From a narrow, selfish, favorite pastime perspective, the greatest economic misfortune to befall the American republic in the last year was not the gradual collapse of General Motors or Ford Motor Company. It was not the "outsourcing" of jobs to India, the constancy of the federal minimum wage, the rising price of oil, or the perceived but likely fallacious rise in "global warming." No, it was the shutdown of Clark Foam.

Who/what is Clark Foam? It was the national leader in production of foam blanks used for surfboard production. Based out of Orange County, CA, Clark foam was to surfboards what Microsoft Windows is to modern computing. They were it. Most every shaper, from Al Merrick in Santa Barbara to HIC in Hawaii trusted and relied upon Clark Foam to create and ship the world's best raw material for the world's best pastime. Clark has gone out of business due to a combination of factors, chief among them being environmental fear mongering by zealous Green activists in Orange County, not usually a mecca of environmental wackoism.

So the Greens have put the kaibosh on one of their favorite pastimes, at least for the time being. Some may dispute this, but when shops and shapers are rationing blanks, turning away customers, raising prices, and behaving in ways foreign to their traditional practices, it must be admitted that surfing has been dramatically altered in a way that has left everyone guessing what the future holds.

Some have argued that this will force new manufacturers to create new designs from new materials and will eventually be good for the industry. Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe surfing shouldn't have to cave to traditional Adam Smith market theory. Maybe what made surfing unique was that it was the anti- of everything else rational in society. You might have had the worst day of your life, but when you hit the water, things changed.

The escape that was surfing has been endangered, at least for the time being. If surfing becomes just another lame pastime, like golf, it will be hard to restore and resurrect the inherent magic. I don't mean that young kids will no longer wade in the shallows after practicing their moves on the sand with wild abandon and dream of being the next Slater or Machado.

But the soul surfer, the guy who turned his back on the "real" world to pursue the dream and lived the dream, he is the guy I'm worried about. What is he to do when his last stick in the quiver goes to surfboard heaven after the next wipeout or collision with the new guy in the lineup? Is he supposed to put on a suit and tie and work 65 hours a week to merely afford what he used to be able to buy after saving for a few weeks...or putting in a few hours in his buddy's shop. The corporate executive who surfs when he can is in no danger.

The guys who are just getting into surfing at a young age, who can't afford the higher prices that are sure to be stamped to new boards, the old guys who live off their savings or social security, the grom who's almost turning pro and just needs another year or two to seal that endorsement from the board company (the shoe company is cool, but you can't surf with DVS or Reef alone), those are the people I'm worried about. What's to become of them is up in the air.

They could play soccer, but that's never been as cool as being a surfer. I would know what it's like to not be as cool as a surfer, i've been a sponger my whole life. But that's all about to change...