilling.

359
00:18:59,415 --> 00:19:00,854
'cause they think that's the way forward.

360
00:19:00,854 --> 00:19:03,195
They think that's the, the
future of this administration.

361
00:19:03,195 --> 00:19:06,705
So I find that really interesting
when, you know, you cancel,

362
00:19:06,705 --> 00:19:07,574
it's not just about energy.

363
00:19:07,574 --> 00:19:10,425
So you're not, you're taking away
other alternative energy, which

364
00:19:10,425 --> 00:19:13,935
could become mainstream energy
the way it was being built up.

365
00:19:14,205 --> 00:19:16,395
Uh, and a lot of, you know,
a lot of regulations were

366
00:19:16,635 --> 00:19:18,225
going into place for that.

367
00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:22,094
Uh, as part of the, I believe
it was the, in the, um, was it

368
00:19:22,094 --> 00:19:25,064
the inflations act under Biden
that these projects were going.

369
00:19:26,129 --> 00:19:26,909
Yeah, sure.

370
00:19:26,935 --> 00:19:28,590
The, the Inflation Reduction Act.

371
00:19:28,590 --> 00:19:28,860
Yeah.

372
00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:29,175
Reduction act.

373
00:19:29,460 --> 00:19:29,879
Yeah.

374
00:19:29,879 --> 00:19:29,889
Yeah.

375
00:19:29,889 --> 00:19:29,899
Yeah.

376
00:19:30,085 --> 00:19:30,375
Yeah.

377
00:19:30,420 --> 00:19:33,600
And, and also the bipartisan
infrastructure laws.

378
00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:39,330
So between those two federal laws,
a huge federal investment in, um,

379
00:19:39,330 --> 00:19:42,180
solar and wind and energy efficiency.

380
00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:47,580
And yeah, it's been just a shame to see
the current administration in Congress.

381
00:19:48,045 --> 00:19:50,535
Try and reverse, uh, all those things.

382
00:19:50,625 --> 00:19:51,165
Um, right.

383
00:19:51,675 --> 00:19:55,575
But, but to what you were saying,
uh, you know, one, we're turning our

384
00:19:55,575 --> 00:20:00,645
back on renewable energy, which is
not a finite resource and doesn't

385
00:20:00,645 --> 00:20:02,205
contribute to climate change.

386
00:20:02,625 --> 00:20:05,415
Uh, but the US is already
energy independent.

387
00:20:05,475 --> 00:20:07,065
I mean, we're at record levels of.

388
00:20:07,965 --> 00:20:09,495
Oil and gas production.

389
00:20:09,764 --> 00:20:13,305
We've been a net oil exporter
for the last five years.

390
00:20:13,395 --> 00:20:17,024
Uh, so yeah, none of
this really is needed.

391
00:20:17,085 --> 00:20:24,014
And it's basically just revealing,
uh, a bias towards more and more, um,

392
00:20:24,165 --> 00:20:28,305
oil and gas leasing at the expense
of our public lands and waters.

393
00:20:28,935 --> 00:20:30,045
Yeah, a hundred percent.

394
00:20:30,105 --> 00:20:33,165
I, I think that's, that's a
really good point to make now.

395
00:20:33,170 --> 00:20:33,270
Uh.

396
00:20:34,020 --> 00:20:36,630
Surf rider calls offshore
drilling an extent.

397
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,000
Ex existential threat.

398
00:20:39,630 --> 00:20:40,050
Yep.

399
00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:43,140
What does that mean in
practical terms to you guys?

400
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:50,190
Yeah, I mean, almost any way that
you look at it and, and you know,

401
00:20:50,190 --> 00:20:54,780
you think about the beaches and
our coastlines and our communities.

402
00:20:55,545 --> 00:20:57,585
And how woven that is, right?

403
00:20:57,645 --> 00:21:01,635
Whether it's quality of life
or environmental health,

404
00:21:01,665 --> 00:21:03,705
or our coastal economies.

405
00:21:04,065 --> 00:21:06,705
Uh, offshore drilling
threatens all those things.

406
00:21:07,065 --> 00:21:08,355
It threatens wildlife.

407
00:21:08,715 --> 00:21:13,875
Uh, it threatens, uh, you know, the,
the conditions of our Marine ecosystems.

408
00:21:14,355 --> 00:21:17,320
Uh, it threatens public health
with terrible air pollution.

409
00:21:18,270 --> 00:21:21,720
Um, and it contributes to climate
change, which, you know, we're

410
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,310
already losing our beaches.

411
00:21:23,310 --> 00:21:27,540
We're already, um, you know, seeing
the impacts around the globe with

412
00:21:27,540 --> 00:21:32,340
just unbelievable, you know, heat
and drought and extreme weather.

413
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,000
It's putting billions of
people, uh, in harm's way.

414
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,220
So for all these different things and,
and whatever timescale you're, you're

415
00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:46,860
looking at it, it really is, you know,
like we said, uh, an existential threat.

416
00:21:47,264 --> 00:21:48,195
Yeah, absolutely.

417
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,125
And, and I think what's interesting too
is I think when a lot of us think about.

418
00:21:53,925 --> 00:21:57,675
Offshore drilling, we think
of these oil platforms, right?

419
00:21:57,675 --> 00:22:00,524
These oil and gas platforms you
see a lot in the Gulf of Mexico.

420
00:22:00,524 --> 00:22:03,795
I used to work in the Gulf of Mexico for
like eight months and I used to see there,

421
00:22:03,795 --> 00:22:07,815
there's like a city of platforms that
you see in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

422
00:22:08,145 --> 00:22:08,595
Uh, yeah.

423
00:22:08,595 --> 00:22:11,325
And then you see them on the, uh,
a little bit on the west coast,

424
00:22:11,325 --> 00:22:15,405
definitely up in, in Alaska when the
drilling was happening, uh, in quite

425
00:22:15,550 --> 00:22:17,445
a, a bit of abundance back then.

426
00:22:18,855 --> 00:22:22,545
But when you see them, you don't
see the risk that they take.

427
00:22:22,545 --> 00:22:26,205
You see sometimes the fire burning
and you see the smoke billowing from

428
00:22:26,205 --> 00:22:29,775
the sort of the, the, the, the working
that, that like a working platform.

429
00:22:30,195 --> 00:22:33,495
But you don't, when people think about
that, I don't think a lot of people think

430
00:22:33,495 --> 00:22:37,215
about the risk that could happen to those
coastal communities, whether they can see

431
00:22:37,215 --> 00:22:39,045
it from the coast or whether they can't.

432
00:22:39,405 --> 00:22:42,675
We really don't under, I don't think
we really understand as people,

433
00:22:42,675 --> 00:22:45,105
even myself, when I look at that,
it's the first thing I think of.

434
00:22:45,455 --> 00:22:50,254
I don't think of what, what would happen
if an oil spill would happen and it

435
00:22:50,254 --> 00:22:55,085
would come up on the shores until we see
like these big oil spills that happened.

436
00:22:55,085 --> 00:22:55,264
You know?

437
00:22:55,264 --> 00:22:55,355
Yeah.

438
00:22:55,385 --> 00:22:58,925
Exxon Valdez happened in the
eighties, I think it was the eighties.

439
00:22:59,195 --> 00:23:00,965
Then of course, BP oil spill happened.

440
00:23:00,965 --> 00:23:02,585
I'm sure there was a number
of spills between that.

441
00:23:02,885 --> 00:23:08,044
Um, And then of course there was the Santa
Barbara spill in 2015 And then the one,

442
00:23:08,284 --> 00:23:10,415
four years ago just off of Orange County.

443
00:23:11,235 --> 00:23:14,505
We don't, why don't we, like, we
don't think of those things when we

444
00:23:14,505 --> 00:23:17,205
like communities, when we hear about
offshore drilling, a lot of times

445
00:23:17,205 --> 00:23:20,805
they're out of, out of the sight of
eye from the, from the coastline.

446
00:23:21,375 --> 00:23:21,495
Yeah.

447
00:23:21,495 --> 00:23:25,575
But what do you think it is about these
offshore drills that pose that threat?

448
00:23:25,605 --> 00:23:30,195
'cause like, really each and every one of
them can spill in a number of different

449
00:23:30,195 --> 00:23:32,745
ways, in a number of different amounts.

450
00:23:32,805 --> 00:23:36,255
Let's just say sometimes you may not
see it, sometimes you, you will see it.

451
00:23:36,585 --> 00:23:40,095
But like, you know, recently
off the California coast.

452
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,670
We saw two that really reached,
you know, the coastline.

453
00:23:43,670 --> 00:23:43,730
Yeah.

454
00:23:44,095 --> 00:23:46,940
And, and you know, and they really
affected it, really brought it

455
00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:48,890
home that these things can leak.

456
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,500
What do we not know about the oil
and gas industry in terms of leaks

457
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,890
other than these, you know, the four
major spills that I mentioned here.

458
00:23:57,890 --> 00:24:00,710
I'm sure there was some other ones
that I missed, but what is it that the

459
00:24:00,710 --> 00:24:04,490
public doesn't know about these types
of like that, about this happening?

460
00:24:04,490 --> 00:24:06,590
Does it happen more often
than not, than we think?

461
00:24:07,890 --> 00:24:10,860
Yeah, I mean, oil spills
happen all the time.

462
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,970
The smaller ones tend to be
under-reported by the industry

463
00:24:15,300 --> 00:24:17,100
and not covered by the media.

464
00:24:17,310 --> 00:24:22,530
The larger ones can be catastrophic,
uh, not just for the environment,

465
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,020
but for communities, for businesses.

466
00:24:25,470 --> 00:24:31,350
Um, yeah, I I maybe there's a, a
recency bias that, that people have.

467
00:24:31,350 --> 00:24:34,800
But I can tell you as someone
that lives in Orange County, that.

468
00:24:35,175 --> 00:24:36,645
People remember the spill.

469
00:24:36,735 --> 00:24:37,185
Uh, right.

470
00:24:37,185 --> 00:24:41,505
You know, we just had a big people's
hearing event, uh, in Costa Mesa,

471
00:24:41,535 --> 00:24:46,275
and we had over a hundred people turn
up, uh, including local officials who

472
00:24:46,275 --> 00:24:51,795
remember the challenges of, of dealing
with amplify energy and, you know,

473
00:24:51,795 --> 00:24:57,465
their lack of forthrightness, uh, their
failure to turn off the spigot, if you

474
00:24:57,465 --> 00:25:01,995
will, while oil, you know, continued
to flow into the Marine environment.

475
00:25:02,459 --> 00:25:07,290
Uh, we had a woman who owns a, a
charter fishing business and, and whale

476
00:25:07,290 --> 00:25:09,570
watching company out of Dana Point.

477
00:25:09,780 --> 00:25:14,790
She came and, and spoke out about it, And
then emailed me the next day to let me

478
00:25:14,790 --> 00:25:19,379
know that she'd submitted her own official
letter to, to the federal government.

479
00:25:19,379 --> 00:25:19,500
So.

480
00:25:20,250 --> 00:25:20,520
Yeah.

481
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,730
When you see this stuff happen,
uh, it, it's hard to forget.

482
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:23,820
Yeah.

483
00:25:24,030 --> 00:25:28,920
Um, you know, the, the Orange County
spill that was 25,000 gallons, which

484
00:25:29,370 --> 00:25:31,835
is actually on the small end of Yeah.

485
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:33,960
Of what could have been much worse.

486
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:34,530
Mm-hmm.

487
00:25:34,770 --> 00:25:37,620
And the, the, the weather conditions
could have been worse in terms

488
00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:39,540
of bringing the oil to shore.

489
00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:42,960
But, you know, we still had
our beaches closed for 10 days.

490
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:43,050
Mm-hmm.

491
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,630
Our fisheries were
closed for a few months.

492
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:51,720
Um, you know, horrible impacts to the
hotels and businesses, restaurants.

493
00:25:52,139 --> 00:25:56,730
Um, you know, the official cleanup,
uh, lasted over three months and,

494
00:25:56,730 --> 00:26:00,389
you know, great response again by
local agencies and, and trained

495
00:26:00,389 --> 00:26:02,669
cleanup workers and, and volunteers.

496
00:26:02,669 --> 00:26:05,460
But yeah, just, just a real mess.

497
00:26:05,490 --> 00:26:10,860
And Yeah, know this is part of doing
business for, you know, the oil and

498
00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:13,110
gas industry in terms of, of offshore.

499
00:26:13,785 --> 00:26:16,004
Well, I think it's, it's
interesting how it's like.

500
00:26:16,409 --> 00:26:20,040
One industry can affect so
many other stakeholders.

501
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,399
And what I mean by stakeholders for
our audience members is, you know,

502
00:26:23,399 --> 00:26:26,550
the fishing community, the tourism
community, the whale watching community,

503
00:26:26,550 --> 00:26:31,470
the restaurants, you know, the, the,
the people who, you know, beach goers.

504
00:26:31,470 --> 00:26:35,250
And, and I mean like, let's be honest,
California Coast probably has a high

505
00:26:35,850 --> 00:26:37,264
highest percentage of beach goers.

506
00:26:37,264 --> 00:26:40,740
You know, it's known for their
beaches, it's known for that activity.

507
00:26:41,100 --> 00:26:44,730
Um, it's a very important
aspect to, to their.

508
00:26:44,990 --> 00:26:48,470
You know, to just life, you know,
in, in California, in certain

509
00:26:48,470 --> 00:26:50,300
spots in, around the world.

510
00:26:50,929 --> 00:26:54,470
And we, that's, I think, some of the
things that we don't think about.

511
00:26:54,470 --> 00:26:58,220
And for me it was the BP oil spill
where I really started to seek, I think

512
00:26:58,220 --> 00:27:01,970
I, because I lived in certain, like
in, in Louisiana, Southern Louisiana

513
00:27:01,970 --> 00:27:04,370
at the time, or, or right before that.

514
00:27:04,835 --> 00:27:07,774
Where I started to realize how
many people that I met there

515
00:27:07,774 --> 00:27:09,335
that it was going to affect.

516
00:27:09,695 --> 00:27:09,754
Yeah.

517
00:27:09,754 --> 00:27:13,385
And I think that's just something that
we don't think as, as citizens, as people

518
00:27:13,385 --> 00:27:17,075
like in North America around the world,
when we see these oil spills is who it's

519
00:27:17,075 --> 00:27:20,945
going to affect, not just right then
and there for an hour, for a day, for a

520
00:27:20,945 --> 00:27:25,264
couple of weeks, but for months and years
down the road, like BPO spill, which was

521
00:27:25,264 --> 00:27:29,465
a huge catastrophe, probably one of the
worst bills in the US if not the worst.

522
00:27:30,270 --> 00:27:31,560
It's still affecting people.

523
00:27:31,590 --> 00:27:34,800
It, you know, like it's still, and the
dispersements that they use is even,

524
00:27:34,860 --> 00:27:36,420
you know, we now know it's even worse.

525
00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:40,200
It's just they, they're not to clean up
the oil, but it's just there to literally

526
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,500
disperse the oil so you don't see it,
you know, it sinks the oil to the,

527
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,810
to the, to the, the, the ocean floor.

528
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,665
So I think that's one
thing that we just don.

529
00:27:49,290 --> 00:27:50,730
Get as a people is that it?

530
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:55,200
When these things happen, they affect
the, the, the people local to where it

531
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,690
happened for such a long period of time.

532
00:27:57,930 --> 00:28:00,270
Even to the point where this spill
for that, you're talking about Orange

533
00:28:00,270 --> 00:28:04,260
County happened four years ago, having
a people's hearing four years after,

534
00:28:04,350 --> 00:28:06,270
and people can still remember it.

535
00:28:06,570 --> 00:28:08,040
People can still say.

536
00:28:08,835 --> 00:28:10,185
What's going on here?

537
00:28:10,185 --> 00:28:13,695
Like why we're thinking about doing this
again, we're thinking about doing this

538
00:28:13,695 --> 00:28:18,945
more, uh, and coming out in droves to
speak out, which is, which is fantastic,

539
00:28:19,275 --> 00:28:23,025
and I think it's great that Surf Rider
has that connection with the people

540
00:28:23,025 --> 00:28:25,635
to help them amplify their message.

541
00:28:26,415 --> 00:28:29,835
When you see people
being affected like this.

542
00:28:32,115 --> 00:28:32,425
What is what?

543
00:28:32,445 --> 00:28:37,335
What is, what role does Surf Rider
play, you know, in, because you guys are

544
00:28:37,335 --> 00:28:43,665
so community driven, what role do you
guys play as an organization in helping

545
00:28:43,665 --> 00:28:47,145
people who are being affected by who?

546
00:28:47,145 --> 00:28:49,035
Were affected by the,
that Orange County Ospel?

547
00:28:49,035 --> 00:28:50,295
Like what role did you play?

548
00:28:50,295 --> 00:28:52,155
As for, from a surf writer perspective?

549
00:28:52,965 --> 00:28:54,260
Roles, I guess I should say.

550
00:28:54,260 --> 00:29:00,284
Yeah, I, I mean, it was really interesting
because within 12, 18 hours of this

551
00:29:00,284 --> 00:29:05,955
bill happening, we got just inundated
with hundreds of people saying, I

552
00:29:05,955 --> 00:29:09,945
wanna help, I wanna, you know, in
some cases donate, which was great.

553
00:29:10,185 --> 00:29:13,995
But in more cases saying, I
wanna do something, I want

554
00:29:13,995 --> 00:29:15,254
to be part of the cleanup.

555
00:29:15,705 --> 00:29:19,425
And what made it really
tricky is that oil is toxic.

556
00:29:19,485 --> 00:29:20,955
You know, it's, it's highly.

557
00:29:21,315 --> 00:29:22,935
Hazardous to human health.

558
00:29:23,445 --> 00:29:29,505
Uh, but what we were able to do was
develop a smartphone app to allow

559
00:29:29,505 --> 00:29:34,605
volunteers to actually contribute to
the cleanup without picking up the oil.

560
00:29:34,665 --> 00:29:39,495
And so the way it works is, you know,
the response area's basically from Los

561
00:29:39,495 --> 00:29:45,255
Angeles all the way down to the San
Diego border, which is over, over days

562
00:29:45,255 --> 00:29:47,895
and weeks and ultimately months on end.

563
00:29:48,435 --> 00:29:52,125
Depending on ocean conditions,
you would continually get fresh

564
00:29:52,125 --> 00:29:57,074
deposits of tar balls and oil on
the beach in different locations.

565
00:29:57,074 --> 00:30:01,814
And you had, as part of the unified
command and the official cleanup, you had

566
00:30:01,814 --> 00:30:06,284
these, you know, trained cleanup teams
in hazmat suits, picking up the oil.

567
00:30:07,004 --> 00:30:11,754
The, the really great thing about having
the smartphone app is we had, you know.

568
00:30:12,510 --> 00:30:16,440
Hundreds and hundreds of people using
the app who are just going to the beach,

569
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,940
sort of, you know, either look for oil or
maybe just part of their daily routine.

570
00:30:20,940 --> 00:30:21,030
Mm-hmm.

571
00:30:21,270 --> 00:30:22,650
Because that's their local beach.

572
00:30:23,070 --> 00:30:28,110
And when they would spot oil, they take
a photograph of the oil, it automatically

573
00:30:28,110 --> 00:30:34,260
would upload not just the photo, but the,
the date, the time, and the location.

574
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,340
So this would go into a
crowdsource map to unified command.

575
00:30:38,835 --> 00:30:42,765
And then they were able to sort of take
that information real time and say,

576
00:30:43,095 --> 00:30:48,945
okay, let's deploy our team to, um, you
know, north of Huntington Beach tomorrow.

577
00:30:49,065 --> 00:30:49,155
Mm-hmm.

578
00:30:49,395 --> 00:30:52,575
Or, oh, it looks like, you
know, we're getting, um, more

579
00:30:52,575 --> 00:30:54,495
deposits down by Oceanside.

580
00:30:54,495 --> 00:31:00,885
So, um, it was great to, to be able to
contribute to the cleanup, but also give

581
00:31:00,885 --> 00:31:05,745
people something they could do without
putting their health in jeopardy by trying

582
00:31:05,745 --> 00:31:07,605
to clean it up with their bare hands.

583
00:31:08,205 --> 00:31:08,925
It's genius.

584
00:31:08,925 --> 00:31:12,555
A again, it's the power of the people
and just putting a, a device in, in the

585
00:31:12,555 --> 00:31:15,645
device that everybody has and utilizing
it for something that could really help.

586
00:31:15,645 --> 00:31:18,225
And like you said, not
put them in in harm's way.

587
00:31:18,254 --> 00:31:19,514
'cause it could be very toxic.

588
00:31:19,514 --> 00:31:22,425
It's, it's a not an easy
thing to, to deal with.

589
00:31:22,425 --> 00:31:23,504
It's very hazardous.

590
00:31:23,534 --> 00:31:25,274
It's like hazardous material essentially.

591
00:31:25,274 --> 00:31:25,365
Mm-hmm.

592
00:31:25,815 --> 00:31:31,004
Um, I think it's interesting
when we, again, talking about

593
00:31:31,185 --> 00:31:35,024
oil, how does like these spills.

594
00:31:35,790 --> 00:31:37,350
And just oil in general.

595
00:31:37,350 --> 00:31:42,300
How does it affect the, sort of the
long-term planning of, um, you know,

596
00:31:42,300 --> 00:31:47,220
the, the, the beach access and recreation
along, you know, for California along the

597
00:31:47,220 --> 00:31:52,470
west coast, along the Gulf Coast, um, and
even up in Alaska for different reasons.

598
00:31:52,470 --> 00:31:56,700
But how does that, how does that
affect that planning and, and,

599
00:31:56,700 --> 00:31:58,980
and, and for those sort of areas?

600
00:32:00,330 --> 00:32:05,700
Yeah, I mean, offshore drilling can
impact beach access in a variety of ways.

601
00:32:06,060 --> 00:32:08,280
One of course would be oil spills, right?

602
00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:08,340
Yeah.

603
00:32:08,340 --> 00:32:10,350
Where you have, Yeah,
your beaches get closed.

604
00:32:10,350 --> 00:32:11,370
Get closed, like you mentioned.

605
00:32:11,370 --> 00:32:11,610
Yeah.

606
00:32:11,850 --> 00:32:17,760
Um, you know, other ways just from the
industrialization of the shoreline.

607
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,960
And so it's not in every community,
but it's in someone's community

608
00:32:21,990 --> 00:32:26,040
and you know where you have,
uh, pipelines and refineries.

609
00:32:26,685 --> 00:32:31,155
Petrochemical facilities and, and air
pollution that doesn't lend itself

610
00:32:31,155 --> 00:32:37,065
to either public beach use or all the
economic and social benefits of that.

611
00:32:37,575 --> 00:32:40,875
Uh, And then, you know, we of course
have climate change And so mm-hmm.

612
00:32:41,535 --> 00:32:45,705
Our beaches are getting squeezed
right now with rising Seas.

613
00:32:45,735 --> 00:32:50,145
And you know, particularly in places
like California, you have increasing

614
00:32:50,145 --> 00:32:51,375
coastal development pressure.

615
00:32:52,215 --> 00:32:55,065
And so the beaches have
nowhere, nowhere to go.

616
00:32:55,125 --> 00:32:55,725
Um, right.

617
00:32:55,725 --> 00:32:56,925
So yeah.

618
00:32:56,925 --> 00:33:02,205
Part of that long-term solution is
to stop pumping more greenhouse gases

619
00:33:02,205 --> 00:33:07,125
into the atmosphere, try and restore
our beaches, give them the opportunity

620
00:33:07,365 --> 00:33:12,045
to migrate inland if they need, and,
and use those nature-based solutions.

621
00:33:12,285 --> 00:33:12,555
Yep.

622
00:33:12,915 --> 00:33:14,415
And, and I'm speaking of that.

623
00:33:14,970 --> 00:33:16,050
With climate change.

624
00:33:16,620 --> 00:33:21,600
You look up in Alaska, obviously they're
really feeling the effects of climate

625
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:25,410
change, probably more so than many
other communities in North America.

626
00:33:25,830 --> 00:33:28,980
Uh, you know, especially from
an indigenous perspective.

627
00:33:29,010 --> 00:33:32,730
I know in Canada there feel, you
know, the indigenous, uh, um.

628
00:33:32,775 --> 00:33:35,295
And nations are feeling it as well.

629
00:33:35,385 --> 00:33:39,795
Uh, I've saw, I've seen videos of people
complain that the permafrost is getting

630
00:33:39,945 --> 00:33:43,155
is is like the, the, the amount of
flooding they get just from the permafrost

631
00:33:43,185 --> 00:33:47,625
'cause it's, it's melting into their
homes on a daily basis is ridiculous.

632
00:33:47,625 --> 00:33:53,805
I can just imagine what the coastline's
looking at to, And then to add, you know,

633
00:33:53,835 --> 00:33:57,645
offshore drilling as an extra, you know.

634
00:33:57,705 --> 00:33:58,005
Yeah.

635
00:33:58,155 --> 00:34:01,965
Seems like it's not helping
those communities in, in one bit.

636
00:34:02,355 --> 00:34:02,715
Um.

637
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,800
Have you, like, does Surf Rider
have a presence up in Alaska in

638
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:13,110
terms of chapters and, um, working
with indigenous people up there?

639
00:34:14,489 --> 00:34:19,830
Yeah, we have, uh, a small but mighty
chapter in Alaska on the K and I

640
00:34:19,830 --> 00:34:25,650
Peninsula Um, So, uh, you know, we,
we don't have a ton going on up there.

641
00:34:25,650 --> 00:34:25,660
Yeah.

642
00:34:26,355 --> 00:34:31,304
We did just have, you know, within Surf
Rider, um, you know, these regional

643
00:34:31,304 --> 00:34:33,405
drilling strategy calls mm-hmm.

644
00:34:33,645 --> 00:34:37,304
To talk about the Gulf, talk
about California, And then also to

645
00:34:37,304 --> 00:34:39,165
talk about Alaska and the Arctic.

646
00:34:39,165 --> 00:34:39,889
And so, right.

647
00:34:40,185 --> 00:34:45,255
We are doing, we, we do have a
much stronger presence in, uh,

648
00:34:45,255 --> 00:34:47,745
Seattle, uh, and Washington State.

649
00:34:47,750 --> 00:34:51,945
And so we are doing outreach
with the Port of Seattle and.

650
00:34:52,350 --> 00:34:57,390
The fishing fleets there because they
are very much dependent on healthy

651
00:34:57,390 --> 00:34:59,640
Marine ecosystems for their fisheries.

652
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,640
So they're not a fan of this.

653
00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:03,890
Um, yeah, I can't imagine.

654
00:35:03,890 --> 00:35:09,120
And I have, have done some, uh, some
interviews, some media, um, you know,

655
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,640
stuff, uh, uh, up in Alaska as well.

656
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:16,080
But I mean, in the case of Alaska,
it's, you know, talk about the

657
00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,840
worst pace to, to drill for oil.

658
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,480
I mean, you have extreme
weather, you have.

659
00:35:21,900 --> 00:35:27,540
Um, you know, storm activity, some
of the most difficult conditions

660
00:35:27,540 --> 00:35:30,540
to try and respond to an oil spill.

661
00:35:30,780 --> 00:35:34,410
Uh, And then you have, you know,
these highly sensitive, you know,

662
00:35:34,410 --> 00:35:39,120
particularly as you go up to the, the
high arctic, just, um, unbelievable.

663
00:35:39,645 --> 00:35:40,154
Yeah.

664
00:35:40,154 --> 00:35:40,215
Yeah.

665
00:35:40,215 --> 00:35:41,690
You know, Marine season.

666
00:35:41,690 --> 00:35:41,700
Yeah.

667
00:35:41,985 --> 00:35:42,795
It's horrible.

668
00:35:42,795 --> 00:35:45,975
Like it's a, it could be a
horrible environment to work in.

669
00:35:46,365 --> 00:35:46,735
Uh, Yeah.

670
00:35:46,735 --> 00:35:50,745
You know, the water's below, below
zero centigrade a lot of the times.

671
00:35:50,745 --> 00:35:50,805
Yeah.

672
00:35:51,134 --> 00:35:54,345
Uh, you know, there's ice
you have to deal with.

673
00:35:54,345 --> 00:35:59,955
There's, um, the freezing cold
winds, uh, it, the, the wave action

674
00:35:59,955 --> 00:36:01,545
obviously is, is very difficult.

675
00:36:02,535 --> 00:36:08,205
Going back to, uh, I mentioned, uh,
the Obama administration put in some.

676
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:13,620
Restrictions in, in drilling along, I
believe it was the north, that North

677
00:36:13,620 --> 00:36:15,240
Slope, is that what it's called?

678
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:15,780
The North Slope?

679
00:36:15,780 --> 00:36:16,020
Right.

680
00:36:16,950 --> 00:36:19,950
Well, it was actually the,
the Boer and Chuck Chi Seas.

681
00:36:19,955 --> 00:36:21,150
Right, right.

682
00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:24,570
So I was on Anwar on land there, you know?

683
00:36:24,630 --> 00:36:25,140
Yeah.

684
00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:27,090
Was protections put in place too.

685
00:36:27,090 --> 00:36:27,390
But yeah.

686
00:36:27,390 --> 00:36:31,110
So how can those plans be put
in place if they're not allowed?

687
00:36:31,110 --> 00:36:34,530
And I remember that rule
or that law was pretty.

688
00:36:35,294 --> 00:36:40,845
Strict in terms of who and what can be
done in terms of drilling in that area.

689
00:36:40,845 --> 00:36:46,245
How can they propose offshore drilling
when there was already, uh, a law in place

690
00:36:46,245 --> 00:36:48,794
that would, would ban it from happening?

691
00:36:50,325 --> 00:36:55,004
Well, there's ongoing litigation to
try and determine that, so, okay.

692
00:36:55,095 --> 00:36:57,794
That's, that's my first
answer as a non-lawyer.

693
00:36:57,794 --> 00:36:59,475
But, um, yeah.

694
00:36:59,504 --> 00:37:02,895
You know, right now in terms
of the current federal Prosple.

695
00:37:03,315 --> 00:37:07,875
They are, uh, in their draft
plan looking at, uh, oil and

696
00:37:07,875 --> 00:37:12,495
gas leasing, uh, in those areas,
including the Beaufort and Chuck gc.

697
00:37:12,855 --> 00:37:17,085
Yeah, I think it's really interesting
how they keep proposing these spots

698
00:37:17,085 --> 00:37:22,395
where there is already legislation, as
we mentioned before, and from Obama,

699
00:37:22,424 --> 00:37:25,275
Obama, the Biden administration,
where they said you can't, and they're

700
00:37:25,275 --> 00:37:27,884
still putting in plans to get there.

701
00:37:27,884 --> 00:37:28,275
Hopefully.

702
00:37:28,275 --> 00:37:29,384
I guess they just hope that.

703
00:37:29,385 --> 00:37:32,325
People don't take 'em to court and
they don't fight it, and they can

704
00:37:32,325 --> 00:37:35,655
just continue to do it, even though
at this point it's considered illegal.

705
00:37:35,655 --> 00:37:40,215
It'll be interesting to see, uh,
what happens with those court, uh,

706
00:37:40,305 --> 00:37:45,585
proceedings typically, how long do those
types of court proceedings go on for?

707
00:37:45,585 --> 00:37:47,715
Like, will this be a decision
that's, I mean, I know it was only

708
00:37:47,715 --> 00:37:48,775
released like three weeks ago.

709
00:37:49,815 --> 00:37:50,055
Yeah.

710
00:37:50,055 --> 00:37:52,634
Is this like something that'll take
years, do you think, to litigate

711
00:37:52,694 --> 00:37:55,005
or, I know you're not a lawyer,
so I don't want to give you Yeah.

712
00:37:55,005 --> 00:37:57,555
I know this is not like professional,
but like just in your experience, do

713
00:37:57,555 --> 00:38:01,815
these take a long time to litigate
and that can that delay the process?

714
00:38:03,225 --> 00:38:08,265
Yeah, I mean, we expect these cases to
play out over a number of years, so Okay.

715
00:38:08,654 --> 00:38:13,215
Particularly the legal challenges that
relate to the Trump administration.

716
00:38:13,215 --> 00:38:14,115
Revoking.

717
00:38:14,775 --> 00:38:14,835
Yeah.

718
00:38:14,835 --> 00:38:16,370
The Biden protections, so right.

719
00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:22,680
I, yeah, and the way I would characterize
it is, you know, this, this legal work

720
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,980
and, and the litigation, it's fundamental.

721
00:38:25,980 --> 00:38:31,410
It, it's so foundational to, to, to do
everything that we can in this effort.

722
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:31,710
Absolutely.

723
00:38:31,710 --> 00:38:34,590
To lean on our existing
federal laws and policies.

724
00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:38,460
But at the same time, I don't
think there's any quick fix here.

725
00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:39,420
So, right.

726
00:38:39,660 --> 00:38:43,320
You know, we, we have our legal
department and we have, you know,

727
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:44,790
a number of other groups that.

728
00:38:45,299 --> 00:38:51,855
Uh, are working closely together on this,
on these legal strategies, but, um, it

729
00:38:51,860 --> 00:38:57,960
is certainly, at least in the short and
midterm, it is not a replacement for the

730
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:03,810
public involvement and the, the community
advocacy that, um, is really, I think,

731
00:39:03,839 --> 00:39:05,970
our best chance to protect our coasts.

732
00:39:06,390 --> 00:39:06,990
Absolutely.

733
00:39:07,589 --> 00:39:12,735
A lot of times the argument for, uh, oil
and drilling for oil is it brings in jobs.

734
00:39:13,485 --> 00:39:13,725
Right.

735
00:39:13,725 --> 00:39:16,485
We, you know, that's something
that is a big, a big thing.

736
00:39:16,485 --> 00:39:18,735
It's like, yeah, well we're
gonna bring in local jobs, people

737
00:39:18,735 --> 00:39:20,205
can go work there, it's great.

738
00:39:20,985 --> 00:39:27,315
But there are other stakeholders along
the coastlines that provide more jobs.

739
00:39:27,315 --> 00:39:27,375
Yeah.

740
00:39:27,404 --> 00:39:30,590
So something like in the Gulf, you
know, you have tourism and fishing.

741
00:39:31,875 --> 00:39:37,305
Employ more people than oil in
in the Gulf, which is saying

742
00:39:37,305 --> 00:39:39,915
something because there's a lot
of oil that goes off in the Gulf.

743
00:39:39,915 --> 00:39:43,845
So why do you think there's
always that argument of like, oil

744
00:39:43,845 --> 00:39:49,665
provides jobs, but why are those
jobs more important than the jobs?

745
00:39:49,665 --> 00:39:52,035
Knowing that what an oil spill
can do, especially in the

746
00:39:52,035 --> 00:39:54,675
Gulf, why are those typically.

747
00:39:55,695 --> 00:40:00,465
You know, prioritized over jobs
of fishing and tourism and all

748
00:40:00,465 --> 00:40:02,655
these other different things that
can happen along the coastline.

749
00:40:04,095 --> 00:40:07,815
Yeah, I mean, I, I can't tell you
why the federal administration would

750
00:40:07,815 --> 00:40:12,165
prioritize that, but I mean, I think
that's why offshore drilling is so

751
00:40:12,165 --> 00:40:16,275
unpopular because yeah, whatever
region you're looking at from the

752
00:40:16,275 --> 00:40:20,085
Florida Gulf to Alaska's fisheries to.

753
00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:22,500
California's beach economy.

754
00:40:22,620 --> 00:40:24,090
Uh, it doesn't pencil out.

755
00:40:24,150 --> 00:40:28,620
It's like, why would you put at
risk hundreds of of billion do,

756
00:40:28,710 --> 00:40:33,930
uh, billions of dollars of economic
revenue from recreation, from tourism,

757
00:40:33,930 --> 00:40:39,705
from fishing, uh, you know, all the,
the visits, the, the trip related

758
00:40:39,705 --> 00:40:44,495
expenditures of why people live and,
and visit our nation's coastlines.

759
00:40:45,390 --> 00:40:49,529
Uh, in so many ways are connected to a
clean, coastal environment, so, right.

760
00:40:50,130 --> 00:40:50,549
Yeah.

761
00:40:50,549 --> 00:40:53,910
I, the, the promise of saying,
well, we're gonna add some jobs,

762
00:40:53,910 --> 00:40:57,690
it's like, well, how many jobs are
you gonna put at risk, you know?

763
00:40:58,200 --> 00:40:58,259
Yeah.

764
00:40:58,259 --> 00:41:02,880
And communities and, and, you know,
ways of life really for, you know,

765
00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:04,440
the people who live in that region.

766
00:41:04,860 --> 00:41:09,420
I think that's a strong narrative
and argument against oil and gas.

767
00:41:09,420 --> 00:41:10,410
I really do.

768
00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:10,680
Yeah.

769
00:41:10,770 --> 00:41:15,120
I don't find that I hear it
enough to make that argument.

770
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,130
'cause you know, everybody's
worried about the economy.

771
00:41:17,130 --> 00:41:20,700
It seems like the economy always takes
over the environment, unfortunately,

772
00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:22,170
even though those go hand in hand.

773
00:41:22,170 --> 00:41:25,830
And a lot of the times when we talk
about tourism and, and, And so forth.

774
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:29,340
But it's, it's, I find a lot of
the times, you know, the economy,

775
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,260
like that argument for the economy.

776
00:41:31,585 --> 00:41:36,085
Should be really uplifting in terms of
even marketing from a nonprofit being

777
00:41:36,085 --> 00:41:40,795
like, if you work in an area that, you
know, demands a, a clean coastline, you

778
00:41:40,795 --> 00:41:44,215
do not want oil and gas, uh, to happen.

779
00:41:44,515 --> 00:41:48,560
Um, yeah, and, and I feel like this,
it kind of shows the disconnect.

780
00:41:49,410 --> 00:41:53,279
That this administration has with
the people, as you mentioned, you

781
00:41:53,279 --> 00:41:57,660
know, people are, are very, again,
not many people are for oil drilling.

782
00:41:57,990 --> 00:41:58,590
Um mm-hmm.

783
00:41:58,830 --> 00:41:59,730
On, and it doesn't matter.

784
00:41:59,730 --> 00:42:04,230
This is a, a bipartisan issue in terms
of the people, but it, it seems as

785
00:42:04,230 --> 00:42:11,460
though the people representing them are
really staunch on promoting this So.

786
00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:16,170
This is one of those things where when,
you know science communicators like

787
00:42:16,170 --> 00:42:20,100
myself, when people are trying to speak
out, scientists, conservationists,

788
00:42:20,310 --> 00:42:25,200
people who love the ocean, this
is not a, a partisan issue, right?

789
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,020
This is a environmental issue.

790
00:42:28,050 --> 00:42:29,580
This is a people issue.

791
00:42:29,970 --> 00:42:35,340
Uh, and, and the focus, if we focus on
that instead of the political side of it.

792
00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,660
In your experience, do you
find there's more success in.

793
00:42:40,470 --> 00:42:41,460
Turning that tide.

794
00:42:42,690 --> 00:42:44,790
Yeah, I think that's very well said.

795
00:42:44,820 --> 00:42:49,080
And you know, to what you were talking
about in terms of, you know, showcasing

796
00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:54,780
that business opposition, uh, surf Rider
has a sign the surfboard project that

797
00:42:54,780 --> 00:42:58,950
is ongoing on different coasts where
basically it's a surfboard that is

798
00:42:58,950 --> 00:43:05,400
traveling, uh, south to north, and it's
getting signed by coastal businesses, so

799
00:43:05,670 --> 00:43:08,490
by restaurant owners, by surf shop owners.

800
00:43:08,865 --> 00:43:14,085
By, uh, chambers of Commerce and
we actually did this project during

801
00:43:14,085 --> 00:43:15,674
the first Trump administration.

802
00:43:16,095 --> 00:43:18,585
We still have the surfboard,
uh, in our headquarters.

803
00:43:18,915 --> 00:43:20,685
It's covered with signatures.

804
00:43:20,714 --> 00:43:22,484
I can imagine all these business owners.

805
00:43:22,890 --> 00:43:26,970
We took the surfboard to
Washington, DC we, uh, paraded

806
00:43:26,970 --> 00:43:29,160
around to to members of Congress.

807
00:43:29,370 --> 00:43:31,920
We actually was small enough
you could fit through the X-ray

808
00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:33,870
machines to get into Congress.

809
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,480
Uh, And then we met with
the Trump administration.

810
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:41,940
We organized the business round
table and had executives from the

811
00:43:41,940 --> 00:43:46,800
outdoor industry, from the surf
industry, from, um, you know, chambers

812
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:48,510
of Commerce in North Carolina.

813
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:54,870
And had a good discussion both with, um,
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

814
00:43:55,350 --> 00:43:57,390
and the Department of Interior.

815
00:43:57,450 --> 00:44:01,650
And for those who remember during
the first Trump administration, they

816
00:44:01,650 --> 00:44:03,120
were trying to do the same thing.

817
00:44:03,125 --> 00:44:03,425
Same thing.

818
00:44:03,430 --> 00:44:05,970
Open up, uh, virtually all US coasts.

819
00:44:06,270 --> 00:44:11,310
To offshore drilling, and they ended up,
uh, just sort of abandoning the plan.

820
00:44:11,310 --> 00:44:15,150
They never got around to finishing
it, so there was no big announcement.

821
00:44:15,270 --> 00:44:21,060
Um, but I think, you know, this
was really the, the success that

822
00:44:21,060 --> 00:44:23,790
came from community speaking out.

823
00:44:24,060 --> 00:44:24,180
Yeah.

824
00:44:24,180 --> 00:44:28,020
You know, the, the sign, the surfboard
project was just one piece of that.

825
00:44:28,110 --> 00:44:28,350
Yeah.

826
00:44:28,355 --> 00:44:32,820
The, the, the bigger pieces were
the hundreds of, of local government

827
00:44:32,820 --> 00:44:35,190
resolutions that got passed or.

828
00:44:35,625 --> 00:44:40,275
You know, elevating tens of thousands of
businesses, uh, through these business

829
00:44:40,275 --> 00:44:43,065
alliances of saying they don't want this.

830
00:44:43,395 --> 00:44:46,935
And really, you know, building
that bipartisan opposition

831
00:44:47,295 --> 00:44:48,825
from the local level up.

832
00:44:48,825 --> 00:44:48,884
Yeah.

833
00:44:49,275 --> 00:44:54,404
To the point where, you know, I, I, I
wasn't part of those meetings behind

834
00:44:54,404 --> 00:44:58,694
closed doors with, with the Trump
administration, but you can only assume

835
00:44:58,694 --> 00:45:03,555
they just did a political calculation
that said no one wants this, including.

836
00:45:03,975 --> 00:45:06,015
You know, other members of our party.

837
00:45:06,015 --> 00:45:07,935
So let's work on something else.

838
00:45:07,935 --> 00:45:14,220
So the silver lining with this is there
is a, a pathway to victory if Yeah.

839
00:45:14,220 --> 00:45:16,725
If we build a movement that's big enough.

840
00:45:16,725 --> 00:45:22,064
If, if we spread the word and we
get not just environmental groups,

841
00:45:22,064 --> 00:45:26,924
but, but businesses, local electeds,
you know, state representatives

842
00:45:26,924 --> 00:45:28,604
speaking out about this mm-hmm.

843
00:45:29,084 --> 00:45:30,404
Um, we can win this.

844
00:45:30,404 --> 00:45:31,515
I, I do believe it.

845
00:45:32,009 --> 00:45:33,330
I, I believe it as well.

846
00:45:33,330 --> 00:45:36,060
I think you really hit the nail
on the head too, but really

847
00:45:36,060 --> 00:45:38,070
focusing on the local aspect too.

848
00:45:38,430 --> 00:45:44,820
'cause if you, if you think about it,
there is this sort of like this vastness

849
00:45:44,820 --> 00:45:50,520
and um, this, this feeling of, of, I
can't control the federal government.

850
00:45:50,535 --> 00:45:54,765
Yeah, because it's so overarching
and you know, we know, you know,

851
00:45:54,915 --> 00:45:58,785
the, this administration has a lot of
power more than other administrations,

852
00:45:59,085 --> 00:46:00,285
And so there's a worry there.

853
00:46:00,285 --> 00:46:03,944
There's this feeling of this like, you
know, it's just, it's just like, okay,

854
00:46:04,214 --> 00:46:06,285
like I guess this is what's gonna happen.

855
00:46:06,285 --> 00:46:06,915
Oh my gosh.

856
00:46:06,915 --> 00:46:09,915
Like we could be depressed about it
or we could do something about it.

857
00:46:10,185 --> 00:46:11,085
And I love that.

858
00:46:11,234 --> 00:46:14,625
Again, and this is why I love having
surf Rider on why and why I love having.

859
00:46:14,990 --> 00:46:18,830
People like yourself on Pete,
because you talk about not just as

860
00:46:18,830 --> 00:46:21,259
an individual speaking up and doing
the public commenting, but also.

861
00:46:22,530 --> 00:46:25,470
Start talking to local officials, right?

862
00:46:25,710 --> 00:46:30,630
And they pass, you know, regulations
and resolutions to not have

863
00:46:30,630 --> 00:46:35,370
oil in their municipalities, in
their cities, in their counties.

864
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:38,175
And then that goes up And then
they start, And then they start to.

865
00:46:38,485 --> 00:46:42,235
Like the federal government starts to
see the barriers just piling up and

866
00:46:42,235 --> 00:46:47,005
up and up and like, they'd be stuck in
litigation probably for the rest, you

867
00:46:47,005 --> 00:46:48,445
know, for like 30 years down the road.

868
00:46:48,445 --> 00:46:51,955
If they really wanted to try and, and,
and overpower everybody, they, they just

869
00:46:51,955 --> 00:46:53,905
can't because the mechanisms in place.

870
00:46:54,175 --> 00:46:56,725
And I think again, that's
another thing that doesn.

871
00:46:57,134 --> 00:47:00,765
And when we talk about what we can do,
it doesn't get talked about unless you're

872
00:47:00,765 --> 00:47:05,115
maybe part of the Surf Rider organization,
the volunteer network, because you, this

873
00:47:05,115 --> 00:47:08,955
is like what you guys have been doing all
this time and why you and the partners and

874
00:47:08,955 --> 00:47:13,515
collaborators have been so effective in
stopping these things from happening or

875
00:47:13,515 --> 00:47:15,944
slowing them down or making people think.

876
00:47:15,944 --> 00:47:18,615
Or maybe people have to go to
court because you're just like.

877
00:47:18,790 --> 00:47:22,390
We will do everything we can as long
as we have the power of the people and

878
00:47:22,390 --> 00:47:25,870
the people are speaking out and what
they want, not of what they've been told

879
00:47:25,870 --> 00:47:27,640
they want, but what they actually want.

880
00:47:28,210 --> 00:47:29,529
That makes a difference.

881
00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:33,700
I feel like, you know, I think that
that makes a huge, huge difference.

882
00:47:33,940 --> 00:47:37,990
So focusing on the local, building
up those resolutions within municipal

883
00:47:37,990 --> 00:47:41,950
government, talking to counselors, talking
to county members, you know, whatever that

884
00:47:41,955 --> 00:47:43,910
structure might be in wherever you live.

885
00:47:44,495 --> 00:47:48,785
Is gonna be super important, and that's
something that you actually have direct.

886
00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:50,190
That's what I love about it.

887
00:47:50,190 --> 00:47:54,600
You have a direct influence on, you know,
'cause like a lot of, like, I know my

888
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:58,650
city counselor, you know, I, I, I know
her, I interact with her, you know, we

889
00:47:58,650 --> 00:48:02,400
see her all the time, like out and around
in, in the, in the, in the town that

890
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:03,540
we live in, the city that we live in.

891
00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:06,150
And some people may have access
and some people may not, but.

892
00:48:06,205 --> 00:48:08,035
You know, that's the power of democracy.

893
00:48:08,035 --> 00:48:11,845
That's the power of what you can
do in the US and and from outside.

894
00:48:12,055 --> 00:48:15,055
I think we're seeing it with deep
sea mining, and I think we're gonna

895
00:48:15,055 --> 00:48:19,915
see it with, with oil and gas in
this plan Um, So I love that aspect.

896
00:48:19,915 --> 00:48:24,444
So, to, to give one last thing to,
to people, like one last strategy

897
00:48:24,444 --> 00:48:28,225
to people or, or, or one last sort
of like, encouragement to people.

898
00:48:28,585 --> 00:48:30,985
The people who are listening
here who may have felt.

899
00:48:32,210 --> 00:48:35,089
Just exasperated by
everything that's happening.

900
00:48:35,420 --> 00:48:39,710
What, what is the advice that
you give them and, and that, that

901
00:48:39,710 --> 00:48:43,069
Surf Rider gives them to encourage
them to continue the fight, to

902
00:48:43,069 --> 00:48:44,779
continue to act for a better ocean?

903
00:48:46,279 --> 00:48:49,490
Well, I think it's important to
know what you're fighting for.

904
00:48:49,490 --> 00:48:52,490
If you're always just fighting
against something, I think

905
00:48:52,490 --> 00:48:54,109
that that's hard to sustain.

906
00:48:54,259 --> 00:48:55,515
Uh, yeah, just mentally.

907
00:48:56,310 --> 00:48:58,080
Uh, and, and, and physically.

908
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,770
And so for me, I, I think
you do have to keep the joy.

909
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:06,780
And I think the reason why we get
such amazing volunteers, and we get

910
00:49:06,780 --> 00:49:12,000
so much done at Surf Rider is people
wanna be a part of something positive.

911
00:49:12,060 --> 00:49:12,750
And yeah.

912
00:49:13,230 --> 00:49:18,360
And I think, and and I, I've been doing
this for 20 years, but I'm the same way.

913
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:22,290
Sometimes I just need to leave my
computer and go do a beach cleanup.

914
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:26,130
For an hour and it's likeor completely.

915
00:49:26,160 --> 00:49:26,700
Yeah.

916
00:49:26,715 --> 00:49:27,005
Yeah.

917
00:49:27,630 --> 00:49:30,570
Re resettles things in, in my head.

918
00:49:30,570 --> 00:49:37,380
So, yeah, you know, o obviously we're
facing some really, really huge challenges

919
00:49:37,380 --> 00:49:42,780
when it comes to our ocean, but I think,
you know, being part of, uh, of a network

920
00:49:42,780 --> 00:49:44,490
that's doing great things locally.

921
00:49:45,569 --> 00:49:49,680
And then also being, you know, in, in
a place where you can plug in to the

922
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:54,180
power of a national network and all
the coalition partners and communities,

923
00:49:54,629 --> 00:49:57,330
um, because there is real power there.

924
00:49:57,390 --> 00:50:01,435
And that's, that's how we're gonna win
is, is by continuing to grow the movement.

925
00:50:02,325 --> 00:50:02,895
Absolutely.

926
00:50:02,895 --> 00:50:06,555
I have to, I have to admit, something
personal that happened to me is I

927
00:50:06,555 --> 00:50:09,645
joined an advocacy community online.

928
00:50:10,095 --> 00:50:12,105
And these are people, you
know, some people I know, some

929
00:50:12,105 --> 00:50:13,095
people I met through this.

930
00:50:13,095 --> 00:50:16,425
It was like a a, a WhatsApp
group and it's a bunch of science

931
00:50:16,425 --> 00:50:17,715
communicators that get together.

932
00:50:17,715 --> 00:50:22,065
It's, it's, it's monitored and, and,
and, and kind of like run a lot of the

933
00:50:22,065 --> 00:50:26,685
times or organized by, uh, the people at
Future Swell, Alex and, and Carissa Berra.

934
00:50:26,715 --> 00:50:26,775
Yeah.

935
00:50:26,955 --> 00:50:27,765
You know, wonderful.

936
00:50:27,765 --> 00:50:29,805
You probably know them, that you've
probably worked with them before.

937
00:50:29,925 --> 00:50:30,015
Mm-hmm.

938
00:50:30,345 --> 00:50:33,225
Um, and, and it made me feel,
you know, like, like there's

939
00:50:33,225 --> 00:50:34,485
multiple people doing stuff.

940
00:50:34,485 --> 00:50:38,625
We're collaborating to do stuff and I
feel like surf riders the same thing.

941
00:50:38,625 --> 00:50:42,255
When people get together, you,
people are like-minded in terms

942
00:50:42,255 --> 00:50:44,595
of they want one thing, they're
come from different backgrounds,

943
00:50:44,595 --> 00:50:45,615
different parts of the country.

944
00:50:45,915 --> 00:50:45,990
Mm-hmm.

945
00:50:45,990 --> 00:50:48,585
You know, they're all over
international, here in Canada.

946
00:50:49,005 --> 00:50:54,135
And you feel that, that, that comradery,
you feel that connection and you feel

947
00:50:54,135 --> 00:50:59,295
that power of surf rider to give you the
resources to help out to do something.

948
00:50:59,295 --> 00:51:03,615
So if people wanting, like listening to
this episode and be like, Ooh, no, no.

949
00:51:03,855 --> 00:51:05,535
Pete and And/or have hit
the nail in the head here.

950
00:51:05,535 --> 00:51:06,555
I wanna be a part of this.

951
00:51:06,705 --> 00:51:11,985
How can they get involved with, uh,
with Surf Rider as a, as a volunteer?

952
00:51:13,740 --> 00:51:17,700
I mean, the easiest way is just go to
Surf Rider Foundation, you know, look

953
00:51:17,700 --> 00:51:23,430
it up online and you can connect a
course with our national page and plug

954
00:51:23,430 --> 00:51:25,590
into our Drilling is Killing campaign.

955
00:51:25,590 --> 00:51:31,320
So within uh, seconds, you know, you
can take action and submit a comment to

956
00:51:31,320 --> 00:51:32,625
the federal government on this issue.

957
00:51:33,509 --> 00:51:36,629
Uh, but you can also find your
local chapter or your local

958
00:51:36,629 --> 00:51:39,299
student club and get involved.

959
00:51:39,299 --> 00:51:42,210
And, you know, I think one of
the great things about Surf Rider

960
00:51:42,210 --> 00:51:46,049
is, is as a volunteer you can
pick what you wanna do, you know?

961
00:51:46,049 --> 00:51:46,109
Yeah.

962
00:51:46,109 --> 00:51:49,859
Some people wanna organize events
and go to city council meetings.

963
00:51:50,160 --> 00:51:53,580
Other people are like, no, I'm, I'm
an introvert, you know, I just wanna,

964
00:51:53,970 --> 00:51:56,250
you know, do a beach cleanup or Right.

965
00:51:56,310 --> 00:51:58,740
Or help with the flyers,
or something like that.

966
00:51:58,740 --> 00:51:59,105
And so.

967
00:52:00,060 --> 00:52:03,570
That's what's neat is, is you can
join that community and just figure

968
00:52:03,570 --> 00:52:08,130
out, you know, where, where is it
that you wanna plug in and, and

969
00:52:08,250 --> 00:52:09,315
you know, how can you contribute?

970
00:52:10,395 --> 00:52:10,965
I love this.

971
00:52:10,965 --> 00:52:12,495
Pete, I wanna thank you so much.

972
00:52:12,495 --> 00:52:16,455
Not only for coming on the podcast and
sharing, uh, this valuable information,

973
00:52:16,455 --> 00:52:20,685
but also the work that you and Surf writer
have been doing for the last 20 years.

974
00:52:20,685 --> 00:52:24,165
Plus, um, you know, we, we appreciate
everything that you've done.

975
00:52:24,495 --> 00:52:27,165
Um, probably stuff that we don't even
know about, you know what I mean?

976
00:52:27,165 --> 00:52:28,935
Like, there's been so much
you've been a part of.

977
00:52:28,995 --> 00:52:31,365
Uh, I wanna thank you for the
work that you continue to do and

978
00:52:31,365 --> 00:52:33,975
the work that you've done in the
past, especially with Surf Riders.

979
00:52:33,975 --> 00:52:36,015
So thank you so much, uh,
for coming on the podcast.

980
00:52:36,015 --> 00:52:36,645
Really appreciate it.

981
00:52:36,795 --> 00:52:39,525
Love to have you back on to
talk more ocean conservation.

982
00:52:40,170 --> 00:52:41,040
Well, thank you, and/or.

983
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:42,150
Yeah, real pleasure.

984
00:52:42,150 --> 00:52:44,255
And thanks for all you're
doing to get the word out.

985
00:52:44,940 --> 00:52:47,279
Thank you, Peter, for joining
us on today's episode of the How

986
00:52:47,279 --> 00:52:48,450
to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

987
00:52:48,450 --> 00:52:52,230
It was great to be able to get context
on things that have happened in the

988
00:52:52,230 --> 00:52:55,350
past with oil and gas, especially
with that oil spill that came to the

989
00:52:55,350 --> 00:52:57,060
shores of Orange County, California.

990
00:52:57,180 --> 00:52:59,549
I think it really reminisces on how much.

991
00:52:59,875 --> 00:53:03,625
Oil spills happen and how often, and we
don't realize, a lot of times it doesn't

992
00:53:03,625 --> 00:53:07,765
come to the shore, but this just happened
four years ago in 2021 with Orange County,

993
00:53:07,765 --> 00:53:11,605
and people were devastated even to the
fact that people come four years later

994
00:53:11,605 --> 00:53:15,685
to a public meeting to say, Hey, we
do not want offshore drilling anymore.

995
00:53:15,685 --> 00:53:16,040
We do not want.

996
00:53:16,650 --> 00:53:19,740
Offshore oil drilling because it
is going to affect our business.

997
00:53:19,740 --> 00:53:21,300
It's gonna affect our livelihoods.

998
00:53:21,510 --> 00:53:24,360
It's not just about
oil and energy anymore.

999
00:53:24,480 --> 00:53:29,340
It's about how it affects the people of
the us, how it affects the people that

1000
00:53:29,340 --> 00:53:31,705
depend on the economies of the ocean.

1001
00:53:32,370 --> 00:53:35,220
Right, and this is something
that goes across the us.

1002
00:53:35,220 --> 00:53:38,580
It's the common denominator
around all of this is the people.

1003
00:53:38,580 --> 00:53:41,250
And if we want to protect the
people, we need to protect the

1004
00:53:41,250 --> 00:53:43,080
ocean from offshore oil drilling.

1005
00:53:43,170 --> 00:53:45,930
And so that was great to be able
to have Pete on to talk about

1006
00:53:45,930 --> 00:53:47,400
how it affects those communities.

1007
00:53:47,460 --> 00:53:49,470
And I would love to hear
your thoughts on this.

1008
00:53:49,500 --> 00:53:52,500
Let me know in the comments below if
you're watching this on YouTube or if

1009
00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:55,770
you go to speak up for blue.com/feedback.

1010
00:53:55,830 --> 00:53:57,509
You could let me know
of your comments there.

1011
00:53:57,509 --> 00:53:59,850
I would love to hear what you have to say.

1012
00:53:59,935 --> 00:54:01,555
There's other places where
you can leave comments.

1013
00:54:01,555 --> 00:54:03,685
If you're listening on
Spotify, leave a comment.

1014
00:54:03,715 --> 00:54:04,795
We actually have comments.

1015
00:54:04,795 --> 00:54:06,985
I'll reply to it 'cause
I checked those as well.

1016
00:54:07,015 --> 00:54:08,665
There's so many ways we can engage.

1017
00:54:08,755 --> 00:54:10,465
This is about community building.

1018
00:54:10,465 --> 00:54:13,945
This is about saying, Hey, as a
community we can stop this stuff.

1019
00:54:13,945 --> 00:54:16,855
We can put in public comment, we
can talk to influential people

1020
00:54:16,855 --> 00:54:18,295
that we may know in our lives.

1021
00:54:18,460 --> 00:54:23,770
We can join Surf Rider as a volunteer and
work in within their internal organization

1022
00:54:23,770 --> 00:54:25,450
to be like, Hey, how do we stop this?

1023
00:54:25,450 --> 00:54:27,100
There's so many things that you can do.

1024
00:54:27,190 --> 00:54:29,410
Work with Oceania, work with a surf rider.

1025
00:54:29,500 --> 00:54:32,950
There's just so many things that you can
do, And then just speak up for yourself.

1026
00:54:32,980 --> 00:54:35,590
That's the greatest power
that you have in a democracy.

1027
00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:38,755
So I would love to hear your thoughts
on this, comments down below.

1028
00:54:39,075 --> 00:54:42,615
Go to speak up for blue.com/feedback
so you can hear your comments.

1029
00:54:42,705 --> 00:54:45,435
I'll even publish them at some
points if you're okay with it.

1030
00:54:45,524 --> 00:54:47,924
I wanna thank Pete for
joining me on today's episode.

1031
00:54:47,924 --> 00:54:50,564
I wanna thank you for listening
and I wanna just thank you.

1032
00:54:50,714 --> 00:54:51,495
This is awesome.

1033
00:54:51,495 --> 00:54:54,345
I love hearing from people,
I love engaging with people.

1034
00:54:54,435 --> 00:54:58,845
It's the why I decided to do this science
communication thing in the first place.

1035
00:54:58,904 --> 00:55:01,754
And so it's just great to have
you on this episode of the How

1036
00:55:01,754 --> 00:55:03,075
to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

1037
00:55:03,075 --> 00:55:03,975
I'm your host, Angela.

1038
00:55:04,165 --> 00:55:05,725
From the true North, strong and free.

1039
00:55:05,725 --> 00:55:06,355
Have a great day.

1040
00:55:06,355 --> 00:55:08,575
We'll talk to you next time
and help you conservation.