Entering the state capitol building isn’t too different than cruising into the Humboldt County Courthouse. You toss your bag into a tub, wait a beat for the guard to wave you through the sensor entryway, walk through, pick your stuff up and head down the hallway so you can tell the people making decisions what you think they should do.

Prep work in the hallway

Except in Sacramento, the number of decisionmakers and those who would advise them is exponential – and if you’re someone like me, who cherishes the ocean, the distance between what you want to protect and those charged with protecting it sometimes feels insurmountable. Fortunately, we have Ocean Day. Once a year, dozens of ocean advocates descend upon the Capitol in hopes of reinforcing – and reminding – our state legislators that the big blue thing hundreds of miles away is really, really important.

Much of Ocean Day was spent talking with legislators and their staff about the economic imperative of ocean protection.

That’s what about 100 of us tried to do last Monday. My team included Humboldt Baykeeper Executive Director Beth Werner and Plastic Bag Laws’ Jennie Romer. (Humboldt Surfrider’s MJ Mazurek also attended!) Together, the three of us visited our North Coast legislators to talk about various bills. Fortunately for those of us, the folks elected to represent Humboldt County and our neighbors to the north and south tend to vote with the interests of the people and the environment in mind. Don’t take that for granted, though – and remember, they need all the support they can get when it comes to passing good laws and preventing bad ones.

The Good

SB 1066: Supports the State Coastal Commission to direct funds for work addressing climate change impacts for the public benefit. Why? 1. If California doesn’t take action to mitigate sea level rise impacts, the costs will be crippling. 2. Eighty percent of Cali’s 38 million residents live within 30 miles of the coast. (You are likely one of them.) We’re beyond the point of prevention – we can’t lose any more time failing to plan for the direct threats of ocean acidification, beach erosion and even more, bigger, storm-driven waves.

The Bad

AB2211: Here’s one to stop! This shortsighted bill would weaken California’s celebrated Coastal Act, ostensibly allowing “economic benefits” to outweigh the value of protecting our shared coastal resources. Ironically, our coastal communities already draw 200 million visitors each year, boosting state and local tax revenues by $6.1 billion. Wrecking our coastline with increased development might line the pockets of a few folks in the short term, but it would cost the people of California their identity and their economic future.

Coastal Cash

In addition to the intrinsic value of California’s iconic coastline, our state economy depends on a healthy ocean. Our coastal counties provide more jobs and more money – a whopping 84 percent of California’s GDP. Visitors to the coast stay longer and spend more than those who travel to other regions within the state. It’s not about the environment vs. the economy – clearly, the environment is the economy, which is all the more reason to stay aware, informed and active in protecting our ocean.

Between the threats to our ocean’s health and the overall political vibe, a certain level of seriousness takes hold. Fortunately, we had some silly moments, too. (All joking aside, plastic bags are particularly dangerous to sea turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish. Thousands die every year from plastic ingestion.)

In addition to your own reading and research, you can keep up with local issues by tuning into Coastal Currents every Wednesday at noon on KHUM 104.3/104.7 FM and becoming a member of Humboldt Surfrider.

Jennifer Savage serves as Ocean Conservancy‘s North Coast Coordinator, Pacific Programs and also chairs the Surfrider Foundation’s Humboldt Chapter.