Endangered Wave: Santos Del Mar, Chile
Update April, 2009:
The Los Robles Coal Power Plant proposed for a remote beach near the new Santos del Mar big-wave surf spot in Chile has been indefinitely postponed. This is a great victory for local activists and surfers who are very concerned about the environmental effects that such a mega-project would have on local ecosystems and coastline. A remote Chilean point break would be completely obliterated by the project’s wharf and air and water pollution would devastate the region. However, activists recently won a temporary victory when the energy company AES Gener announced that the project is on hold due to a lack of investors: a combination of activists successfully publicizing the issue against the coal industry and a faltering world economy where such massive development projects are harder and harder for the private sector to finance. Although this is merely a battle won and not a full victory, it gives environmentalists and opposition a chance to regroup forces and continue its successful campaign against the coal plant proposal.
Surfers for Cetaceans, Save The Waves Coalition, Dave Rastovich and Ramon Navarro team up to protect an endangered surfing area and its ecosystem.
Southern Chile’s newest big wave surf site, Santos del Mar, and its surrounding coastline would be polluted if plans go ahead to construct a proposed US$1.3 billion dollar coal-fired power plant on the coastline of Chile’s 7th Region… Details & Pictures