This month marks a big anniversary for one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history, an accident in Santa Barbara County which sparked the modern day environmental movement. On January 28th, 1969, Union Oil’s Platform “A” had a blowout which led to an 80,000 barrel plus crude oil spill, blackening beaches from Goleta to Ventura.
Former Democratic Congresswoman Lois Capps of Santa Barbara says she still vividly remembers the crisis the spill created. She says there was oil everywhere.
The main spill last for ten days, killing tens of thousands of sea birds and marine mammals. 50 years ago, we didn’t have the knowledge or resources we have now to deal with spills, or to help injured marine life.
But, the disaster galvanized Santa Barbara, and is credited with sparking the modern day environmental movement.
Sigrid Wright is CEO and Executive Director of the Community Environmental Council. She says the spill led to bipartisan efforts to protect the environment. Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin was so shocked by the spill he helped create what we now know as Earth Day.
There have been a number of actions at the county, state, and federal levels to restrict and regulate oil and gas development off the Central and South Coasts. But, at the 50th anniversary of the big spill, environmentalists say there are also big new issues.
Linda Krop is the lead attorney for the Environmental Defense Council, and had helped lead the charge against new oil and gas development for decades. She says the Trump Administration would like to reopen our coastline to new leases.
Capps led efforts to keep a moratorium in place on new offshore oil, and gas leases in federal waters. She says we have to remain alert, and be ready to fight new leasing efforts.
Krop says some of the biggest challenges we are seeing right now are for proposed onshore development. She says there are hundreds of wells proposed in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, as well as the controversial use of fracking.
But, Wright says with climate change eclipsing oil spills as the biggest concern, we are also seeing some groundbreaking actions locally. She cites commitments by Santa Barbara, and Goleta to end the use of fossil fuel energy by 2030, and the Metropolitan Transit District’s plan to convert to an all electric bus fleet.
This Sunday, local and national environmental leaders are coming together to hold a community commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the spill. The 3 p.m. event at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theater is free, but you need to reserve tickets online in advance. www.environmentaldefensecenter.org/50-years-after-sb-oil-spill/
