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Santa Barbara Channel

Say NO to ExxonMobil Trucking

ExxonMobil Seeks to Restart Three Offshore Platforms & Transport Oil by Tanker Truck

Tasked with the quest to analyze ExxonMobil’s proposal to restart offshore platforms (shut down since the 2015 Plains Pipeline spill that devastated the coastline) and truck oil along our precious coast, we set off on a collective years-long journey riddled with unrest at the thought of a significant increase in the amount of oil tanker trucks in our community. It truly baffles us that there is a proposition to extract oil, then use trucks—that need oil to move—as a transportation method. It seems like a get one fish hook unstuck by using another fish hook type of situation.

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Refugio Oil Spill: What Restoration Looks Like 5 Years Later

It has been over five years since the Refugio Oil Spill devastated the Gaviota Coast. A stark reminder of the catastrophic 1969 oil spill, Santa Barbara County was again under a State of Emergency. The economy, public health, and the environment were negatively impacted as 136 square miles of coastline were shut down. Fishers’ livelihoods were at risk, state parks and campgrounds were closed, people could not enjoy the beach for weeks, and countless wildlife were badly injured and killed. The impacts resulting from this disaster could have, and should have, been avoided.

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Gray whale strandings highlight importance of increased ocean protection

Gray whales often hug the shoreline as they shuttle their calves from the warm winter breeding grounds of Baja California to their summer feeding areas in Alaska and the Arctic. Once hunted near extinction, gray whales have been able to bounce back to more sustainable population numbers. Unfortunately, new threats are emerging that once again concern those of us who love these majestic and charismatic giants.

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Marine Protected Areas and the Value of Resilient Coasts

With the loss of nearly half of all marine life in the last 40 years, we are in a crucial time period for the preservation of ocean-dwelling species and building ecological resilience along our coasts. In the Santa Barbara Channel, resource harvesting, oil extraction, and marine shipping contribute to diminished resilience of the coastal zone. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are powerful tools for reversing these adverse effects and have been designated in the region for the purpose of increasing resilience, restoring biodiversity, enhancing recreational opportunities, and preserving both economic and cultural resources for future generations.

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The “Most Destructive Oil Drilling Plan” Yet!

Donald Trump clearly enjoys his superlatives. He proclaimed himself to be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created,” he lauded his hiring of the “best people,” having “the best words,” getting “the biggest crowds,” and so on. It was no surprise, then, when President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed a new Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program pushing for the “largest number of (oil) lease sales in U.S. History.” In fairness to this terrifying description, if the Administration succeeds with their plan as introduced, they would indeed open more than 90% of our coast to new offshore drilling!

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