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You may have seen in the last few weeks and months that the concept of the Wave Hub, and its impending construction in Cornwall, is causing quite a stir. SAS have been promoting its building, outlining the positives of its technology, and the benefit of wave technology to us all.
As usual, and as we would expect, there is a balanced debate going on about harnessing the power of the ocean. Some surfers have expressed dismay about the project, likening the Cornish coastline to Blackpool, and worrying about a decrease in wave size and quality.
SAS have stated that there may be a 13 per cent reduction in wave height along a small section of the north coast, however more realistically we may see about a 5 percent decrease. Nick Harrington of South West Regional Development Agency has been quoting a figure of an 11 per cent drop-off in wave height.
We have also seen estimates that wave energy from the North Atlantic could generate up to 15 per cent of the UK’s energy needs.
When all the facts and figures have been digested and the pros and cons weighed up, the rhetoric chewed up and spat out, what are we left with?
There is an underlying feeling here, that somehow the surfing community is missing the point. Or rather not missing the point, but simply choosing to ignore the point for their own means. In a moment of poignant irony, it’s the politicians that seem to have got it right this time. The Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell commented that we should not be so selfish, stating “we can help save the planet and still have enough surfing for everyone.”
He may well have hit the nail exactly and very roundly on the head. That’s exactly how we see it at Drift.
Now we can understand people like Tyson Greenaway of the Gwithian Academy of Surfing describing the project as a huge concern. The project is comparable to someone restricting the advertising we can sell in our own magazine, therefore losing money. But in this case there is a clear advantage to everyone else in building this behemoth in the sea. We help to stop our planet rotting. Simple really.
We always use the analogy of planting an airport in some sorry, country goer’s back yard. It is a hammer blow to them, ultimately it will wreck the value of their house, and reduce their level of comfort. But it will create a growing economy, jobs, wealth, economic expansion and benefits which were previously untold of in a wide area of the country. And that’s survival, that’s how life works out, it’s not fair, but its progression and you will rarely stop it.
In the case of the Wave Hub, which will bring a significant reduction in our reliance on fossil fuels, surely this is an acceptable form of progression.
We say don’t fight it. We have to fight for green change in this country, at the highest level, and we should not have to. Get acquainted with the Governments policy on green fuels, and this project seems like a god send. Take spent vegetable oil, from food fryers, as a replacement fuel for diesel engines. It runs unmodified in most cars and vans, with improved performance and mpg, it has fewer pollutants and is essentially carbon neutral. So why does HM Customs and Excise insist on taxing it at the same rate as regular pump diesel? It is easy to lose all faith in the institution when these circumstances raise their head, however with the Wave Hub, we are being gifted with a chance to make a difference.
Here at Drift we have spent many hours pondering the question of the Wave Hub, and wind farms, and every other speckle of hope on the horizon.
Why are our own communities, the people we love to represent, turning against this idea? In the murky light of our little office, we read some words which really concerned us.
“Surfing is worth more than £70m a year to the Cornish economy, with surfers spending £21m a year on boards, wet suits and swimwear.”
We don’t think these figures are right, we’ve been looking into it, and we think the approach is all wrong. Surfing is worth a whole lot more than that, it’s worth our conscience. If you want to call it a sport, call it a sport, or a lifestyle or whatever you like. It’s the relationship with nature that makes surfing very special, and if the very chasers of the cause can’t see that no amount of money is worth this world, then we need to reevaluate what we are doing as surfers.
The Government would love to tell us nuclear power is safe, an opinion for which the jury is most definitely out. In fact they’ve left the building. Tell that to the residents of Three Mile Island or Chernobyl. Perhaps the International Atomic Energy Agency should do a feasibility study in Cornwall, and then we’d see some real resistance. Chris Power, of Carve Magazine was recently heard proclaiming “The surf industry is worth such a huge amount that surfers wouldn’t stand for it”.
Stand for what exactly? A green energy source at the expense of a few waves? If the alternative is nuclear power, surely a reality check is in order.
As a collection of individuals do we not have the moral courage to endorse something that will help preserve what we assure everyone we stand for, an unspoiled seascape?
The outdoors, free spirit, a special relationship with nature, a spiritual path, we’ve been bleating about this for years. But when the chips are down, we seem to have conveniently forgotten all of this and instead mutter something about our wallets, and 11 per cent wave height reductions.
Perhaps it is time that we really looked into our hearts and asked what we believe in, what is true to our conscience, and then decide whether we should be part of this kingly past time anymore.
Update:
The Environment Secretary David Miliband is welcoming a multi-million wave and tidal power scheme in Cornwall.
He told the TUC Conference in Brighton that the programme - part of a 50-million pound Government project - was a key energy source.
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable
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