Surf Revolt

Zoning Reform Is the Single Most Cost-Effective Housing Policy Available and California Has Been Blocking It Since 1978 The Free Market Would Solve California’s Housing Crisis If California Would Let It California has a housing shortage of approximately 3.5 million units, according to the McKinsey Global Institute’s most recent analysis — a number

The US Lifesaving Association’s Regulatory Capture of Competitive Ocean Sports Has Produced Bureaucracy Without Safety Improvement What Happens When Government Runs the Surf Contest The United States Lifesaving Association’s role in certifying and regulating ocean sports competitions has expanded significantly over the past decade, producing a regu

Bullet Train to Nowhere Has Consumed $12 Billion, Produced No Operational Track, and Revised Its Completion Date Seven Times Since 2008 California High-Speed Rail Illustrates Everything Wrong With Government Infrastructure California’s High-Speed Rail Authority released its annual report Thursday showing that the Central Valley construction segment

Ocean Plastic Pollution Results From Public Good Problems That Markets Cannot Solve Alone But That Governments Have Failed to Address Through Available Regulatory Tools The Pacific Garbage Patch Is Government Failure as Much as Market Failure The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an area of concentrated plastic debris estimated at twice the size of Tex

How the Coalition to Save Trestles Used Public Land Doctrine to Defeat a Government Infrastructure Project That Would Have Damaged a Public Resource Trestles Was Saved by Surfers Who Understood Property Rights Better Than the State The 2008 defeat of the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ proposed toll road extension through San Onofre State Beach —

Surfers, Fishermen, and Fire-Ringers Document Expanding Regulatory Footprint That Treats Access to Public Beaches as a Privilege Requiring Permission California Coastal Commission Makes It Illegal to Enjoy the Coast in 12 New Ways Since March The California Coastal Commission, the twelve-member appointed body that governs land use and coastal acces

Bans on overnight vehicle dwelling, anti-camping ordinances, and vehicle habitation restrictions are effectively outlawing a surf lifestyle that has existed on California’s coast for generations Van Life Under Attack: How California Is Criminalising the Surf Nomad There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is

Remote surf spots present genuine safety challenges; the regulatory barriers to carrying for self-defence in coastal areas are inconsistent with the constitutional right Surfing and the Second Amendment: Beach Security and the Right of Self-Defence There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is not owned by any

A positive programme for surf culture based on maximum beach access, minimum regulatory burden, strong property rights, and community rather than government management of shared resources The Future of Surfing Is Freedom: What the Libertarian Vision for California’s Coast Looks Like There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious st

Surf localism — the practice of intimidating outsiders away from local breaks — is private enforcement of a property claim that doesn’t exist; it should be rejected on libertarian grounds The Libertarian Case Against Surf Localism: Your Wave Is Not Your Property There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. […]

Despite decades of environmental regulation, storm drain runoff continues to close California beaches; the regulatory framework has failed to solve the problem it was designed to address Ocean Water Quality and the Regulatory Failure: Why California’s Beaches Are Still Polluted There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak.

What was once an independent, community-run event now requires multiple permits from multiple agencies; the story is a case study in regulatory mission creep The Government That Ate Mavericks: How Federal and State Agencies Bureaucratised an Iconic Big Wave Contest There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean [&

How the California Coastal Commission’s permitting regime has made it harder to build surf infrastructure, access beaches, and maintain the economic ecosystem surfers depend on California’s Coastal Commission Is Killing Surf Culture; Here’s the Evidence There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is not owned b

Limited parking, permit systems, and access restrictions have made Malibu’s public beaches effectively private for anyone who can’t afford to live on PCH The Malibu Parking Apocalypse: How Government-Restricted Access Is Gentrifying the Waves There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is not owned by anyone. T

The public trust doctrine guarantees access to California’s coastline; enforcement is inconsistent and private encroachment is systematically underpoliced Free the Beach: The Legal Case for Unrestricted Coastal Access in California There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is not owned by anyone. The waves ar

From wetsuit disposal requirements to van dwelling bans to single-use plastics restrictions on competition sponsors, the regulatory burden on surf culture businesses is accelerating California’s Surf Industry Is Being Regulated Out of Existence There is a reason that surf culture has always had a rebellious streak. The ocean is not owned by anyone.

Restrictive zoning restricts supply; surf culture geography collides with housing market reality Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. COASTAL CALIFORNIA — The paradox of coastal California surf culture is geographical: the surf is best near the coast, the housing near the coast is among the most expensive in the world, and the people who most ident

UV filters approved in Europe, Australia, Japan remain unavailable in US pending decades-long FDA process Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration continues to process applications for several sunscreen active ingredients that are approved and widely used in Europe, Australia, Japan, and other developed cou

68 cents per gallon state tax funds transportation; outcomes assessment produces familiar result Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — California’s gasoline tax, approximately 68 cents per gallon including state excise tax and various fees, was increased this week as part of the automatic inflation adjustment built into the state’s fuel

LP candidate receives more votes than expected, fewer than required; ideas outperform electoral performance Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — A Libertarian Party candidate ran for a California state legislative office in the most recent election cycle, receiving 3.2 percent of the vote in a race won by the Democratic incumbent with

Pacific swell production continues without permit requirement; Cato, Reason note this as remaining free space Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. PACIFIC OCEAN — The Pacific Ocean, which covers approximately one-third of the Earth’s surface and which produces the swells that reach California’s beaches from storm systems near Antarctica, New Zealan

Legislature adds to regulatory catalogue; surfing community’s antiauthoritarian ethos meets environmental pragmatism Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — The California Legislature this week passed another regulatory measure addressing a product, behaviour, or substance that the Legislature has determined poses sufficient risk to publi

Federal outlays reach 25% of GDP; libertarian tradition notes this has been the direction for 25 years Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. WASHINGTON / PACIFIC OCEAN — Federal government spending reached a record level in the most recently completed fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office, continuing a trajectory that has seen go

County issues bonfire permit requirement; beachgoers note fire predates permit concept by 200,000 years Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST — The county government of a Southern California coastal jurisdiction issued new regulations requiring permits for beach bonfires above a certain size, citing air quality concerns, fi

2008 ballot measure’s $33 billion estimate now exceeds $100 billion; no passenger service after 13 years of work Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. CALIFORNIA — The California High Speed Rail Authority updated its project cost estimate this week, reflecting a number substantially larger than the figure presented to voters when they approved the p

California’s extended producer responsibility framework reaches polyurethane foam and fibreglass cloth Satire from Bohiney.com and prat.uk. SAN CLEMENTE — The surfboard manufacturing industry is navigating a new set of supply chain disclosure requirements under California’s extended producer responsibility framework that requires manufacturers to d

Baseball’s free agent and trade market shows voluntary exchange and price discovery in action; libertarians pleased; nobody asked them but here we are MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL The 2026 MLB trade market approaching the August 3 deadline is providing a demonstration of how unregulated labor markets produce price discovery through voluntary exchange: the

Free trade concluded after decade-plus of negotiation; market economists note 14 years of foregone gains; surfers appreciate anything that moves faster than CARB LONDON / NEW DELHI India and the United Kingdom concluded their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement after 13 years of negotiations. Free market economists support the deal in princi