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Surfline interviews Surfrider president Jim Moriarty about the toll road extension

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on January 18, 2008 at 7:12 am

From Surfline.com:

California surfers have to be feeling a little anxious. In a six-day swell of beach-threatening decisions, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled plans to close forty-eight state parks, and then turned his gun on Trestles. The Governator issued a letter Tuesday urging the California Coastal Commision to approve the 241-toll road extension, which, if completed, would run through San Onofre State Park. So, with just two weeks to go before the Coastal Commission’s next critical hearing, we had to know where the recent news left the effort to save our world-class break. Surfline sat down with Surfrider’s Executive Director Jim Moriarty to assess the new terrain.

surfer-picture-by-andre-merceir.jpgSURFLINE: FIRST OF ALL, HOW SURPRISING WAS GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER’S ANNOUNCEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE 241 TOLL ROAD EXTENSION?
JIM MORIARTY: It wasn’t so much surprising as it was disappointing. We all expect our elected officials to be protecting our public resources, not destroying them. I find it somewhat ironic that the leading Republican in the state is literally dismantling the legacy of two of his party’s most revered icons: Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who both played significant roles in establishing San Onofre State Beach Park.

AFTER THE DECISION, THE GOVERNOR REALEASED A STATEMENT SAYING HE “CONCLUDED THAT THIS PROJECT IS ESSENTIAL TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EVERYONE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.”
One of the downsides to the recent surge in interest in the environment is that advertisers, companies and politicians have chosen to turn it into hyperbole. In this case it’s total, 100% folly. I mean really, how exactly does the Governor plan on “protecting a state park” by endorsing a project that would result in the loss of 60% of it? We’re talking about putting a road directly through the fifth most visited park in the state. We’re talking about putting a road directly through a watershed habitat that is home to no less than 11 federally endangered and threatened species. I challenge him and anyone to name a single paved road, anywhere on the globe, that did not lead to pollution?

To read the rest of this article from Surfline.com, click here.

Picture of surfer by flickr photographer Andre Merceir. He’s got some great pictures of surfers posted on the flickr website. Click on the picture to visit the flickr website and check them out!

January 18, 2008 · Filed Under Oceans and Beaches (all), San Onofre Toll Road

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