The battle for California's coast has erupted once more as offshore drilling returns to Santa Barbara and threatens to spread northward along the entire Pacific coastline. This alarming development follows Trump's late April executive order, which targets even our most protected ocean areas—National Marine Sanctuaries—for oil and gas exploration for the first time in history.
Richard Charter, Senior Fellow at the Ocean Foundation and veteran defender of our coastal ecosystems, explains that this aggressive push by the administration targets specific areas off Bodega Head, Sea Ranch, Gualala, Point Arena, and Mendocino Village. Unlike previous attempts to drill offshore, this one specifically targets marine sanctuaries—areas that took decades of scientific research and public advocacy to establish as protected zones.
The consequences of offshore drilling disasters are etched into California's history. From the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill to the 2015 Refugio disaster (where oil traveled 150 miles along the coast) and the 2021 Huntington Beach pipeline rupture, California has repeatedly suffered from industry negligence. These aren't just environmental catastrophes—they directly threaten coastal economies dependent on tourism, fishing, and recreation.
What's particularly disturbing is how the administration is dismantling protections from within. Many NOAA scientists have resigned rather than approve drilling permits in sanctuary waters. Safety regulations designed to prevent another Deepwater Horizon disaster are being removed. Even President Biden's January withdrawal of the Pacific coast from oil development—a legally binding protection that courts have upheld—is being simply ignored.
The public has until June 16th to comment on the proposed five-year offshore leasing program through SaveMyCoast.org. Charter reminds us that California's coast isn't just any coastline—it's a global model for marine protection, with carefully designed networks of protected areas studied by planners worldwide. The ecosystem here supports one of the planet's most productive upwelling systems, essential not just for marine life but for the oxygen we breathe.
As Peter Douglas, founder of California coastal protection, famously said: "The California coast is never saved, it's always in the process of being saved." Now is the time to continue that fight.
Thank you for listening, subscribing, & supporting Resilient Earth Radio!
Leigh Anne Lindsey, Producer Sea Storm Studios, The Sea Ranch, North Sonoma Coast
Scott & Tree Mercer, Co-hosts/Producers, Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study, Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts.
Planet Centric Media is Media for a Healthier Planet. Resilient Earth is a project of this 501 (c) (3) non-profit that is developing & producing media to elevate awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things.
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