BY CHERI RAE
Our local visitor bureau bills Santa Barbara’s beaches as “one of Santa Barbara’s most magnificent attractions.” By all accounts the bureau has done a great job getting tourists to come to Santa Barbara; now it’s time to teach them how to behave once they get here.
In three days on two different beaches, my family witnessed unthinkably crass and environmentally insensitive behavior that I can only blame on those who visit here with the expectation that Santa Barbara’s waterfront is their own personal playground where anything goes.
The cacophony of craziness that drowned out any semblance of serenity or feeling of respect for nature at Hendry’s included: two guys flipping a jellyfish back and forth as if it were a Frisbee; a couple who triumphantly held a starfish aloft after prying it from its rocky tidepool confines; a dachshund, tethered to a shovel, yapping incessantly at kids, kites, other dogs, and no apparent provocation at all; two guys who pulled their beers out of their beached water motorcycles—er, personal watercraft—quaffed them, and headed noisily back out to sea.
NOISE POLLUTION
And at the breakwater, perhaps the most disturbing incident of all: The magical moment of watching dolphins frolic in the sea was shattered with the whine of jet-skis speeding over to check out the activity.
The jet-skiers rode through the pod, again and again, wreaking havoc through the scene, scattering the dolphins, polluting their water and our air. I can’t imagine what damage was done below the surface to the body and spirit of those gentle creatures that inspire so many with their presence alone.
For many years now, the city’s determination to turn Santa Barbara into just another seaside attraction with its focus on tourism has resulted in the establishment of one tacky enterprise after another.
I can overlook the souvenir shops and overpriced snacks on Stearns Wharf, and even the rentals of pedal surreys and recumbents that seem to amuse so many. At least they’re pedal powered. But I worry about those poor horses pulling carriages—blinders on their heads, poop bags below—standing patiently in the middle of the worst of the tourism chaos.
And I draw the line at other insults to the environment and sensibility. The behemoth Land Shark—an embarrassment on land and sea—makes anyone wonder how many miles it gets per gallon as it belches its diesel fumes through our historic neighborhoods, providing tourists with thrills they could enjoy even more on foot.
CRAZY DRIVERS
And more than once I’ve seen occupants of those silly little GPS cars nearly killed by drivers of oversized vehicles who just can’t see them. Jet ski rentals are more than I can take. After the sputtering Red Baron biplane crashed, I guess I was just surprised that no one began offering helicopter tours.
In Santa Barbara, the birthplace of the environmental movement, launched with the utter devastation to our local beaches by an oil spill, I can’t understand why it’s cluttered with so many tourist attractions and cheap amusements that come with a high environmental price tag. Our waterfront is a place well-suited for genteel strolls along the promenade, but it’s being sold as though it’s a fun zone or an aquatic freeway.
And there’s something quite incongruous about watching our politicians and planners go on about persuading Santa Barbarans to pursue alternative transportation, while tourists are not just allowed, but encouraged, to burn fossil fuels in pursuit of their own personal pleasure.
With so much heat in environmental issues these days, it’s time to shed some light on personal behavior in natural surroundings. Santa Barbara can and should become leaders in eco-tourism. We can stop promoting the attraction, and start promoting protection of a natural resource, not an amusement park. Our visitors must have the same sort of respect for our unique surroundings that locals do—and apparently, sadly, they must be taught. It’s time for all of us to wise up and realize a trip to Santa Barbara’s waterfront is no day at the beach.
E-mail Cheri Rae at letters@santabarbarafree.com
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Tourists take toll on beaches
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6 comments:
Just about everything is spot on.
The Land Shark is fine, however... after all, it is mass transit, and spews less emissions per rider than single-driver vehicles. It's just ugly and seems out of place.
There is no hope. The chamber of commerce is in control. We now have several motorsports/motorcycle shops in town all contributing to the madness that Cheri Rae describes. It is not only at sea but the assaults are on land as well.
We have had a hugh sales increase in motorcycle, Monstertruck SUV type vehicles, with racing exhausts, mutiple 4 inch tailpipes at the end of a monsterous engine, often smelly and noisey diesel. So why wouldn't we not ride what are essentially "leaf blowers of the sea" while drinking beer and chatting up on the cell with our friends about the terrorized Dolphin chase. Cool.
The police cannot enforce if they wanted to. Furthermore it is my observation that members of law enforcement are involved in this activity as well. Our culture has taken an especially weird turn and is extremely dumbed-down, average and oridnary. It is young and old, multi-ethnic, metrosexual inconsiderates with little conscious that currently inhabit this community and earth.
BTW I don't blame permissive liberals. I blame the conservatives who have instilled the beleif that individual rights are omnipotent and that a repentent clutch of a dusty crucifix will get you salvation. GOT LIFE?....Nope!
I notice that you give no evidence that any of the horrors you witnessed were actually caused by tourists. Yes, the rentals and the land shark are targeting them, but I see plenty of personal watercraft on trailers in front of Santa Barbara houses... The notion that SB residents are blameless runs through this piece, but the silly little GPS cars are being run over by oversize vehicles that are legion on SB streets even in the tourist off-season and Hendry's is full of barking dogs at all times of year. There are still plenty of beaches where locals can go for some peace and quiet; if you don't want to see tourists, don't go hang out at the places where they congregate. But don't be surprised if you see insensitive lunkheads after the tourist throngs head home. Not everyone living in "paradise" thinks a "genteel stroll along the promenade" is a fun way to spend a weekend.
anon 1045: get over yourself. it's the fault of the conservatives that dudes on jet skis drive into dolphin pods? give me a break.
I live over here on the Gulf Coast of Northwest Florida and tourists come to our beaches from all over the world because of the beautiful clear emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the gorgeous sparkling white soft sand of its' seashore. I think we must have a jet ski law, because I hardly see them. This area is also called L.A. for "Lower Alabama" or the "Redneck Riviera" and I guess there is a 'feeling' here to not tick off the locals - who knows for sure, I'm just a resident but not born here. Anyway, I'm surprised California has not 're-educated' their tourists. Where ever people have access to the beach is a good place to start educating. We have signs, and even poster boards explaining the local environment: flowers, creatures, tides, etc. We have restrooms, outdoor showers, big plastic garbage cans. In other words, with the re-education of the tourist public also came responsibility to give the tourist and us locals a place to dump the garbage. Unfortunately, along with that came those big earth graters that rake the sand -- I haven't seen them lately, so maybe they hopefully became part of a budget cut. You can't stop people from throwing jelly fish as footballs (yuk, all we do is poke them with our toes) -- and the starfish pulling, how horrible. You can do something about the litter and the jet ski's driving thru the dolphins for sure. I would think they could get a ticket for something like that. A 'no-wave' law is good too or 'no driving thru dolphin lanes' would be great. You can keep the tourists and teach them to behave. They are really interesting people. So cheer up, there is hope!
We were at Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry's) on Saturday and it was a gross circus. Packs of dogs ran wild, some doing their "business" on the beach right where people walk. Trash, loud music, over-flowing trashcans, garbage all around. Yuk! It was not a fun place to be and I hope the tourists stay away until next summer.
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