Making green cool never stood a better chance than it did this past May, when former professional snowboarder Frank Scura went to Capitol Hill to testify about climate change. Scura, who founded the Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC), was there to raise consciousness about the effect of global warming on the outdoor sports industry. More at home in board shorts and baseball caps than in a jacket and tie, Scura donned finer duds to fit in with the political stiffs for the day. Why? To push a youth education agenda, and call for an industry initiative to battle the effects of climate change.

When Scura started ASEC in 2001, it was a culmination of his passion for the environment and the years he had spent building a personal network of extreme sports athletes and fans. The coalition has come a long way since then: Its supporters today include the top clothing labels of extreme sports, such as Hurley and Quicksilver, eco-conscious corporations such as Whole Foods and Clif Bar, and a rad group of extreme sports heroes, including professional skateboarders Bob Burnquist and Danny Way. In 2004, ASEC was responsible for greening the X Games with skate ramps made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, and in 2006 the games were carbon-neutral and powered by wind energy.

Scura described his approach in Sass magazine: "Our strategy is simple. We'll make and endorse better products, educate consumers, and inspire individuals to make responsible decisions." Here, he talks to Blue Egg about his own inspiration, his less-than-eco-friendly "past life," and why he's not worried about the environment.

Greening the action sports community is a labor of love for me. It is my community, a group of people who have always been there for me, as I grew up in it. ASEC represents my contribution to stoke out so many people who have given so much to my life and now to my family. Helping your community to grow spiritually and enhancing their quality of life through conscious action are the types of achievements that you look back upon when your children have grown up. You know in your heart that you've made a difference in ways that will make them proud of you. As a parent and a husband, I can honestly say that there is nothing more important to me than the admiration and appreciation of my family. Chances are, if your family is proud of you, then your community will feel the same way.

What's next on ASEC's agenda?
We are on the verge of announcing a revolutionary, industry-wide agenda, which will pursue environmentalism, sustainability, eco-education, and social responsibility. Together, athletes, companies, and consumers are going to be working together to improve our world and the way we conduct business. We're just not satisfied by riding this environmental wave; we want to make waves.

When and why did the green light bulb first go on for you?
Oregon, 1995. I moved there unintentionally (that's another story), and the people there were so sincere and into celebrating life, music, food, creativity, and compassion. I never knew people who grew their own food until I went there. Everyone had their own garden. A year later, I moved to the high-desert mountains of eastern Oregon and went Grizzly Adams with a pack of wolves I rescued (true story). It is amazing what happens when you don't have electricity (by choice), and you don't listen to music or watch TV-when you just spend time finding out where you begin and the bullshit ends. For me, during that time, it all just became clear, the kind of world I wanted to live in and the kind of person I wanted to be within it.

Is there an environmental trend or factoid you find particularly alarming?
Nothing alarms me. Everything is exactly what it is. I really enjoy being on planet Earth right now. You can see paradise or you can see doom. What we see is a matter of our own perception. Sure there are common sights like colors and all that surround our day-to-day lives, but really I try not to demonize or be involved in the drama of trivial things, like a pop star showing her breast. The world is perfect.

That doesn't mean that I am not attached to my vision of a healthy environment. Both Hitler and Gandhi served their places perfectly in the world, and so do the Dali Lama and George Bush. Embrace the entire rose, from its thorns to its blossoms and its leaves to the excrement that feeds its roots.
What magic power over the environment would you most like to have?
The power to observe it, unattached to the outcome and without fear.

As a way to get around, do you prefer to walk, bike, or bus? Or skateboard, snowboard or some other adrenaline-inducing option?
All of the above. I would like to walk my bike up a hill, bomb the hill on my bike, and hop on a biodiesel bus to an incredible fly ash [editor's translation: super eco-designed] skatepark designed by Dreamland, and we would session all night by the solar-powered lights.

What eco-accomplishment are you most proud of?
I would have to say that my favorites are recycling the ramps from the X Games to create skateparks in the inner city, and being part of the ASEC Bob Burnquist Global Cooling Challenge. For that, we donate organic gardens and nurseries to schools. Those are the things that make me feel the best. I am sure other people would choose some of my more flashy accomplishments. But at the end of the day your accomplishments can be weighed on how they make you feel and how they inspire others to feel.

What eco-sin are you least proud of?
In a far distant life, I once demolished a rental car and lit it on fire when I was done.

We're only human. Whether it's buying bottled water, driving an SUV, or taking long, hot showers, we all have our guilty indulgences. What's yours?
Actually my work provides me with a negative carbon surplus. I am like a solar generator plugged into the grid, turning the meter backwards.

We all have something we can't live without. What is the one tradeoff you'd really rather not make, no matter how good it is for the environment?
That is an interesting concept, but the reality is that anything bad can be trans-mutated into good. Whether it is chocolate or TV, it can be made fair trade and biodegradable. Anything made from a carbon can be made from cellulose. I say, have it all!

What's the one easy thing you do for the environment that you wish everyone else would do?
Plant trees.

Do you ask your friends to do it?
Sometimes.

Any books, articles, or websites you would recommend?
There are a bunch of books: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinland, Eyes of Wisdom: Book One in the White Buffalo Woman Trilogy by Heyoka Merrifield, Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, and any interview with Geoff Rowley, Bob Burnquist, or Danny Way. As for websites, I don't really surf the Web, but my wife just got turned onto YouTube and likes it. And Daryl Hannah's web site is super sick.

Whom would you choose to be your carpool buddy and why?
Can I have a group? George Bush, the Dalai Lama, Ralph Nader and Al Gore. I would just dig being the guy in the middle in the back seat, along for that ride. I would probably piss myself laughing and crying listening to that conversation.

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