The left traces their current opposition to offshore oil drilling all the way back to 1969 when a Union Oil platform spilled 3.4 million gallons of oil of the coast near Santa Barbara, California. Marty Blum, Santa Barbara’s Democratic mayor, recently told Newsweek: “I still don’t know anyone here who wants more platforms in the [Santa Barbara] channel. Just about everyone who lives here is an environmentalist.”
Well, Marty might want to stop by the August 26, Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting, because a growing coalition of labor, agriculture, and business leaders plan to pack it with supporters of offshore oil drilling … right off the coast of Santa Barbara.
Joining the pro-drilling coalition will be Stop Oil Seeps California (SOS California) who are advocating drilling to save Santa Barbara’s environment. Their case: Research from the University of California, Santa Barbara and U.S. Mineral Management Service that demonstrates that man made oil production significantly reduces natural oil and gas seepage that dirties beaches, harms wildlife, and lowers air quality.
The 1969 oil spill was caused by a crack in a pipe whose protective casing was not even up to 1969 federal standards. Considering how much safer oil extraction is now compared to then, and the fact that Californians are paying over $4 a gallon for gas, Mayor Blum might want to re-poll his constituents.
