Surfing, Duke Energy, and the Coastal Alliance :: Personal Narrative Environment Essays

Surfing, Duke Energy, and the Coastal Alliance On my way out to the beach I still had no idea what I was going to do for my fifth essay. As my surfing buddy and I exited the freeway and entered the town of Morro Bay I saw three giant gleaming smoke stacks surfacing over the top of the hill. As we got closer to the beach the three smoke stacks gave way to a massive power plant that was a mere fifty feet from the water’s edge. It was surrounded by a fifteen foot cement wall and cameras everywhere. I thought what a perfect topic for my paper. As we parked and started to suit up I noticed there was an abundance of strange looking birds all around us. My friend explained to me that the whole area is an estuary preserve that protects endangered bird species. With the towering Morro Rock looming overhead we began to wade into the surf. After I made it out past the break I turned around and saw a giant sign against the harbor wall that said â€Å"Welcome to Morro Bay† with the towering smoke stacks grasping hold of the tiny harbor like three long fingers. By the time we were done surfing I was determined to research this area further. Not just for this paper, but the fact that there was no way that the power plant is helping the estuary or the ocean. After having the opportunity to surf Morro Bay, I felt it my responsibility to protect these waters so that future generations might enjoy it. It turns out that there is a huge controversy going on because Duke Energy is attempting to get a permit to remodel the entire power plant. The official Duke Energy website starts off by saying that remodeling projects are going to begin shortly. I noticed that the plant was nearly fifty years old so it seemed logical that the plant needs renovation, but I was not convinced so I read on. Already treading on thin ice the writer tried to insert a little blurb about seawater intake at the end of the paragraph.