Surfing and saving Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park

Lake Michigan is really a very special lake to me. I grew up in Florida and spent every summer of my life on Lake Michigan. The Lake seemed a lot cleaner back in the 70s and I remember thinking it looked like the ocean in Florida. Little did we know what was really going on in the Lake where we as children played all day?

Hooker Chemical and the local tannery were dumping tons of toxic chemicals into the lake and it of course emptied out into Lake Michigan. It was named one of the 7 "toxic hot spots" in the country in the late 70s. Imagine that this is still going on in Gary, Indiana every day.

As a surfer and mother of two children who also surf, it is of great interest and concern to me that we do everything we can to stop these practices of dumping and polluting in our rivers, streams and Lakes. We need more laws to help protect the watersheds and educate people about how they can help at home.

We need more laws protecting our children from huge companies who want to dump their chemicals and pollution into our lakes and streams. It is our job as a society to help people understand what they can and should do to help.

My kids and friends going to surf in North Muskegon

I want to make a difference in my community by helping to provide activities and campaigns that will help protect our rivers, streams, lakes and beaches. As the co-chairman of the newly founded Surfrider Foundation, Lake Michigan Chapter, I have made a commitment to see that we, as grass roots, non-profit organization help to educate and inform the community and how they can protect their beaches and coastal environment. We need to restore water quality starting in our watersheds ending up on our beaches.

I want my kids to surf the waves of Lake Michigan the way I did, and enjoy a lifetime of blue clean water in their future. Through conservation, activism, research and care, we can, even as small communities make a difference!!!!!!

Ingrid Lindfors is a photographer, artist , and co-chairman of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. The photos are hers.

Comments

[Ryan Gerard]

In a certain sense, my life and livelihood depends on clean water in the Great Lakes.

My house. My car. My sanity. Without clean, fresh water to surf and recreate in, I wouldn't have any of these things.

My business, Third Coast Surf Shop in New Buffalo, Michigan, depends on friends and customers from throughout the Great Lakes region who also need clean, fresh water in the Greatest Lakes on earth. Our lives revolve around water in a biological sense, but we need it for so many other important reasons. Without clean water, we would die physically and emotionally.

As Great Lakes surfers, we are immersed in water every time we cross the beach and jump onto our boards. We paddle in it, we swim in it, and we harness the power of it by catching waves of energy as they course through it. Arguably, we are more in touch with the Lakes’ water than any other group of people in the Midwest. We need it.

As residents of this small corner of the earth, we are responsible for taking care of it. We are responsible to keep it clean. We are responsible to manage it and protect it. Giving back is the least we can do to see that it will continue to provide for us. To give us life.

We are responsible for keeping our Great Lakes clean.

If we don’t, who will?

Ryan Gerard

Third Coast Surf Shop | Proprietor
22 S. Smith St. | New Buffalo, Mi. 49117
P: 269-932-4575 | F: 269-932-4576

www.ThirdCoastSurfShop.com

[Lori Westlake]

The Great Lakes surfing community is growing. We must band together and protect these Lakes. There's strength in numbers. Even if you don't consider yourself an activist be on the watch for opportunities to make a difference and spread the word when you find them. We can't afford to be complacent!

[frank]

maybe you could have the water tested for chemicals by having samples sent to labs and only paying to have the toxicity reports? Then have the reports run in local news around the area with a petition to call for better filtration systems on those companies who are doing the dumping?

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[Michael Moore]

Greetings --

I'm interested in getting the Houghton/Keweenaw area involved in the Surfrider Foundation -- I'm a longtime member from 20 years in Northern California.

Lake Superior could use some Surfrider vibe and attention :-)

Have any contacts up this way, Ingrid? Can we tag along on with you Lake Michigan types?

Best,

Michael mmoore@mtu.edu