In honor of Earth Day, I thought it would be prudent to highlight projects that are attempting to do something to make our world a little bit better. One of them is a project started by Kevin Cunningham of Spirare Surfboards to reclaim oceanic debris and transform it into functional art:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/408559255/spirare-sustainable-surf-craft

Here’s a synopsis of the project from their Kickstarter project page:

Inspired by the beauty of nature and the large amounts of man-made debris in the oceans I am embarking on a series of surfboards that reclaim trash that washes up onto the shore. It is a dichotomy between the natural and unnatural. Natural materials form my surfboards; conversely, fragments of man-made debris such as plastic and glass are recycled and reused in the skin of the surfboard. Plastic bags woven into a strengthening cloth, plastic bottles cut up and reassembled into fins, and many other possibilities to be explored.  …

My surfboards are to be viewed as both functional and fine art that emphasize Green design and sustainable construction while maintaining a high performance standard. The surfboards I shape do not wear out like conventional foam boards; they last ten times as long without any reduction in performance over time.

Given the vast amounts of trash in our world’s oceans, Kevin shouldn’t have problems obtaining materials for his project.

(via Wired, Planetsave)