Santa Cruz Sentinel Coast Lines: June 27, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO
Santa Cruz surfer awarded for environmental activism
Kyle Thiermann, a 20-year-old Santa Cruz surfer, won the Blue Frontier Campaign/Peter Benchley award Friday in San Francisco.
At the awards ceremony named for “Jaws” author and conservationist Peter Benchley, top ocean explorers, advocates and scientists were honored for their pioneering efforts to protect the ocean.
Thiermann was recognized for working with local fishermen in Chile to oppose a local power plant. He found out the plant’s funding came from multinational corporations and then convinced depositors to transfer $100 million from large banks to community-based neighborhood banks.
He is traveling to Sri Lanka to investigate labor conditions in factories that make surf gear.