I just received word that the girlfriend of one of my friends lost both of her parents due to an accident during Hurricane Sandy. A tree fell on their car while driving. The car was carrying her parents as well as her younger siblings. Fortunately the children made it out okay, but their family is now torn apart. Their entire lives are forever changed and the eldest, Zoe, is now the guardian of her three siblings. Please click this link and donate anything that you can to support Zoe and her siblings and help them get going during this horrific time in their lives.
http://www.wishuponahero.com/wishes/?id=1316547
As someone that has lost a parent at a young age, there are no words to describe what she and her family are feeling. I cannot relate, nor imagine, the pain of losing both parents at once. So please, whether it is a few dollars or a few pennies, anything will help them and it will mean the world to them.
Lets show Zoe and her family some love and let them know that they are not alone and that we will be here in their time of need.
Thanks,
Vince
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
It has been a rough 48 hours here on the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy has wreaked havoc, caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, left millions without power and has unfortunately taken the lives of those in the path of the storm. The damage is unimaginable - more than what most of us had expected. Iconic landmarks are now part of the sea, such as the Casino Pier in Sea Side Heights, NJ; Rockaway Beach and Rockaway, NY are now in ruins and ashes...the list goes on and on. The recovery may take months, if not years. Although this storm can take our physical belongings, it has not taken the camaraderie among neighbors and strangers. All night, we have seen people helping others get out of harms way, and this morning - in the aftermath - everyone is helping anyone clean up the mess. It is truly inspirational.
Much of the devastation has occurred in the barrier islands and coastal communities of NC, MD, DE, NJ and NY, with more to come to the North East region of the country. But from what we have seen this morning, entire towns are destroyed. Thousands of people are now displaced from their homes, which are now covered in sand or still under water.
Unfortunately, this storm was inevitable and the damage that occurred was as well. It is all part of a natural process that humans have tried to control.
Barrier islands are not meant for people to live on; they are natural formations that evolve over time and move away and towards the land. This process usually takes hundreds, if not thousands of years, but with humans industrializing and colonizing these islands, we have tried to stop this process from happening. From pictures we have seen this morning, beaches are now 3 blocks inland in Ocean City, NJ (the same is seen all over the coast). This is meant to happen and these storms are the driving force of this process. We have halted the process, known as barrier island migration, by constantly building up beaches as they erode over the years. Had we not done this, these islands may be miles closer to the coast, or part of the actual coastline by now.
These features act as barriers to the harsh elements of the sea, which is exactly why the are called barrier islands. By putting communities on these islands, no one will ever be safe from storms. By resisting coastal erosion through the building up of beaches, known as beach dredging, we are increasing the chances of a catastrophe if a large enough storm were to come through - which is exactly what we have seen this weekend.
This same theory can be applied to forest fires. Humans suppress forest fires in an attempt to protect humans. That is fine, it is what we have to do in some cases. But forest fires are a natural process used to restore nature and are an essential part of the ecosystem. Unfortunately, as humans suppress forest fires, this allows for the oils, that burn and fuel the fires, to accumulate. Eventually, there will be such an accumulation of these oils that once a fire starts, it will be almost impossible to control and stop. This is what we have seen this year with the massive forest fires in the Midwest, Western and Southwestern United States.
Humans are trying to play the role of God on Earth. We constantly try and control something much more powerful than we will ever be - Nature. There are some things that are just meant to happen, some places we are just not meant to live and some things that we will never be able to control. These deadly interactions between natural disasters and humans will become a common theme for the future. There is a population boom occurring and only so much land for humans to live on, so it is inevitable that these disasters will affect humans more often.
The point I am trying to get across is this: we must let nature run its course. By suppressing her, it will only make things worse. Hurricane Sandy has proven my point by nearly annihilating the Mid-Atlantic coastal communities. People's front porches, 200 yards from where the beach used to be, are now under 2 feet of sand. With major hurricanes projected to continuously target this region due to climate change, we can only expect that we will continue to experience this devastation and will unfortunately continue to lose lives. I understand that at this point, there is nothing we can really do. I am not trying to convince people to move entire communities inland and off barrier island - that is nearly impossible. But just know that Hurricane Sandy-type scenario's will become more common. Unfortunately, that is the harsh reality of it all and the consequences of humans trying to control Mother Nature.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this storm, whether you have lost a home, have a damaged home, know someone who affected by Sandy, and for those who we have lost and those injured. We will all be there to help you in this time of need.
Donate anything that you can to the Red Cross, they are running short on supplies and finances.
http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Responding-to-Hurricane-Sandy
Also, volunteer at soup kitchens and shelters where thousands of people are now calling home. They need your help desperately.
Send your stories or pictures of Sandy to clementiv@comcast.net and I will repost them. This is a time for all of us to come together and help one another.
Batter Park Tunnel, NY
Much of the devastation has occurred in the barrier islands and coastal communities of NC, MD, DE, NJ and NY, with more to come to the North East region of the country. But from what we have seen this morning, entire towns are destroyed. Thousands of people are now displaced from their homes, which are now covered in sand or still under water.
Unfortunately, this storm was inevitable and the damage that occurred was as well. It is all part of a natural process that humans have tried to control.
Barrier islands are not meant for people to live on; they are natural formations that evolve over time and move away and towards the land. This process usually takes hundreds, if not thousands of years, but with humans industrializing and colonizing these islands, we have tried to stop this process from happening. From pictures we have seen this morning, beaches are now 3 blocks inland in Ocean City, NJ (the same is seen all over the coast). This is meant to happen and these storms are the driving force of this process. We have halted the process, known as barrier island migration, by constantly building up beaches as they erode over the years. Had we not done this, these islands may be miles closer to the coast, or part of the actual coastline by now.
These features act as barriers to the harsh elements of the sea, which is exactly why the are called barrier islands. By putting communities on these islands, no one will ever be safe from storms. By resisting coastal erosion through the building up of beaches, known as beach dredging, we are increasing the chances of a catastrophe if a large enough storm were to come through - which is exactly what we have seen this weekend.
This same theory can be applied to forest fires. Humans suppress forest fires in an attempt to protect humans. That is fine, it is what we have to do in some cases. But forest fires are a natural process used to restore nature and are an essential part of the ecosystem. Unfortunately, as humans suppress forest fires, this allows for the oils, that burn and fuel the fires, to accumulate. Eventually, there will be such an accumulation of these oils that once a fire starts, it will be almost impossible to control and stop. This is what we have seen this year with the massive forest fires in the Midwest, Western and Southwestern United States.
Humans are trying to play the role of God on Earth. We constantly try and control something much more powerful than we will ever be - Nature. There are some things that are just meant to happen, some places we are just not meant to live and some things that we will never be able to control. These deadly interactions between natural disasters and humans will become a common theme for the future. There is a population boom occurring and only so much land for humans to live on, so it is inevitable that these disasters will affect humans more often.
The point I am trying to get across is this: we must let nature run its course. By suppressing her, it will only make things worse. Hurricane Sandy has proven my point by nearly annihilating the Mid-Atlantic coastal communities. People's front porches, 200 yards from where the beach used to be, are now under 2 feet of sand. With major hurricanes projected to continuously target this region due to climate change, we can only expect that we will continue to experience this devastation and will unfortunately continue to lose lives. I understand that at this point, there is nothing we can really do. I am not trying to convince people to move entire communities inland and off barrier island - that is nearly impossible. But just know that Hurricane Sandy-type scenario's will become more common. Unfortunately, that is the harsh reality of it all and the consequences of humans trying to control Mother Nature.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this storm, whether you have lost a home, have a damaged home, know someone who affected by Sandy, and for those who we have lost and those injured. We will all be there to help you in this time of need.
Donate anything that you can to the Red Cross, they are running short on supplies and finances.
http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Responding-to-Hurricane-Sandy
Also, volunteer at soup kitchens and shelters where thousands of people are now calling home. They need your help desperately.
Send your stories or pictures of Sandy to clementiv@comcast.net and I will repost them. This is a time for all of us to come together and help one another.
Videos:
AP Raw footage of infiltrating blocks inland on barrier islands, recovery efforts and sea footage.
Ocean City, NJ local surfer, Rob Kelly, with footage of the beginning of the storm.
Ocean City, NJ local surfer, Rob Kelly, with footage of the aftermath on 1st Street.
Photos:
What is left of the Atlantic City Boardwak
Casino Pier, Sea Side Heights, NJ...That is the famous roller coaster in the ocean.
The Rockaways in NYC, over 80 homes were destroyed last night due to fires.
The Pumphouse in Florida looking like Teahupoo.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The Neglected Issue
Before I start this article, I must say one thing. You need to vote in this election. Whether or not you believe your vote matters or not shouldn't come into consideration. While your vote may not determine who the president will be, your vote has significant impacts on Senate, House and local elections. It is these elections that are very important and will have an impact on whether or not the policies that these two candidates put forth will be passed. So go out and vote, you can make a difference.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over the past six months, Americans have been plagued by the onslaught of commercials, political smash-talking, frustration and are now counting down the days until all of this is over. Well my friends, October offers hope; we are only a month away from election day. In addition, it is debate season and in many cases, these events are the deciding factors by the target demographic in this years election: the Independent and Undecided Voters.
We have seen four (3 presidential and 1 vice-presidential) very different debates this month that some would argue was a sweeping victory for one campaign, or a tie between the two. The usual talking points were the focus in all of these debates; whether it was foreign or domestic policy, education, the Middle-East, the economy, taxes, Big Bird, Battleship or Romnesia, it didn't matter - it was all the same information that we have heard from both candidates during this entire campaigning season. Very little of what I heard was new to me; I feel that the only benefits, and therefore purpose, of these debates was to allow the candidates to be in the same room so the audience could size up their policies while looking at the same screen. Like I said earlier, the chances of these debates making a Democrat or Republican reconsider their vote is slim to none. Instead these debates were an opportunity for President Obama and Mitt Romney to move their policies towards the center and try and pull as many undecideds to their side.
In the first debate, Mitt Romney came out swinging; I think that based solely off of intensity and what seemed like catching the president off-guard, Romney was the clear winner. But basing it solely off of material, neither candidate "schooled" the other - it was all the same talking points from their stump speeches.
In the Vice-Presidential debate, many thought that it was this debate that could win it for one side or lose it for the other. Vice-President Biden, some thought, felt that it was imperative that he win this debate to keep the chances of winning on November 6th alive. My take from this event was this: it was a close tie, a few zingers, the same topics as in the first debate, and the vice-presidential candidates were simply reiterating what their campaigning partners said just a few days prior. Both men did a great job and both brought up good points that seemed to catch the other off guard.
In the third debate, we saw something starkly different from the first debate: It seemed as if President Obama came to play. In the town hall format, which was my favorite of them all, it gave the candidates a chance to interact with citizens who confronted them with what they felt were the biggest issues: Education, Taxes, the Economy, Middle-East Relations, etc...the same old topics. In this debate, though, I think President Obama pushed back on Mitt Romney and took this debate based off of intensity, winning over the public, but also by bringing in fact-checking in the national spotlight and by strongly refuting many of Romney's claims; this is something that we did not see out of Mitt Romney in the first debate.
At this point we are at a close tie in debate wins and loses, and a close tie in national polls.
On October 22nd, the final debate took place in Florida; it was a debate that many saw as clearly the most important due to the closeness in polls, and probably the last chance that the candidates would have to convince the public that they are the person for the job. The topics that everyone expected were discussed: Libya, Iran, Russia, Israel, wars, and somehow education was thrown in there. Based off of the material each candidate brought forth, I gave this win to President Obama, as did much of the nation. He strongly refuted Governor Romney's claims on the president's record, exposed his "flip-flopping", and it seemed as if Mitt Romney agreed with the president more than he disagreed with him. To give credit to Romney there were a few points that he made that I thought were strong, but he didn't have much of a choice but to agree with the president on issues that he had no knowledge of or experience in. It is hard to tell the President that intelligence is wrong, or that actions he is taking are wrong when: 1) he has little to no foreign policy experience, 2) he agrees with the president and says that he would take similar actions, and 3) the public realizes that he has been largely inconsistent with his own views on certain issues.
All were great interesting debates; by my count, Obama won by one debate, but the topics were the ones that everyone was expecting and the same ones that have been the focus of their campaigns stump speeches over the last year.
Here is where many people were confused, there seemed to be one issue that was completely overlooked by all 4 debates: Climate Change. This years debate season is the first time in almost 30 years that neither candidate spoke of climate change, environmental issues, nor did the moderators bring up a question including climate change. Why? Because in today's world, it is Political Suicide. The phrase "climate change" is one that politicians dare not speak of anymore; it is not included in speeches, it is not mentioned in debates and God help them if any of them propose a bill that addresses this issue.
The questions in all four debates were either chosen or formulated by the moderators team and the moderators team only; neither the campaigns, nor the Commission on Presidential Debates, knew of the questions prior to the debates. This would mean that it was the moderators that did not include climate change as an issue in the debates. Why? Does it not carry as much of an importance as other issues? Do people not care about it that much? Do the moderators realize that by discussing climate change, it could destroy their political careers? No one really knows the real reasoning behind this choice by the moderators, but it was a missed opportunity for the candidates to get out of their comfort zone and discuss a very real issue and to get their exact opinions on it.
Now, I am not arguing this simply because I am an environmentalist and this is what I study, almost every news outlet - including CNN, the New York Time, the Guardian, and almost every city based newspaper - expressed their concern about this. Even the Third Party Presidential Debate talked about it!
This is nothing new, from what I can remember about this campaign season, there has only been one mention of climate change in either of the candidates' speeches, and that came during their speeches at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Mitt Romney seemed to have doubted and mocked the science behind climate change and the idea of climate change itself. President Obama came back condemning these comments by Governor Romney and made the point that climate change was a serious and real threat by mentioning rising sea levels. The only topic that is remotely close to climate change is energy, which is something that has had a heavy emphasis by both candidates in this election.
Other than those few sentences by each candidate, these campaigns have barely mentioned the term "climate change", let alone a concern for it. We have to do our own research and take a close look at where each candidate stands on climate change to get a better understanding of the policies that they might approve or disapprove in their presidency.
President Obama has been the candidate between the two that has at times recognized climate change as a big issue that we face. From sea-level rise to carbon emissions, the president has understood the severity of the issues at hand. Unfortunately, possibly due to the restrictions of being a first-term president, he has yet to put forth any significant policies addressing climate change. Many first-term presidents tend to be more conservative with their policies to try and ensure a second term. In the second term, the presidents that have won a reelection tend to have the flexibility to act on the issues in a more aggressive manner. So it is possible that if President Obama is reelected, he will finally act on climate change, which is a rumor that has been circulating over the past few months. The president has proposed many environmentally related policies so far, such as a carbon emissions cap-and-trade system, fuel efficiency standards, vehicle emissions standards, methods to make energy extraction cleaner and more efficient, etc; but there has yet to be any proposed policy directly aimed at climate change. Examples of these would be carbon sequestration procedures, acting - in an international effort - to reduce carbon emissions in the nations that emit the most, boost alternative energy capabilities and start to draw back on fossil fuel usage, limit logging and clear cutting forests, deforestation, etc. Perhaps the biggest environmental issue that the president has faced so far is the Keystone XL pipeline. This, as many accredited scientists all around the world have said, could be the tipping point of climate change. With the immense burning of Canadian tar sands, which are some of the dirtiest types of crude oil, atmospheric carbon levels, which are already close to 400ppm (some of the highest levels ever), would skyrocket. Some rumors have come about that President Obama will sign the proposal of the Keystone XL pipeline into effect in his second term. I, along with many others, hope that this is not the case.
Mitt Romney has a very different view on energy and the environment than the President. From the beginning of his campaigning (some 6 years ago), Romney has been one of the only GOP presidential candidates that had believed in climate change and global warming, and to an extent attributed it to humans. But recently, he has changed his opinion. Some say that it is due to him trying to conform to far-right conservative ideologies, others argue that it is his attempt to please political donors. All that we can take from it is that at this point, he is against climate change action and his policies are proof of that. When he released his energy policy for his presidency just a few months ago, it was very simple: Drill for oil, mine for coal, frack for natural gas and use it all. Not once did he mention renewables, cutting emissions, etc. In fact, he did the opposite by stating that he hopes to remove certain regulations that "kill jobs" in the fossil fuels industry.
These two candidates clearly have different views on the environment and on energy policies. Whoever wins this election will have no choice but to face this issue head on. This next term, in my opinion, will determine the future of our environment domestically and globally.
Climate change is arguably one of the most important issues that the global community faces. With carbon emissions being one of the leading factors in climate change, there are only a few nations that have significantly contributed to this, and these are the same nations that have failed to act to clean up their mess. At the top of the list is the United States; we are the leading emitter of carbon dioxide, we are the leading consumer of oil, we are fourth in oil production, number one in natural gas production, number one in natural gas consumption, second in coal production and second in coal consumption. In the mix with the United States is China, Russia and India. We are the dirties nations in the world, we have created this mess and we refuse to clean it up. Instead, developing nations and under-developed nations are starting to cut their consumption of fossil fuels; these nations are in many cases the nations that are being directly, and most severely, affected by climate change. In some cases, small island nations in the Pacific can do nothing but sit back and watch as the waters flood their land and will eventually have to relocate an entire nation to another part of the world.
Some projections show that by the end of the century, we may have 100 million to 1 billion environmental refugees due to climate change. With global population expected to boom within the next 20-30 years, if nothing happens now, it will only become worse.
Over the last 2 or 3 years, serious climate change talks have virtually vanished at the national and international levels. The Rio+20 summit in June 2012 in some ways confirms that. This summit was 20 years after the original Rio Earth Summit for the United Nations. This gathering addressed the main issues attributed with climate change: carbon emissions, oil, gas and coal combustion, alternative energy and health problems. After that meeting, many nations and their peoples had a goal to meet certain goals that would put us on the right path, the United States was one of them. Twenty years later, that goal has become a reality in some nations, but for many, it was lost in a pile of papers.
Going into Rio+20, the world was hoping for intense international climate change talks, detailed policies to address climate change, treaties to be signed and to come out of this summit with a goal for a healthier, cleaner and sustainable future. Instead, we had a conference where the leaders of the top carbon emitting nations were absent, where there was no international treaties and the hopes of many were diminished. Was this summit the last chance for international action? I don't know, but I do not see an emergency gathering at the UN to address climate change any time soon.
Perhaps this notion that we saw at Rio+20 - not making climate change a priority, not putting forth policies that will combat climate change, and worrying about how certain decisions, as they relate to the environment, will affect the way your constituents view you politically - has rubbed off on the two candidates.
I can not believe, nor do I think, that climate change was not a potential question that the moderators were going to ask in the debates. The odds of the moderators, their teams and the town hall-er's, not bringing up climate change is slim to none. The only explanations that I can think of for this decision by the moderators is that 1) they believed that it was not an important topic, 2) that it was too risky of a question to ask the candidates, and 3) that climate change really was not brought up in the question-making discussions, not one person at the town hall event mentioned it and not one person that sent in questions for the other debates mentioned climate change. The last one can be eliminated in my opinion. As for the first option, I do not think that climate change not being an important topic is a credible excuse; polls show, both nationally and internationally, that a majority of people believe that climate change it occurring, that it is influenced by human activities and that it is a threat to our society. But just as climate change was neglected, gay rights, immigration, drug policy, gun control and abortion were neglected as well; this is supporting evidence that climate change, as well as the others, may have been too risky of questions to ask the candidates. But isn't this what we want to see out of debates?
We have already heard the president and Mitt Romney's stances on foreign policy, domestic policy and the economy hundreds of times. When will moderators and the presidential debate committee create debates focused on social issues and eco issues. Don't we want to see the candidates back's up against the ropes to see what their opinions are on tough, politically risky questions? Those, to me, are the questions that will sway voters. Democrats have certain policies for the economy, tax codes, and foreign and domestic policy that almost never change; this goes for the Republicans, too. People who associate themselves with one of these parties know that, and so does everyone else. So by simply reiterating these standard policies or stump speeches in a debate does nothing for the voters...in fact it frustrates us. If a candidate were to answer a question on abortion or gay rights in a certain way, we may very well see that democratic vote suddenly turn into a republican vote - something that is said to be virtually impossible. It is questions related to social and eco issues that people really want to see.
These controversial topics expose what type of person the candidates really are, these are the important issues that constantly are neglected and undermined in political campaigns. Neglecting or writing off these important issues that we face as a nation and as a world do not take away from the importance that each of them carries. Nor will ignoring them make them go away, they will only get worse. Sooner or later, one candidate will have to step-up and and take that risk by answering these questions. I know that if I were running for president I would. I know that these issues are what people want to hear in debates and that people want to see incorporated into stump speeches. Whether or not we face economic disasters or war, social issues and environmental issues will always be around. When that candidate comes around, he or she will create a new era in politics. An era where politicians address the real issues at hand, issues that will shape a nation and shape the world. Issues that will create policies to ensure our safety and the stability of the environment. Issues that create equality and opportunity. The politician that addresses these issues, well...they will be rewarded.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over the past six months, Americans have been plagued by the onslaught of commercials, political smash-talking, frustration and are now counting down the days until all of this is over. Well my friends, October offers hope; we are only a month away from election day. In addition, it is debate season and in many cases, these events are the deciding factors by the target demographic in this years election: the Independent and Undecided Voters.
We have seen four (3 presidential and 1 vice-presidential) very different debates this month that some would argue was a sweeping victory for one campaign, or a tie between the two. The usual talking points were the focus in all of these debates; whether it was foreign or domestic policy, education, the Middle-East, the economy, taxes, Big Bird, Battleship or Romnesia, it didn't matter - it was all the same information that we have heard from both candidates during this entire campaigning season. Very little of what I heard was new to me; I feel that the only benefits, and therefore purpose, of these debates was to allow the candidates to be in the same room so the audience could size up their policies while looking at the same screen. Like I said earlier, the chances of these debates making a Democrat or Republican reconsider their vote is slim to none. Instead these debates were an opportunity for President Obama and Mitt Romney to move their policies towards the center and try and pull as many undecideds to their side.
In the first debate, Mitt Romney came out swinging; I think that based solely off of intensity and what seemed like catching the president off-guard, Romney was the clear winner. But basing it solely off of material, neither candidate "schooled" the other - it was all the same talking points from their stump speeches.
In the Vice-Presidential debate, many thought that it was this debate that could win it for one side or lose it for the other. Vice-President Biden, some thought, felt that it was imperative that he win this debate to keep the chances of winning on November 6th alive. My take from this event was this: it was a close tie, a few zingers, the same topics as in the first debate, and the vice-presidential candidates were simply reiterating what their campaigning partners said just a few days prior. Both men did a great job and both brought up good points that seemed to catch the other off guard.
In the third debate, we saw something starkly different from the first debate: It seemed as if President Obama came to play. In the town hall format, which was my favorite of them all, it gave the candidates a chance to interact with citizens who confronted them with what they felt were the biggest issues: Education, Taxes, the Economy, Middle-East Relations, etc...the same old topics. In this debate, though, I think President Obama pushed back on Mitt Romney and took this debate based off of intensity, winning over the public, but also by bringing in fact-checking in the national spotlight and by strongly refuting many of Romney's claims; this is something that we did not see out of Mitt Romney in the first debate.
At this point we are at a close tie in debate wins and loses, and a close tie in national polls.
On October 22nd, the final debate took place in Florida; it was a debate that many saw as clearly the most important due to the closeness in polls, and probably the last chance that the candidates would have to convince the public that they are the person for the job. The topics that everyone expected were discussed: Libya, Iran, Russia, Israel, wars, and somehow education was thrown in there. Based off of the material each candidate brought forth, I gave this win to President Obama, as did much of the nation. He strongly refuted Governor Romney's claims on the president's record, exposed his "flip-flopping", and it seemed as if Mitt Romney agreed with the president more than he disagreed with him. To give credit to Romney there were a few points that he made that I thought were strong, but he didn't have much of a choice but to agree with the president on issues that he had no knowledge of or experience in. It is hard to tell the President that intelligence is wrong, or that actions he is taking are wrong when: 1) he has little to no foreign policy experience, 2) he agrees with the president and says that he would take similar actions, and 3) the public realizes that he has been largely inconsistent with his own views on certain issues.
All were great interesting debates; by my count, Obama won by one debate, but the topics were the ones that everyone was expecting and the same ones that have been the focus of their campaigns stump speeches over the last year.
Here is where many people were confused, there seemed to be one issue that was completely overlooked by all 4 debates: Climate Change. This years debate season is the first time in almost 30 years that neither candidate spoke of climate change, environmental issues, nor did the moderators bring up a question including climate change. Why? Because in today's world, it is Political Suicide. The phrase "climate change" is one that politicians dare not speak of anymore; it is not included in speeches, it is not mentioned in debates and God help them if any of them propose a bill that addresses this issue.
The questions in all four debates were either chosen or formulated by the moderators team and the moderators team only; neither the campaigns, nor the Commission on Presidential Debates, knew of the questions prior to the debates. This would mean that it was the moderators that did not include climate change as an issue in the debates. Why? Does it not carry as much of an importance as other issues? Do people not care about it that much? Do the moderators realize that by discussing climate change, it could destroy their political careers? No one really knows the real reasoning behind this choice by the moderators, but it was a missed opportunity for the candidates to get out of their comfort zone and discuss a very real issue and to get their exact opinions on it.
Now, I am not arguing this simply because I am an environmentalist and this is what I study, almost every news outlet - including CNN, the New York Time, the Guardian, and almost every city based newspaper - expressed their concern about this. Even the Third Party Presidential Debate talked about it!
This is nothing new, from what I can remember about this campaign season, there has only been one mention of climate change in either of the candidates' speeches, and that came during their speeches at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Mitt Romney seemed to have doubted and mocked the science behind climate change and the idea of climate change itself. President Obama came back condemning these comments by Governor Romney and made the point that climate change was a serious and real threat by mentioning rising sea levels. The only topic that is remotely close to climate change is energy, which is something that has had a heavy emphasis by both candidates in this election.
Other than those few sentences by each candidate, these campaigns have barely mentioned the term "climate change", let alone a concern for it. We have to do our own research and take a close look at where each candidate stands on climate change to get a better understanding of the policies that they might approve or disapprove in their presidency.
President Obama has been the candidate between the two that has at times recognized climate change as a big issue that we face. From sea-level rise to carbon emissions, the president has understood the severity of the issues at hand. Unfortunately, possibly due to the restrictions of being a first-term president, he has yet to put forth any significant policies addressing climate change. Many first-term presidents tend to be more conservative with their policies to try and ensure a second term. In the second term, the presidents that have won a reelection tend to have the flexibility to act on the issues in a more aggressive manner. So it is possible that if President Obama is reelected, he will finally act on climate change, which is a rumor that has been circulating over the past few months. The president has proposed many environmentally related policies so far, such as a carbon emissions cap-and-trade system, fuel efficiency standards, vehicle emissions standards, methods to make energy extraction cleaner and more efficient, etc; but there has yet to be any proposed policy directly aimed at climate change. Examples of these would be carbon sequestration procedures, acting - in an international effort - to reduce carbon emissions in the nations that emit the most, boost alternative energy capabilities and start to draw back on fossil fuel usage, limit logging and clear cutting forests, deforestation, etc. Perhaps the biggest environmental issue that the president has faced so far is the Keystone XL pipeline. This, as many accredited scientists all around the world have said, could be the tipping point of climate change. With the immense burning of Canadian tar sands, which are some of the dirtiest types of crude oil, atmospheric carbon levels, which are already close to 400ppm (some of the highest levels ever), would skyrocket. Some rumors have come about that President Obama will sign the proposal of the Keystone XL pipeline into effect in his second term. I, along with many others, hope that this is not the case.
Mitt Romney has a very different view on energy and the environment than the President. From the beginning of his campaigning (some 6 years ago), Romney has been one of the only GOP presidential candidates that had believed in climate change and global warming, and to an extent attributed it to humans. But recently, he has changed his opinion. Some say that it is due to him trying to conform to far-right conservative ideologies, others argue that it is his attempt to please political donors. All that we can take from it is that at this point, he is against climate change action and his policies are proof of that. When he released his energy policy for his presidency just a few months ago, it was very simple: Drill for oil, mine for coal, frack for natural gas and use it all. Not once did he mention renewables, cutting emissions, etc. In fact, he did the opposite by stating that he hopes to remove certain regulations that "kill jobs" in the fossil fuels industry.
These two candidates clearly have different views on the environment and on energy policies. Whoever wins this election will have no choice but to face this issue head on. This next term, in my opinion, will determine the future of our environment domestically and globally.
Climate change is arguably one of the most important issues that the global community faces. With carbon emissions being one of the leading factors in climate change, there are only a few nations that have significantly contributed to this, and these are the same nations that have failed to act to clean up their mess. At the top of the list is the United States; we are the leading emitter of carbon dioxide, we are the leading consumer of oil, we are fourth in oil production, number one in natural gas production, number one in natural gas consumption, second in coal production and second in coal consumption. In the mix with the United States is China, Russia and India. We are the dirties nations in the world, we have created this mess and we refuse to clean it up. Instead, developing nations and under-developed nations are starting to cut their consumption of fossil fuels; these nations are in many cases the nations that are being directly, and most severely, affected by climate change. In some cases, small island nations in the Pacific can do nothing but sit back and watch as the waters flood their land and will eventually have to relocate an entire nation to another part of the world.
Some projections show that by the end of the century, we may have 100 million to 1 billion environmental refugees due to climate change. With global population expected to boom within the next 20-30 years, if nothing happens now, it will only become worse.
Over the last 2 or 3 years, serious climate change talks have virtually vanished at the national and international levels. The Rio+20 summit in June 2012 in some ways confirms that. This summit was 20 years after the original Rio Earth Summit for the United Nations. This gathering addressed the main issues attributed with climate change: carbon emissions, oil, gas and coal combustion, alternative energy and health problems. After that meeting, many nations and their peoples had a goal to meet certain goals that would put us on the right path, the United States was one of them. Twenty years later, that goal has become a reality in some nations, but for many, it was lost in a pile of papers.
Going into Rio+20, the world was hoping for intense international climate change talks, detailed policies to address climate change, treaties to be signed and to come out of this summit with a goal for a healthier, cleaner and sustainable future. Instead, we had a conference where the leaders of the top carbon emitting nations were absent, where there was no international treaties and the hopes of many were diminished. Was this summit the last chance for international action? I don't know, but I do not see an emergency gathering at the UN to address climate change any time soon.
Perhaps this notion that we saw at Rio+20 - not making climate change a priority, not putting forth policies that will combat climate change, and worrying about how certain decisions, as they relate to the environment, will affect the way your constituents view you politically - has rubbed off on the two candidates.
I can not believe, nor do I think, that climate change was not a potential question that the moderators were going to ask in the debates. The odds of the moderators, their teams and the town hall-er's, not bringing up climate change is slim to none. The only explanations that I can think of for this decision by the moderators is that 1) they believed that it was not an important topic, 2) that it was too risky of a question to ask the candidates, and 3) that climate change really was not brought up in the question-making discussions, not one person at the town hall event mentioned it and not one person that sent in questions for the other debates mentioned climate change. The last one can be eliminated in my opinion. As for the first option, I do not think that climate change not being an important topic is a credible excuse; polls show, both nationally and internationally, that a majority of people believe that climate change it occurring, that it is influenced by human activities and that it is a threat to our society. But just as climate change was neglected, gay rights, immigration, drug policy, gun control and abortion were neglected as well; this is supporting evidence that climate change, as well as the others, may have been too risky of questions to ask the candidates. But isn't this what we want to see out of debates?
We have already heard the president and Mitt Romney's stances on foreign policy, domestic policy and the economy hundreds of times. When will moderators and the presidential debate committee create debates focused on social issues and eco issues. Don't we want to see the candidates back's up against the ropes to see what their opinions are on tough, politically risky questions? Those, to me, are the questions that will sway voters. Democrats have certain policies for the economy, tax codes, and foreign and domestic policy that almost never change; this goes for the Republicans, too. People who associate themselves with one of these parties know that, and so does everyone else. So by simply reiterating these standard policies or stump speeches in a debate does nothing for the voters...in fact it frustrates us. If a candidate were to answer a question on abortion or gay rights in a certain way, we may very well see that democratic vote suddenly turn into a republican vote - something that is said to be virtually impossible. It is questions related to social and eco issues that people really want to see.
These controversial topics expose what type of person the candidates really are, these are the important issues that constantly are neglected and undermined in political campaigns. Neglecting or writing off these important issues that we face as a nation and as a world do not take away from the importance that each of them carries. Nor will ignoring them make them go away, they will only get worse. Sooner or later, one candidate will have to step-up and and take that risk by answering these questions. I know that if I were running for president I would. I know that these issues are what people want to hear in debates and that people want to see incorporated into stump speeches. Whether or not we face economic disasters or war, social issues and environmental issues will always be around. When that candidate comes around, he or she will create a new era in politics. An era where politicians address the real issues at hand, issues that will shape a nation and shape the world. Issues that will create policies to ensure our safety and the stability of the environment. Issues that create equality and opportunity. The politician that addresses these issues, well...they will be rewarded.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October marks a month that is very meaningful to me in many ways. This month is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - a month that offers hope and support for millions of women and men across the country and around the world.
My mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004 when I was 13 years old. Five years and two relapses of breast cancer later, my mother lost her battle on October 13, 2009. Only seven months later, my aunt (my mothers sister) also lost her battle with breast cancer. Aside from the toll that these losses took on myself, my sister and my family, I could not hold on to the feeling of grievance for long - she would never want that. Not too long after her passing, I found a passion for art - specifically surf art, thanks to inspiration by Drew Brophy - and picked up my first paint pen to do a piece in honor of my mother. I painted the words "C'mon Chicks Check Ya Tits" on the bottom of my board to try and keep the memory of my mother, who bought me my first surfboard and got me into the sport and lifestyle, with me at all times. (Please note that I was not aware of who Julian Wilson was at this time, nor the fact that he put a similar phrase on one of his boards). It seemed meaningless at the time after I painted it; it wasn't until I took a trip to Costa Rica the following summer that the message was clear - so many people are affected by breast cancer and want to spread awareness as I do. In the towns of Tamarindo, Playa Grande and Playa Negra, I was approached by complete strangers who showed appreciation to my board and told me their stories of loved ones that are or have battled cancer.
I realize that I am only one person in a world of billions, but it only takes one person to make a difference. Typing these words on this webpage, someone will read it and realize that they are not alone. I think that realization was one of the most important things that helped me get through my difficult times. Knowing that you are not alone and that there are millions of people who are grieving just as you are or that are battling cancer just as you might be shows anyone that they have support. Whether it is from those in your family, or a complete stranger thousands of miles away - You Are Not Alone and We Support You.
So this is my request for all of you: please become active in a campaign that supports others. In my case, this is a campaign that I am very passionate about. While this may not be the one for you, there are thousands of other campaigns that support peoples that may attract you. Never let someone tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world because you are one person, because all it takes is one person to make the life of another better.
This post is dedicated to my Mother, Aunt Kathy, for those battling cancer, for those who have beat cancer and for those that we have lost, you are all my heroes. I hope to be as strong as you were in your darkest hours.
My mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004 when I was 13 years old. Five years and two relapses of breast cancer later, my mother lost her battle on October 13, 2009. Only seven months later, my aunt (my mothers sister) also lost her battle with breast cancer. Aside from the toll that these losses took on myself, my sister and my family, I could not hold on to the feeling of grievance for long - she would never want that. Not too long after her passing, I found a passion for art - specifically surf art, thanks to inspiration by Drew Brophy - and picked up my first paint pen to do a piece in honor of my mother. I painted the words "C'mon Chicks Check Ya Tits" on the bottom of my board to try and keep the memory of my mother, who bought me my first surfboard and got me into the sport and lifestyle, with me at all times. (Please note that I was not aware of who Julian Wilson was at this time, nor the fact that he put a similar phrase on one of his boards). It seemed meaningless at the time after I painted it; it wasn't until I took a trip to Costa Rica the following summer that the message was clear - so many people are affected by breast cancer and want to spread awareness as I do. In the towns of Tamarindo, Playa Grande and Playa Negra, I was approached by complete strangers who showed appreciation to my board and told me their stories of loved ones that are or have battled cancer.
I realize that I am only one person in a world of billions, but it only takes one person to make a difference. Typing these words on this webpage, someone will read it and realize that they are not alone. I think that realization was one of the most important things that helped me get through my difficult times. Knowing that you are not alone and that there are millions of people who are grieving just as you are or that are battling cancer just as you might be shows anyone that they have support. Whether it is from those in your family, or a complete stranger thousands of miles away - You Are Not Alone and We Support You.
So this is my request for all of you: please become active in a campaign that supports others. In my case, this is a campaign that I am very passionate about. While this may not be the one for you, there are thousands of other campaigns that support peoples that may attract you. Never let someone tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world because you are one person, because all it takes is one person to make the life of another better.
This post is dedicated to my Mother, Aunt Kathy, for those battling cancer, for those who have beat cancer and for those that we have lost, you are all my heroes. I hope to be as strong as you were in your darkest hours.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Quiksilver Pro: France
Today we kicked off the 2012 Quiksilver Pro France, one of the craziest contests on tour and one of my personal favorites. This wave is very unique; it is one of the heaviest beach breaks in the world that can go from 3 foot mush to 12 foot barreling waves in a matter of hours.
Last year we saw rookie (back then) Gabriel Medina take out Julian Wilson in his first of two wins in his first half-year on tour. I believe that both of these two surfers are absolutely able to take the win here this year. This contest has years of history - too many epic moments to mention - but some of my favorites were Andy vs Bruce, Kelly's 10 point ride in 2010 where he air dropped and barely made it out. Like I said, too many to name. This stretch of coastline is exposed to the entire North Atlantic, a region of the ocean that generates massive storm systems in the Arctic off of Greenland. During the summer, we tend to see hurricanes make their way around the Eastern United States, that end up coming around the North Atlantic and head right for Europe. Currently there is a system brewing in the North Atlantic that should make its way towards France in a few days that could generate quality over head waves.
I put a lot of thought into my team this contest after my disappointing results at the Hurley Pro, where half of my team was eliminated in Round 2, and most of the remaining surfers in the next few rounds. For waves that will be surfed in France, the surfer needs to be extremely versatile and must come with a repertoire of ability. Like I said, one heat can be sloppy on-shore and the next can be pumping beach break barrels. I went with surfers that are experienced, have aerial abilities, and have strong power surfing. I was very excited when I saw that Dane was granted the sponsor wildcard here; In 2009, he made a pretty good run here and threw down some of the best turns I've ever seen. He is a maniac in French waves; they perfectly suit is style of surfing.
I decided to go with Kelly, Mick, Dane, Julian, John John, Jeremy Flores, Michel Bourez, Taylor Knox and Miguel Pupo.
Kelly Slater needs no introduction here. He has proven that he can perform and win here. Fresh off of a win at trestles and back in the world title race, I expect that he will, as always, give everyone else a run for their money.
Mick Fanning was also a given for me. He has won a number of times here over the past 5 years. He is back in form this year and is also right up there in the world title race with Kelly, Parko and possible a few others pending good results in France. While he is not known for his aerial abilities, he is without a doubt one of the best power surfers on tour and is a barrel hunter.
I pretty much gave my reasoning for choosing Dane Reynolds in the paragraph above. We've all seen him surf in France whether it be in the Quik Pro, Modern Collective, Lost Atlas, etc - he loves France and French waves. He is a steal on fantasysurfer.com at $1.5 million and it'd be dumb not to add him to your team. Hopefully he can find that competitive edge in him this time around and make it deep into the contest.
Julian Wilson has been on a roll this year. After a disappointing loss to Medina last year here, do not rule him out to get the win that slipped out of his hands. He has all of the tricks up his sleeve in the air, he has great turns and is not afraid to put is head down and paddle into the biggest wave of the day.
John John is one of my favorites to win this contest. I also said that about the Hurley Pro. But I feel that he will really do well here. We all know that he is arguably the best barrel surfer in the world and he just won $50,000 for an air that he pulled on the Kustom Air Strike trip and his turns and hacks are Dane-like. With a result here, or a win, he puts himself right in contention for the world title. If this were to happen, we could see the title being decided in his backyard at Pipeline between Mick, Parko, Kelly and himself...and anyone else that might make moves on the European leg. Right now it is anyones title, and I am sure that John John is hungry for it after winning the Triple Crown last year, the Billabong Pro Rio and having a bunch of good results this year.
Jeremy Flores made me kick myself for not picking him for the Hurley Pro. In my mind, he is constantly underestimated. He knows these waves better than most of the guys on tour and has the ability to get the win here. Hopefully he can keep the good surfing up that we saw from him a few weeks ago.
Michel Bourez was a choice of mine for his power surfing and barrel riding. They call him the Spartan because he is most likely the decedent from one of the "300" warriors (not really, but probably). He has made a few runs at the win here in France and I have a feeling he will do it again this year; I could see him taking out some of the young guns with his carves that will make the non-french girls take their tops off on the beach.
Taylor Knox is the veteran that I feel could make an impact and cause a few upsets this year. Last year he made it to the semi's where he unfortunately lost out to Medina (he had no chance of winning that heat after Medina dropped a 19.57 on him right off the get go). But his surfing is some of the best and in some cases experience heavily outweighs the non-experience that many of the surfers on tour have (or do not have).
Miguel Pupo is one of my sleepers next to Taylor Knox and Bourez; this kid has proven to the world that he can take out the best in waves like Cloudbreak and Teahupoo and can throw down turns as good as anyone on tour. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that again here in France.
---------------------------------------------
Update on Day 1 results:
We only got through 9 heats today, and I must say that there were some upsets or unexpected results.
H1: 1st Taj Burrow, 2nd Kai Otton, 3rd Taylor Know
H2: 1st Jadson Andrew, 2nd Adriano de Souza, 3rd Damien Hobgood
H3: 1st Patrick Gudauskas, 2nd John John Florence, 3rd Miguel Pupo
H4: 1st Kelly Slater, 2nd Dusty Payne, 3rd Tiago Pires
H5: 1st Dane Reynolds, 2nd Joel Parkinson, 3rd Bede Durbidge
H6: 1st Mick Fanning, 2nd Wiggolly Dantas, 3rd Travis Logie
H7: 1st Alejo Muniz, 2nd Kolohe Andino, 3rd Josh Kerr
H8: 1st Brett Simpson, 2nd Yadin Nicol, 3rd Jeremy Flores
H9: 1st Michel Bourez, 2nd Owen Wright, 3rd Matt Wilkinson
I was surprised to see Pat G take the win in heat 3 - maybe he wants some redemption after a disappointing loss at home in California. Alejo and Simpo's results also surprised me, I had Kerr and Flores winning their respective heats.
We have three more heats to run in Round 1 - no word on whether they will run it tomorrow or not. Here are the remaining heats:
H10: Jordy Smith, Heitor Alves, Adam Melling
H11: Julian Wilson, Adrian Buchan, Kieren Perrow
H12: Gabriel Medina, CJ Hobgood, Fred Pattachia
I have Jordy, Julian and CJ winning their heats.
Here is the 2012 Quik Pro Teaser (will add in the Day 1 recap when it becomes available):
Last year we saw rookie (back then) Gabriel Medina take out Julian Wilson in his first of two wins in his first half-year on tour. I believe that both of these two surfers are absolutely able to take the win here this year. This contest has years of history - too many epic moments to mention - but some of my favorites were Andy vs Bruce, Kelly's 10 point ride in 2010 where he air dropped and barely made it out. Like I said, too many to name. This stretch of coastline is exposed to the entire North Atlantic, a region of the ocean that generates massive storm systems in the Arctic off of Greenland. During the summer, we tend to see hurricanes make their way around the Eastern United States, that end up coming around the North Atlantic and head right for Europe. Currently there is a system brewing in the North Atlantic that should make its way towards France in a few days that could generate quality over head waves.
I put a lot of thought into my team this contest after my disappointing results at the Hurley Pro, where half of my team was eliminated in Round 2, and most of the remaining surfers in the next few rounds. For waves that will be surfed in France, the surfer needs to be extremely versatile and must come with a repertoire of ability. Like I said, one heat can be sloppy on-shore and the next can be pumping beach break barrels. I went with surfers that are experienced, have aerial abilities, and have strong power surfing. I was very excited when I saw that Dane was granted the sponsor wildcard here; In 2009, he made a pretty good run here and threw down some of the best turns I've ever seen. He is a maniac in French waves; they perfectly suit is style of surfing.
I decided to go with Kelly, Mick, Dane, Julian, John John, Jeremy Flores, Michel Bourez, Taylor Knox and Miguel Pupo.
Mick Fanning was also a given for me. He has won a number of times here over the past 5 years. He is back in form this year and is also right up there in the world title race with Kelly, Parko and possible a few others pending good results in France. While he is not known for his aerial abilities, he is without a doubt one of the best power surfers on tour and is a barrel hunter.
I pretty much gave my reasoning for choosing Dane Reynolds in the paragraph above. We've all seen him surf in France whether it be in the Quik Pro, Modern Collective, Lost Atlas, etc - he loves France and French waves. He is a steal on fantasysurfer.com at $1.5 million and it'd be dumb not to add him to your team. Hopefully he can find that competitive edge in him this time around and make it deep into the contest.
Julian Wilson has been on a roll this year. After a disappointing loss to Medina last year here, do not rule him out to get the win that slipped out of his hands. He has all of the tricks up his sleeve in the air, he has great turns and is not afraid to put is head down and paddle into the biggest wave of the day.
John John is one of my favorites to win this contest. I also said that about the Hurley Pro. But I feel that he will really do well here. We all know that he is arguably the best barrel surfer in the world and he just won $50,000 for an air that he pulled on the Kustom Air Strike trip and his turns and hacks are Dane-like. With a result here, or a win, he puts himself right in contention for the world title. If this were to happen, we could see the title being decided in his backyard at Pipeline between Mick, Parko, Kelly and himself...and anyone else that might make moves on the European leg. Right now it is anyones title, and I am sure that John John is hungry for it after winning the Triple Crown last year, the Billabong Pro Rio and having a bunch of good results this year.
Jeremy Flores made me kick myself for not picking him for the Hurley Pro. In my mind, he is constantly underestimated. He knows these waves better than most of the guys on tour and has the ability to get the win here. Hopefully he can keep the good surfing up that we saw from him a few weeks ago.
Michel Bourez was a choice of mine for his power surfing and barrel riding. They call him the Spartan because he is most likely the decedent from one of the "300" warriors (not really, but probably). He has made a few runs at the win here in France and I have a feeling he will do it again this year; I could see him taking out some of the young guns with his carves that will make the non-french girls take their tops off on the beach.
Taylor Knox is the veteran that I feel could make an impact and cause a few upsets this year. Last year he made it to the semi's where he unfortunately lost out to Medina (he had no chance of winning that heat after Medina dropped a 19.57 on him right off the get go). But his surfing is some of the best and in some cases experience heavily outweighs the non-experience that many of the surfers on tour have (or do not have).
Miguel Pupo is one of my sleepers next to Taylor Knox and Bourez; this kid has proven to the world that he can take out the best in waves like Cloudbreak and Teahupoo and can throw down turns as good as anyone on tour. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that again here in France.
---------------------------------------------
Update on Day 1 results:
We only got through 9 heats today, and I must say that there were some upsets or unexpected results.
H1: 1st Taj Burrow, 2nd Kai Otton, 3rd Taylor Know
H2: 1st Jadson Andrew, 2nd Adriano de Souza, 3rd Damien Hobgood
H3: 1st Patrick Gudauskas, 2nd John John Florence, 3rd Miguel Pupo
H4: 1st Kelly Slater, 2nd Dusty Payne, 3rd Tiago Pires
H5: 1st Dane Reynolds, 2nd Joel Parkinson, 3rd Bede Durbidge
H6: 1st Mick Fanning, 2nd Wiggolly Dantas, 3rd Travis Logie
H7: 1st Alejo Muniz, 2nd Kolohe Andino, 3rd Josh Kerr
H8: 1st Brett Simpson, 2nd Yadin Nicol, 3rd Jeremy Flores
H9: 1st Michel Bourez, 2nd Owen Wright, 3rd Matt Wilkinson
I was surprised to see Pat G take the win in heat 3 - maybe he wants some redemption after a disappointing loss at home in California. Alejo and Simpo's results also surprised me, I had Kerr and Flores winning their respective heats.
We have three more heats to run in Round 1 - no word on whether they will run it tomorrow or not. Here are the remaining heats:
H10: Jordy Smith, Heitor Alves, Adam Melling
H11: Julian Wilson, Adrian Buchan, Kieren Perrow
H12: Gabriel Medina, CJ Hobgood, Fred Pattachia
I have Jordy, Julian and CJ winning their heats.
Here is the 2012 Quik Pro Teaser (will add in the Day 1 recap when it becomes available):
Here is one favorite moments: 2010 Kelly Slater's 10 Point Ride:
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Hurley Pro: Preview
Before I get started with my preview of the next event on the WCT, I would like to apologize to you all for failing to write a post on the last few days of the Billabong Pro: Tahiti.
As for the Hurley Pro, which is set to kick off in a few days, is always a favorite of the surfers on Tour and of the fans. This contest is held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, CA, arguably one of the best (or best liked) waves in the world. It is a perfect A-frame, where the waves break both left and right.
The forecast for the beginning of the contest is looking great - at least 3-4 foot waves for the first day or two, which should make for some great heats. This contest has put on a great event the over the past decade; while there has been a familiar face at the end of each one, it is always full of good surfing and excitement. No one can forget in 2010 when Andy Irons made a strong run, almost getting to the finals. Last year, we saw one of the three Kelly vs Owen finals. This year should be no different.
I put together my Fantasy Surfer team with two requirements in mind - good turns and aerial ability. I decided that John John Florence, Kelly Slater, Owen Wright, Kolohe Andino, Miguel Pupo, Pat Gudauskas, Julian Wilson and wildcard, Conner Coffin.
John John has been on fire all year and also got a win in Brazil. He has proved to all of us that he is capable of surfing in all conditions, even though that many of us already knew that. He usually has good results when surfing at Trestles, but I expect him to excel in this event. His airs are arguably the best and his turns are also fantastic. If the swell picks up, the rest of the field better watch out because when there is a solid swell, Trestles produces some great barrels.
Kelly needs no introduction. Since 2004 (8 years), he has won 5 times here. He has made every final since 2004 - that non final result was a SEMI FINAL result. Needless to say, Kelly is the most dominant surfer at Trestles and at the Hurley pro. I expect him to have an equally good result at this contest. Lets not all forget his rivalry between him and Owen Wright last year that put them both in the final. His capabilities here should scare the other surfers in the contest.
Owen Wright was also a no brainer for me. As I just said, he made the final last year during his 3 finals in a row featuring himself and Kelly. This punchy wave will favor his style. It also gives him a chance to show off his strong backside surfing.
Julian Wilson has had the results that he needed in the past few contests. After his win at the US Open at Huntington Beach, he finally seems comfortable and hungry for last day results. He surfed really well here last year and could have gotten to the finals if it weren't for an interference call against Owen Wright that ended his run. I am predicting that Julian makes it to the last day again and has a really good chance of making it to the finals this year.
Miguel Pupo is someone that I think can take out the field in waves like this. He did the same thing at the US Open and made it to the final where he lost out to Julian. He has also proven himself in waves that I personally thought would show his weaknesses (Fiji and Teahupoo). This kid will be fighting Gabriel Medina as the next Brazilian leader.
The next 3 surfers I chose for obvious reasons: this is a wave that they grew up surfing.
Kolohe Andino has been having a rough year this year between bad results in the first half of the year and sustaining an injury that forced him to sit out in Tahiti. But with the contest being held in his backyard, I can't see him having another bad result - especially here. Last year, he won the U18 USA Championships here. Keep an eye out for "Brother" as he will not let his hometown down.
Pat Gudauskas is another local. Like Kolohe, he hasn't had that great of a year. He has a history of doing well at contests here; this year, he had a good result at the Nike Lowers Pro, an event that Gabriel Medina ended up winning. For being a low price in the Fantasy Surfer pool, I see him as a bargain and a surfer who will do well in this contest.
I decided to pick Conner Coffin between the two wildcards - the other being Evan Geiselman - due to his power surfing and aerial madness. He grew up in Santa Barbara, which allowed him to grow up surfing the point-break wave, Rincon. I think that it is safe to say that surfing this wave his whole life sculpted his power surfing style. Last year, Conner won the U16 USA Championships at Trestles. Even though he didn't grow up surfing this wave as much as the local boys, his knowledge of this wave is better than most of the guys on tour. Mix that with his style of surfing and his airs and you have a dangerous wildcard.
These are my surfers and I have a feeling that the winner will be one of these gentlemen - Who are yours?
As for the Hurley Pro, which is set to kick off in a few days, is always a favorite of the surfers on Tour and of the fans. This contest is held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, CA, arguably one of the best (or best liked) waves in the world. It is a perfect A-frame, where the waves break both left and right.
The forecast for the beginning of the contest is looking great - at least 3-4 foot waves for the first day or two, which should make for some great heats. This contest has put on a great event the over the past decade; while there has been a familiar face at the end of each one, it is always full of good surfing and excitement. No one can forget in 2010 when Andy Irons made a strong run, almost getting to the finals. Last year, we saw one of the three Kelly vs Owen finals. This year should be no different.
I put together my Fantasy Surfer team with two requirements in mind - good turns and aerial ability. I decided that John John Florence, Kelly Slater, Owen Wright, Kolohe Andino, Miguel Pupo, Pat Gudauskas, Julian Wilson and wildcard, Conner Coffin.
John John has been on fire all year and also got a win in Brazil. He has proved to all of us that he is capable of surfing in all conditions, even though that many of us already knew that. He usually has good results when surfing at Trestles, but I expect him to excel in this event. His airs are arguably the best and his turns are also fantastic. If the swell picks up, the rest of the field better watch out because when there is a solid swell, Trestles produces some great barrels.
Kelly needs no introduction. Since 2004 (8 years), he has won 5 times here. He has made every final since 2004 - that non final result was a SEMI FINAL result. Needless to say, Kelly is the most dominant surfer at Trestles and at the Hurley pro. I expect him to have an equally good result at this contest. Lets not all forget his rivalry between him and Owen Wright last year that put them both in the final. His capabilities here should scare the other surfers in the contest.
Owen Wright was also a no brainer for me. As I just said, he made the final last year during his 3 finals in a row featuring himself and Kelly. This punchy wave will favor his style. It also gives him a chance to show off his strong backside surfing.
Julian Wilson has had the results that he needed in the past few contests. After his win at the US Open at Huntington Beach, he finally seems comfortable and hungry for last day results. He surfed really well here last year and could have gotten to the finals if it weren't for an interference call against Owen Wright that ended his run. I am predicting that Julian makes it to the last day again and has a really good chance of making it to the finals this year.
Miguel Pupo is someone that I think can take out the field in waves like this. He did the same thing at the US Open and made it to the final where he lost out to Julian. He has also proven himself in waves that I personally thought would show his weaknesses (Fiji and Teahupoo). This kid will be fighting Gabriel Medina as the next Brazilian leader.
The next 3 surfers I chose for obvious reasons: this is a wave that they grew up surfing.
Kolohe Andino has been having a rough year this year between bad results in the first half of the year and sustaining an injury that forced him to sit out in Tahiti. But with the contest being held in his backyard, I can't see him having another bad result - especially here. Last year, he won the U18 USA Championships here. Keep an eye out for "Brother" as he will not let his hometown down.
Pat Gudauskas is another local. Like Kolohe, he hasn't had that great of a year. He has a history of doing well at contests here; this year, he had a good result at the Nike Lowers Pro, an event that Gabriel Medina ended up winning. For being a low price in the Fantasy Surfer pool, I see him as a bargain and a surfer who will do well in this contest.
I decided to pick Conner Coffin between the two wildcards - the other being Evan Geiselman - due to his power surfing and aerial madness. He grew up in Santa Barbara, which allowed him to grow up surfing the point-break wave, Rincon. I think that it is safe to say that surfing this wave his whole life sculpted his power surfing style. Last year, Conner won the U16 USA Championships at Trestles. Even though he didn't grow up surfing this wave as much as the local boys, his knowledge of this wave is better than most of the guys on tour. Mix that with his style of surfing and his airs and you have a dangerous wildcard.
These are my surfers and I have a feeling that the winner will be one of these gentlemen - Who are yours?
Monday, September 10, 2012
Pictures
Felt like putting some pictures that I have taken recently on my iPhone of nature, food I cooked, travels and other things. Enjoy.
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