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.
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!
As we remember the second anniversary of the Refugio oil spill (May 19,2015), it’s important to understand the important part played by the Environmental Defense Center. But let me digress for a moment to share my perspective on oil extraction in general.
Sometime in 2006… I was on my way to the 101 Freeway near the Esplanade Financial Center. I saw two of my friends, Bill Terry and Gloria Roman, standing on the sidewalk trying to get the attention of the people in the passing cars. They had huge photographs of fiery explosions and huge pipes. They […]
On March 18, the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) Advisory Council marked the successful completion of a year-long working group effort to address two critical environmental issues in the Santa Barbara Channel, ship strikes on whales and air pollution from ships. The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) co-chaired this working group process, which brought together key stakeholders tasked with identifying possible solutions to these resource management challenges.
As required by EDC’s recent lawsuit settlement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) (agencies of the U.S. Department of the Interior) on Monday announced the availability of a draft environmental analysis of the use of fracking and acidizing from offshore oil platforms in southern California, including […]
Last week was Sea Otter Awareness Week and what better way to celebrate our furry friends than U.S District Court Judge John F. Walter upholding the Fish & Wildlife Services’ (FWS) 2012 decision to terminate the “no-otter zone” against a legal challenge from the Pacific Legal Foundation? EDC had intervened in support of the FWS decision on behalf of The Otter Project, Los Angeles Waterkeeper, and itself.
It is hard to believe it has already been one month since the Plains All American Pipeline leaked more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto our precious Gaviota Coast, closing once pristine state parks and so far killing a minimum of 280 marine mammals and seabirds. EDC staff has been engaged on multiple fronts, doing essential legal research and investigation and advancing regional, statewide, and federal solutions to ensure our region never again has to face this kind of devastation.
It has been an emotional experience, standing on Refugio State Beach, overwhelmed and nauseated by the stench and facing the damage that crude oil has once again caused to our precious coastline. It’s not like we haven’t been here before. But somehow each time oil befouls a treasured beach or I see the dark sheen of oil floating toward the horizon, it hits me like a fresh punch.
