Why Sea + Soil?
It’s no surprise that our oceans are under threat. As surfers, we are left asking ourselves if our children and grandchildren will know the same freedom and pure, existential joy of wave riding that we have had the privilege to experience for generations. The truth is -
The answer to how we can best protect our oceans lies right under our feet.
How are sea and soil ecosystems connected? And how can humans work symbiotically with these ecosystems to save us from climate disaster? We seem to be finding new answers to these questions every day, but here are a few that everyone should know.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture is the nation’s leading cause of impaired water quality. The nitrogen and phosphorus in chemical fertilizers discharge into our oceans which feed algal blooms. Algal blooms are a rapid accumulation of algae that deplete oxygen in the water, resulting in “dead zones,” vast swathes of ocean water that are insufficient for life to flourish. The once biologically rich water tonics of our oceans are now turning into underwater deserts. The reality is, agricultural practices are leaving our oceans warmer, more acidic, and devoid of life.
415 dead zones have been identified by scientists worldwide, resulting in the exodus of over 10 million tons of crustaceans, fish, and mammals. The areas most affected by dead zones are the East Coast of the United States and the coastlines of the Baltic States, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. Historically, dead zones naturally occur; but human activities (due primarily to agriculture runoff) are emitting nearly twice as much nitrogen and three times as much phosphorus as natural emissions.
This leads us to a series of other questions - what are the agricultural practices we’re using, why are they so harmful and is there another way? Due to the exploitive and often poisonous methods of conventional/chemical agriculture, we have lost half of the topsoil on the planet in the last 150 years, and the U.N. warns that there are only 60 harvests left before our soils are too barren to feed the planet. Since glyphosate has been introduced in the mid-late 1990s, about 4.5 billion pounds has been sprayed on our soils. This sounds like very bad news - and it is. However, through a restructuring of our food systems and soil management, we have the power and potential to innovate new ways of growing food that rebuild strong soil. The premise of regenerative agriculture is to restore soil health, increase biodiversity, improve watersheds, and enhance ecology. When we revitalize the health of the soil, it decreases the probability of runoff and increases the soil’s water holding capacity, as well as strengthen its ability to store carbon (aka carbon sequestration) which can decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. It is not only possible, but essential to feed the future without the dependence on chemical compounds.
More than 7 billion living microorganisms are the foundational ingredients for life here on earth. Where are those microorganisms found? You guessed it - in the sea and the soil! The systems and methodologies in which we grow our food affect not only our oceans and the life within them, but also alter our own human microbiome. Much like the sea + soil, we too have trillions of microorganisms that live on and in our bodies that contribute to our larger genetic portrait. So as surfers, if we farm healthy, rich soil abundant in microorganisms, we can not only protect our oceans, but we can also take in so many of those healthy bacteria through our hands and feet. In combination with growing nutrient dense food that nourishes our bodies, that’s a combo for healthier and happier humans, with less sick days and more time to shred.
Our goal at Sea + Soil is to craft a narrative of hope, an homage to the magnificence and sacredness of all life forms, revealing that evolution happens through a web of interconnectedness contingent upon our human behavior and actions. This is why surfers play such an important role in conservation work - as the old saying goes, “Only a surfer knows the feeling.” Maybe so. Humans must fall back in love with nature, we protect what we love. But if we can’t get the world to surf, we can at least leverage our passion to save the waves for future generations.