How Climate Change Is Impacting Surfing

Surfers and scientists say climate change and rising sea levels are altering waves they ride.

For professional surfer Shaun Burns, faces in the lineup aren't the only thing he notices when paddling out at his local surf break in Santa Cruz, California. 

"As surfers, you know, we're kind of the stewards of the ocean," Burns said. "We're able to see firsthand the changes that climate change is having on the ocean." 

Like generations of surfers before him, Burns has built his life around observing and understanding the coastal environments that make his passion possible — a way of life that he says is increasingly being altered by climate change.