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Eco Warrior Teaser Video

Eco Warrior - Japan

Surfers and celebrities stage peaceful protests to raise International awareness for the yearly slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins by fishermen in Taiji, Japan.

Japan Segment on Fuel’s Daily Habit

Eco Warrior Teaser: New Zealand and Chile

Two kinds of ocean enthusiasts have been duking it out on New Zealand’s North Island, as the harbor project at Whangamata moves towards construction. Boaters and surfers are arguing over what their town needs most – more harbor space, or a great surf spot. A booming yachting industry
in New Zealand has driven high demand for harbor space, but surfers in Whangamata are fighting to keep their harbor from expanding, claiming it will
damage a world-class surfing wave. The Eco-Warriors visited Whangamata in March 2007 to talk with local surfers and boaters in an attempt to understand the problem, and to see if the surfers concerns had merits. Local surfer
Paul Shanks explained that the proponents of the harbor project are doing so for monetary reasons, and that the proper studies were never done to
determine if the wave would be damaged. In a country where waves are
recognized as valuable tourism attractions, the Eco-Warriors question why one
of these coastal gems would ever be sacrificed for the benefit of another
water sport.

Eco Warrior - Chile

While Chile is a hotspot for adventure travelers that flock to the country to experience its many natural wonders, what many don’t realize is that it has become one of the worst water polluters in the world. In 2006 the pulp manufacturing company known as CELCO brought South America’s largest pulp mill into operation at Nueva Aldea, despite just having been found guilty of polluting a UNESCO biosphere reserve and killing thousands of endangered black neck swans at a facility further south in Valdivia. The Eco-Warriors visited Chile on their first trip together in April 2006, to participate in a public protest against the new pulp mill. They returned a year later, in April 2007, as the Nueva Aldea mill neared completion of a pipeline that promises to dump effluent directly into the sea. They spoke with fishermen, businesspeople, and surfers in the region to see how the new mill would impact their lives. They also visited another CELCO facility in nearby Constitucion, which many claim has turned a great tourist destination into a chemical dump. The Eco-Warriors found a political climate that favors big business and lax environmental regulations, a bad combination for protecting the health of citizens and the environment.

Chile Segment on Fuel’s Daily Habit

Pribram and Will Henry get a great goofy-foot perspective in Chile while filming, “All Points South” with Keith Malloy, Raph Bruhwiler, Brett Schwartz, and Timmy Turner.

Eco Warrior - Spain

The economy of Northern Spain suffered a serious blow in 2005 when the infamous wave at Mundaka Bay failed to appear for the ASP World Tour, and the contest was canceled. Anger in the community was directed at a dredging project that had been approved the previous year by regional governments, and which was believed to have caused the world-class sandbar wave to disappear.
Fast-forward two years, and the coast of Northern Spain is again set to lose more quality surf spots. The wave at Mundaka thankfully re-emerged this year, but many other waves, both in Asturias and Andalucia, lie in the path of progress. The Eco-Warriors, along with Dean LaTourrette of Save the Waves Coalition, visited the Iberian Peninsula in October 2007 to find out what could be done to help. Visiting the wave know as Mundaka’s Little Sister” in Rodiles, and the waves further West in Gijon, they unraveled the issues surrounding two harbor expansion projects that once again place surf spots on the bottom of the economic totem pole.

Fuel’s Daily Habit - Spain