This Is How Surfers Are Helping Fund Climate Science

Rather than funding a celebrity beach cleanup or following the same philanthropy script most corporations have followed for years, Speaker said the WSL wanted to fund research that could help influence ocean policy and how the WSL operates as well as educate it’s fanbase.

Rapid Funding Lets Researchers Tackle Pressing Questions

The endeavor — dubbed WSL PURE — was kickstarted with initial investment that’s small by science standards. Roughly $1.5 million is being used to fund five projects looking at ocean health, acidification, coral reef health and sea level rise. But the research, selected by science advisors at the Center for Climate and Life, is targeted to look at some of the more pressing issues in ocean science right now.

Take coral reefs, which are important ecosystems and also home to some of the best surf breaks. The world is in the middle of the third global coral bleaching event ever recorded. Scientists have been scrambling to understand what’s happening and gather data. But the federal funding process for research can be slow to come through. There’s also an ever growing pool of scientists while research dollars have stayed mostly flat meaning competition is tight and funding turnarounds are slow.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/how-surfers-are-helping-fund-climate-science-20269