Taking The Pledge? Now What Do I Do?
Patagonia team rider Dustin Hollick took The Pledge and now ask’s himself ‘what do I do’? Coming to the conclusion that it’s best, ‘WHAT NOT TO DO’ Dustin shares his tips.
So I took the pledge, very easy to say, but now what do I do? The fact that the world we live in is rapidly running out of resources has always played heavily on my mind. I feel if the world does run out of resources to enable it suitable for human habitation, it will, even if we wipe ourselves out , re-calibrate and resume its natural bio-rhythms. Somewhat comforting, but not great news if you are in fact a human who is breeding and bringing further mini humans into being on this already overused lump of rock we cling to as it hurtles itself through the realms of space.
So… what to do? Or, in my case, what not to do? The answer is really quite simple. Consume less!! This year I have focused on my consumption of fossil fuels and plastics, to help guide myself through this I have created some simple rules.
Number 1: No overseas travel!! Huh, what’s that you ask?? Yep no overseas travel, turn the clock back 100 years and imagine that air travel does not exist, if you really need to go o.s. just jump on a passing boat, preferably sail powered!! ( O.K so I might make this a one year on one year off kinda rule)
Number 2: Car pool. Now this one is really killing me, I love surfing by myself. Nothing better, and will often find myself scowling at crew who rock up in a big pack, creating an insta– crowd. Now I am one of them, a pack surfer, ruining unsuspecting solo surfers sessions everywhere!! Its for the good of the world I keep telling myself.
Number 3: Surf my local. At first I thought this would be a major challenge but I have found that instead of driving around all day chasing ghosts I just jump out the front get wet and save my brownie points for when it is REALLY pumping. Luckily my local has had its best banks in years and if it’s been tiny, well, lets just say my log riding skills are getting better!
Number 4: Minimise and ultimately eliminate my consumption of plastic food containers. Every time I get a coffee or food from a deli I take my own containers now. I get some weird looks but most people are really understanding, and I feel incredibly good afterwards!!
Simple really hey, somewhat restrictive in certain aspects, but also breeds some creativity and gives a great appreciation of my local area and its ebbs and flows, I have included a collection of shots from the year so far, happy surfing!!
Here we go hope this helps, Cheers Dustin.