Additional updates to this ongoing story can be found here.
[UPDATE, Wednesday, 8 a.m.]: At around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Santa Barbara County firefighters were dispatched just west of Refugio State Beach to investigate a strong, gassy smell wafting through the area. They soon discovered a river of oil spewing down a storm drain and straight into the ocean that quickly covered four miles of pristine Gaviota coastline in thick crude. The slick is expected to travel farther east before it’s stopped and cleaned in the coming days.
Paul Wellman
Oil from an onshore leak spills down the cliff and into the ocean north of Refugio Beach (May 19, 2015)
Health officials ordered Refugio State Beach closed and its campers relocated just as oil-covered birds and other distressed wildlife began washing ashore. Fishing and shellfish harvesting has been shut down on both sides of the beach, and news helicopters showed migrating whales skirting the sheen. A family living near Orella Ranch evacuated their home because the fumes were so overwhelming.
The accident has been classified by federal responders as a “medium-sized” spill and was traced to an underground pipeline a few hundred yards inland above Highway 101. The 24-inch pipe is owned and operated by Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline, which stopped the leak at approximately 3 p.m. It’s unclear how long the pipe was leaking, what caused it to break, or exactly how much crude escaped. Plains initially reported that 21,000 gallons of oil made its way into the ocean, but that number is expected to rise after county, Coast Guard, and state Fish and Wildlife personnel tally the true damage.
"Plains deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to limit its environmental impact," the company said in a statement. The spill is the largest in Santa Barbara since a 1997 equipment failure at platform Irene off North County polluted Surf Beach. Six cleanup boats were deploying booms and skimming the ocean Tuesday while land teams began the arduous task of stripping crude from rock and sand. "Any oil spill is devastating to the environment, but it's nothing that we can't recover from," said Capt. Jennifer Williams of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Unfortunately with accidents and oil development, it is not a question of if, but of when,” said Owen Bailey, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center. “But to see this level of spill into such a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating.” The Gaviota Coast is one of the most important ecosystems in all of California, Bailey went on, and environmentalists have fought tirelessly to protect it since the massive 1969 spill nearby. “I am deeply saddened by the images coming from the scene at Refugio,” Rep. Lois Capps said Wednesday morning. “This incident is yet another stark reminder of the serious risks to our environment and economy that come from drilling for oil.”
Paul Wellman
An estimated 21,000 gallon oil spill just North of Refugio State Beach coating 4 miles of the shoreline and a sheen 50-100 yards wide (May 19, 2015)..
The broken Plains pipeline funnels 45,000-50,000 barrels of produced oil a day between ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility near Refugio to the Plains-owned Gaviota pumping station. From there, it travels to refineries in Kern County. The 10-mile pipeline was installed in the early 1990s. Notably, it’s the only piece of energy infrastructure on Santa Barbara County land that’s not under the county’s watch. When pipe was put in, Plains successfully sued to place it under the supervision of the State Fire Marshal's Office, arguing state management pre-empted local oversight.
The pipeline hasn’t experienced any other major issues, said Kevin Drude, head of the county’s Energy Division. The life expectancy of such pipes can reach 100 years, he explained, assuming a close eye is kept on corrosion control. Drude said he was curious why the leak did not trigger an automatic shut-off as the pipe is equipped with a sensor system that can detect even the slightest change in pressure. “It’s able to pick up pinhole leaks,” he said. Tuesday night, Drude was gearing up for a site inspection at first light Wednesday morning. He said Plains had not yet provided his office with the data that will allow him calculate exactly how much oil spilled.
Founded in 1998, Plains All American Pipeline is in the business of transporting and storing crude oil and natural gas all over the continent. According to the SEC, the company’s net revenue last year was $1.39 billion. Tuesday’s spill was the latest in a number of similar accidents in recent years. The EPA has recorded at least 10 serious incidents in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas; between June 2004 and September 2007, more than 273,000 gallons of crude was leaked, and in a 2010 settlement with EPA, the company agreed to spend $41 million to upgrade 10,400 miles of pipeline and pay $3.2 million in civil penalties. In 2011, Plains’ Canadian division was responsible for three major accidents in Alberta.
Last May, a 130-mile Plains pipeline that runs through Los Angeles County ruptured and sent 19,000 gallons of crude through the streets of Atwater Village. The leak lasted around 45 minutes, covered a half-mile area in oil, and caused the evacuation of nearby buildings. According to news reports, Plains was not aware of the spill until residents called the city fire department, which then had to notify the company.
By Paul Wellman
Large amounts of oil wash up on Refugio State Beach after the ocean slick travelled south
[UPDATE, Tuesday, 8:13 p.m.]: Plains All American Pipeline issued the following statement, which contradicts initial reports from the county's Office of Emergency Management that the broken pipeline was inoperative:
"Earlier today, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., became aware of a crude oil release from its 24-inch Las Flores to Gaviota pipeline in Santa Barbara County. Initial reports indicate the released oil reached a culvert leading to the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the spill has impacted ocean water and the shoreline. At this time, the amount of released oil is unknown.
"Plains shut down the flow of oil in the pipeline and has initiated its emergency response plan. The culvert has been blocked so no additional oil is reaching the water. Plains is working with local officials and first responders on site to begin clean up and remediation efforts.
"Plains deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to limit its environmental impact. Our focus remains on ensuring the safety of all involved. No injuries have been reported at this time.
Plains will continue to provide updates on the response effort as more information is made available. For the most up-to-date information throughout the response or to make direct inquiries, please visit www.plainsupdate.com. A claims and information number has been established at 866 753 3619."
By Paul Wellman
An estimated 21,000 gallon oil spill just North of Refugio State Beach coating 4 miles of the shoreline and a sheen 50-100 yards wide (May 19, 2015).
[UPDATE, 6:08 p.m.]: Lt. Jonathan McCormick with the U.S. Coast Guard said an estimated 21,000 gallons of oil spilled into the ocean. That estimate comes from Plains All American Pipeline. An independent assessment has not yet been completed, he said, and it's unknown how many gallons of crude remain on land and along the shoreline. A sheen of oil approximately four miles long and 50-100 yards wide extends south from the spill site north of Refugio State Beach. Land and ocean cleanup crews are currently working to mop up the mess.
Dr. Takashi Wada, head of the County's Public Health Department, gave the order to shut down the beach and nearby park. A warning has been issued for El Capitan State Beach as the slick continues to slowly creep south.
Paul Wellman
An estimated 21,000 gallon oil spill just North of Refugio State Beach coating 4 miles of the shoreline and a sheen 50-100 yards wide (May 19, 2015)..
Owen Bailey, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center, issued this statement not long ago: “Unfortunately with accidents and oil development, it is not a question of if, but of when. But to see this level of spill into such a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch. These waters are known as the Galapagos of North America with numerous species of endangered whales migrating through marine protected areas and off the iconic and beloved Gaviota Coast.
In the wake of the terrible 1969 Santa Barbra oil spill, our communities have fought for many years to protect this as one of the most important environments in all of California. Looking forward at new, risky coastal drilling applications from Venoco to drill off Ellwood and Sunset/Exxon to drill from Vandenberg Air Force Base, this is an important reminder that we must redouble our efforts to make safer, cleaner and forward-looking decisions on energy production.”
And Becca Claassen, Santa Barbara organizer for Food & Water Watch, said this: "The oil spill near Refugio State Beach is a stark reminder of the dangerous risks expanded oil drilling poses to Santa Barbara County’s environment and its residents’ quality of life. This incident is all the more reason to ban fracking both offshore and onshore to help prevent future spills and protect Santa Barbara’s beautiful beaches and coastal environment.”
[UPDATE, 4:33 p.m.]: Richard Abrams with the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said the broken pipe operated by Plains All American Pipeline had been abandoned some time ago. He couldn't say when, and noted, "I guess there was still some product in there."
Abrams said cleanup contractors will calculate how much oil spilled, and that will determine how much Plains All American is fined. From here on out, he explained, the incident is being managed by the county, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. A command post is being set up in the area.
[UPDATE, 4:15 p.m.]: The county's Office of Emergency Management just issued an alert that the spill "stretches approximately 4 miles wide." No evacuations have been ordered, but nearby residents have reportedly been leaving their homes voluntarily because of the strong fumes. A second cleanup vessel has arrived to start moping up the large slick on the ocean.
[UPDATE, 2:48 p.m.]: The oil spill originated from a pipe operated by Plains All American Pipeline, officials on the scene said. They explained the rupture occurred north of Highway 101, and the oil leaked under the highway and railroad, onto the beach, and into the water.
According to the County of Santa Barbara's Energy Division, All American Pipeline operates two onshore pipelines that are currently in service. One, 24 inches in diameter, 10 miles long, and with a 150,000 barrel per day capacity, transports oil from ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon Processing Facility near Refugio to the main All American Pipeline system at Gaviota. The other pipe transports oil from Gaviota to Kern County refineries. Calls to Plains All American Pipeline have not been returned.
County firefighters were the first to discover the spill after they responded to 11:30 a.m. reports of gas smells in the area. They pinpointed the leak just north of Refugio State Beach.
Tides and winds are pushing the oil slick south, responders said. A Clean Seas cleanup vessel has arrived, and a number of county, state, and federal agencies are present at the scene.
Independent photographer Paul Wellman said oil continues to seep out of the cliff face above the beach. Authorities said the source of the leak was contained at approximately 3 p.m..
[ORIGINAL REPORT]:Emergency responders are descending on the coastline near Refugio State Beach after receiving reports of an oil spill in the area.
According to County Fire spokesperson Dave Zaniboni, who just arrived at the scene west of Santa Barbara, the spill originated on land from a broken pipeline. The leak has been stopped, he said, but a large oil slick has formed on the surface of the ocean. He estimated it was a half-mile long and about 100 feet wide.
A large amount of oil has also collected on the beach. The smell is extremely pungent, people nearby are saying.
Another responder on the scene said the pipe was leaking at a rate of "a couple hundred BMP," or barrels per minute. It's not clear how long oil was flowing from the pipe, or who the pipe belongs to.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
I sure hope they cite the source of this nasty spill and if it's NOT a seep, but a company's closed well that's at fault, they are charged to clean every last drop from the shore & water! Boo!!
Absolute incompetence on the part of the pipeline operators is what caused this. A lack of sufficient regulation of those incompetent operators is a contributing factor. In this day and age, there is no excuse for this kind of accident. Plains should be fined hundreds of millions of dollars. This will affect the Santa Barbara County coast for months. Refugio is one of the most poplar destination parks in California. The Parks Service should get reimbursed for every cancelation. Nice work oil companies. We've got to keep your eye on these characters, they are idiots in charge of dangerous systems.
Time to get out of the petroleum business! I hope we bankrupt and fine the hell out of Plains All American Pipeline Co (assuming they are responsible). This beach area WAS fantastic, now 4 miles of it is ruined...and the shorebirds? Can't wait for NattyG's apologetic BS, c'mon sensible molly, let's hear your baloney: this will help us pass an EXPANDED Measure P in the next election which will bring us full turnout.
The Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources is at fault here as well. The Santa Barbara coast line is riddled with old, outdated, and abandoned wells, pipes, etc. Houses have been built over uncapped wells on the Mesa! Oil companies have just walked away from unwanted facilities for a century and the regulators have not done their job leaving ticking time bombs all over the place. As these old forgotten, neglected, facilities become deteriorated we will see more of this unless DOGGR steps up, identifies all of the potential problems and makes the oil companies responsible clean up their act. Trouble is, most are long gone or changed ownership. Fines should be put into an account to find and properly address these issues.
DavyBrown: If you are so outraged, and want to rid us of oil, youll immediately surrender your car(s), home, electricity, upscale SB lifestyle, all of it. Otherwise you'd be a hypocrite . . .wouldnt you?
oh BS! and 'nuff already! We'd phase it out of course, and no I won't be surrendering anything, ha ha and don't have an "upscale SB lifestyle" to give up, I'm a Westsider. Relax, it will be OK as we move to solar and other renewables, just look at Germany and it's potent solar energy resources. But hey, cash out or trade your oil stocks now, it's over you just don't know it but...your inchoate fear reeks.
Danny Boy, I hope you are just as outraged at the millions of gallons of HEAVY BRINE that the City of Santa Barbara proposes to pump into the Pacific Ocean each and everyday with their Desalination Plant, no free lunch it will do a lot of damage and kill many many organisms.
This is so sad for the wildlife, I witnessed the 69 spill and the damage.
4,000 gallons of Santa Barbara raw sewage, 21,000 gallons of oil, and proposed millions of gallons of Santa Barbara heavy brine water daily - it is an ecological disaster - Coastal over-population.
I know I'm looking for trouble in saying this - because I'm relatively new here, having come back to California after (too many!) years in Virginia and deciding that Santa Barbara was the best place to land now.
But this is really awful -- the Achilles heel of the area. I went down the 100 Steps last summer for a walk and got so much tar on my feet that it scared the surfer dudes when I showed it to them and asked if it was common? They said: "Brah! That sucks!"
And it really sucks if the paradisiacal beaches going up to Gaviota -- places that are hard to surpass in their beauty -- are getting trashed.
You have a new cause Davy. Bewailing the '69 spill was (admittedly) getting a bit old. Now you have a fresh outrage. You can rent your shirts and ashes over your heads every year at this time, for years to come. We can feel your excitement
Chevron sonar beacons in the channel regularly broadcast to all of us that the 1969 oil spill was salubrious for all ocean life and that oil operators are our best friends.
Great, let the organic panic begin...... This area will be restored to yesterdays pristine beauty in less than a year. The oil is natural and will be biodegraded by the warmer waters and absorbed.
Quatracoin: The tar balls are from the Earth. About 100 bbls a day seep off the same coastline PXP had the spill. Slicks miles long and hundreds of yards wide are reported every day from the platforms. They dont want credit for them.
So the Earth is (by far) the biggest polluter. Should we cancel Earth Day?
Shame on the Independent for opposing Measure P last November! This is exactly the kind of corporate malfeasance that we need to protect ourselves from. These incidents will continue to happen as long as we tolerate them. Let's put an end to it now. Get Oil Out of Santa Barbara County.
It is very difficult for me not to judge people who do not believe in saving the ocean and our environment. I do not understand people who are so greedy for money that they ruin the earth for everyone. I am so sick of money being the end all be all. How can we prove a point to these people that they can't do this just because they have money?
More government regulations are not going to prevent these spills, if anything government regulations cause the spills.
The company should not be "fined", they should pay for complete and total restoration of the area. In a free market this would require that they carry very expensive insurance, and the insurance companies could vary the insurance rates based on the risk of the type of drilling they are doing, maintenance and infrastructure records as well as the company's own safety processes and records. This would give incentives to oil companies to be as safe as possible because it would give them the best insurance rates.
Currently, oil companies are shielded from total liability by government regulations. Their maintenance requirements are simply the minimum requirements that come from government regulations and do not give these companies the incentive they need to be as safe as possible.
We live in the Industrial Age. Industrial accidents happen. Congrats to the clean-up crews who were poised and ready to do what is necessary. Oil is natural. It is part of the Earth. Now it is also part of the Ocean. Which it often is naturally anyway. Earth and its creatures are resilient.
We live in the Industrial Age. Industrial accidents happen. Congrats to the clean-up crews who were poised and ready to do what is necessary. Oil is natural. It is part of the Earth. Now it is also part of the Ocean. Which it often is naturally anyway. Earth and its creatures are resilient.
Arsenic is part of the earth. So is cyanide. So are toxic plants, and poisonous creatures. That does not mean we should cover the land with any of those "natural" substances that are part of the earth.
Yes, Coal Oil Point has one of the largest seeps in the world. Yet marine life thrives in this area. Why - because the seeps arise from the bottom of the ocean, disperse and are not in any concentration sufficient to cover marine animals with goo.
It is all about concentration. Mankind concentrates earth's resources in a highly unnatural way. Chemicals. Oil. Gas. And when those spill, they destroy. Yes, we are in the industrial age - and those who profit the most have the most responsibility not to destroy.
Per a certain ideology - people should take responsibility for their actions. Unfortunately, the biggest profit makers are the least responsible, and try to avoid paying up. As happened in the Gulf. As happened with Exxon Valdez. Yes, we are in the irresponsible, pass the buck, privatize the profits, socialize the losses, glorious poisoning and polluting, industrial age.
Environmentally damaging fossil fuel companies enjoy US$5.3 trillion each year in subsidies, working out at around US$10 million a minute, an alarming estimate by the International Monetary Fund reveals. The financial organization labeled the find “shocking:” the US$5.3 trillion figure for 2015 equates to more than all government’s in the world spending on health, combined.
The figure is down to the heavy polluters failing to pay fines handed out to governments for burning coal, oil and gas, which harms local populations and causes widespread catastrophes like droughts and floods. The IMF, one of the most important financial institutions in the world, indicated that the results were “dramatically” greater than expected, and said reform of energy subsidies was imperative. “Post-tax energy subsidies are dramatically higher than previously estimated and are projected to remain high,” the report “How Large are Global Energy Subsidies?” reads.
“This very important analysis shatters the myth that fossil fuels are cheap by showing just how huge their real costs are. There is no justification for these enormous subsidies for fossil fuels, which distort markets and damages economies, particularly in poorer countries,” Nicholas Stern, a leading climate economist at the London School of Economics told the Guardian.
How many more wake up calls do we need? The extraction and production of fossil fuels for energy generation involves unlikely, but extremely catastrophic consequences... Santa Barbara should be the leader in promoting sustainable transportation. This is one spill too many, by what appears to be a known corporate rogue.
Okay, forget the part about the Chumash caulking their boats with natural seep tars (Gasp), but do go to the Natural History Museum to view the Chumash Hall so you can get a good idea how a culture stuck in the pre-Industrial Revolution lives like.
Then ask our "environmental" legislators Hannah-Beth Jackson and Das Williams to return this area to this pre-Industrial state ASAP. Until people take aborting humans more seriously, I remain untouched by the loss of a few short-lifespan shore birds who live in an eat or be eaten world anyway.
This odd revulsion of "money" is the most laughable aspect of this discussion.
Davy sounds absolutely thrilled that he can use this to further his Progressive agenda. How sad that a lousy event leaves a number of you frothing at the mouth in delight. The spill sucks. It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event. The company should be fined and forced to pay according to strict liability rules.
Drill! Baby, Drill! High five, everyone! Nice work!
@nomoresanity: "Davy sounds absolutely thrilled that he can use this to further his Progressive agenda. How sad that a lousy event leaves a number of you frothing at the mouth in delight."
Yeah, I bet he's totally thrilled that the climate-denial Luddites have unleashed yet another totally predictable oil spill on our community. No more sanity is right.
@nomoresanity: "It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event."
I'd ask you to describe the level of carnage necessary for you to pull your head out of the sand, but I have a feeling you'd spend your dying breath choking on oil while denying there's a problem.
Progressives refuse to accept their agenda runs on other people's money. City now asking us for a sales tax increase so they can keep spending other people's money, on progressive paychecks and pensions.
Your call voters if you want this wealth redistribution to this public employees elite to continue. And if you will let them extort these higher taxes with the threat they will let the city infrastructure continue to crumble, while they keep feeding the public employee elite.
No new taxes until the city reforms city employee compensation and new taxes go into a city employee union proof lock box dedicated only to city infrastructure projects approved by city residents. No majority vote allowed for the new taxes; 2/3 vote resolution only.
The city is screwing you over every which way from Sunday on this new sales tax scheme. This is simply a city employee full-employment and full-benefit act.
This is an unfortunate cost of doing business.To be able to live the lives that all the SB'ers want (and anyone else in America for that matter) , oil is a necessity. Like one of the posters above stated, turn in all fossil fuel related luxuries you have if you feel that strongly towards renewable energy.
Dang! Don't know how this happened. The oil business is so safe and clean and should never be regulated or limited. I guess fish and our region's natural beauty will have to take a hit on the chin for the rest of us. After all, if we use oil in our car and home, then big oil should have the right to drill and dig anywhere using whatever techniques it deems best!
It looks like SB has more than oil in their reports of spills - Maybe that's what each of you should be addressing: -SPILL Report 12/19/2014 11:27 PM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Residence SEWAGE - SPILL Report 11/13/2014 09:16 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Waterways SEWAGE - SPILL Report 07/04/2014 08:47 PM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Public Works Residence SEWAGE - SPILL Report 11/18/2013 09:05 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Airport Airport SEWAGE - SPILL Report 02/20/2013 08:19 PM Santa Barbara County Lompoc Mission Hills community Service District Road SEWAGE 93% SPILL Report 12/03/2012 10:50 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Public Works Other SEWAGE
I urge readers to consider electric cars. I have been driving a full electric car for 3 years and love it! From as low as $16k from Nissan, Fiat, Chevy, BMW, Kia, Mercedes, and Tesla (who is opening a store in Santa Barbara this Friday!). Really, be a part of the solution. And hey, these days, you can get solar on your house to charge your car with no money outlay.
"Progressives refuse to accept their agenda runs on other people's money." -Jarvis
"Environmentally damaging fossil fuel companies enjoy US$5.3 trillion each year in subsidies, working out at around US$10 million a minute." -tabatha
Come on Jarvis, can't you see you are getting destroyed by tabatha here? Don't let that happen. The conservative, free market position is the correct one you just don't understand it well enough to argue it. You think that everybody who is rich deserves their money, even if they lobbied and lied to congress to get us into wars and then sold weapons to our military to kill innocent people. I mean, come on.. there is a huge difference between providing goods and services purchased voluntarily by members of society and paying off politicians to get special rights and subsidies for your business. Being rich isn't good or bad, it depends. You need to learn that. Being poor isn't good or bad. It depends.
You talk about an "aversion to money" but the people here on the left have a legitimate aversion to giving welfare to people with Bentleys, as do I.
Anyway, it looks like there is a new type of wind energy technology that doesn't rely on blades spinning, instead it is simply a stick with a magical shape that sticks up in the air and shakes in the wind. It is 50% more efficient than the blade systems, takes up far less space and doesn't kill birds.
People with extra money should feel good about investing and using these new clean types of energy, poor people shouldn't have to feel ashamed for using the cheaper available alternatives until the cleaner technologies become more affordable. So hold these companies responsible and stop giving them subsidies, let the market determine the prices and maybe you will see that some of these alternative energy solutions be able to compete as they constantly get better with time.
Unfortunately solar has to continue to compete against the heavily subsidized fossil fuel industry. And then we have the joys of a local permitting inspector who puts ridiculous requirements on solar contractors. I worked heavily with the community environmental Council and other organizations to streamline the permitting process for solar in this county, but that was all written in sand, now we have a new inspector who has taken us backwards a decade primarily over his ego!
tabatha cannot destroy a paper tiger. But it is good to have her throw her very best stuff into the debate or else we may never resolve our energy needs questions.
We do now rely on some form of externally produced energy in virtually every aspect of our lives. I also would like to see it be clean, efficient, renewable and cheap. No source today is perfect.
Research appears stagnant. Hair-pulling and false scenarios do nothing to move this issue forward. Fossil fuels moved civilization forward and I will always be grateful for the bountiful world they created.
May we continue to invest in energy research and apply the best and brightest minds to this goal. In-figthing with tabatha produces nothing but hot air, which so far we cannot harness to run electric cars who still depend primarily on dirty coal.
Or do we adapt to dirty energy in order to obtain its obvious benefits? That is for the next generation to decide. If they want to go back to looting the forests for fire and slave labor (Slavs - the first Euro continent slaves) like times past, that will be their decision to make.
unhappy about the spill of course: I hike there often. Nomore's apologetic BS is silly, he writes "The spill sucks. It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event." Well OK then: it is a horrible event, and the only positive is that it guarantees passage of an expanded Measure P type proposition for SB County at next election. Head on up to your mythical North County [mission] and enjoy your oil-polluted selves there.
Talking subsidies and market shares is sideline. Clean, safe, efficient and renewable energy still remains in the land of theory, not practice. Quibble over the present practice if you want but never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and what we must do to get there.
We have three elected "environmental protectionist" representatives. What have they done to foster energy research, instead of strangling current energy delivery. It is one thing to choke off what you don't like; but it is reprehensible to not find a replacement in its stead.
@jarvis-Jarvis, yawn....that dirty coal argument is so yesterday. Most states use a minority amount of coal and are forever decreasing. Even in the states that use a lot of coal generation the net effect of EV's is beneficial. Electricity can come from many sources of which these sources are becoming cleaner and cleaner. There is only one source for gasoline, that's oil. There has never been a war over electricity and there never will.
"renewable energy remains in the land of theory, not practice" really Jarvis? Maybe you should talk to the over 250 homeowners that I have put on solar in the last 10 years. In most cases the solar system generates 100% of their annual electrical need, and a number of them also charge their electric vehicles. Many have also stated that the return on their investment hovers around eight years or less.
As soon as we get around the basic physics problems for energy storage we can all happily own electric cars. As soon as we get around the basic energy storage and inefficiency of solar panels we will all be totally solar. As soon as we invent impossibilium all of our problems will be solved. No Davy, I hike there too and camp there a couple of times a year and am incredibly sad that this happened. I, however, do not view this problem as an opportunity to push an ideology that is not yet practical or doable. I'm so sorry to keep my logic intact. I would take all of you that want to ban oil seriously if you had pushed equally hard to get natural gas implemented on a massive scale; predictably and because it did not fit the ideology that too has been hampered. You seldom get "perfect", you can often get "better"...
Bottom line: if we stop giving benefits and subsidies to oil companies and make them responsible for their actions, then consumers will actually be able to see the true price of oil. Jarvis thinks this is some how 'bad' and 'choking off' our current energy supply but that is inaccurate. We already pay the true price of oil through tax dollars and monetary inflation, we just don't actually see the true price at the pump and so it is a commodity that is overly competitive in the market.
So if the subsidies and benefits that went to oil companies came back to consumers, then we would see the true price of oil. Since the price of oil will be higher AND consumers will have extra income to spend on energy consumption, consumers will be able to make a personal decision whether they want to invest in new or different types of energies that might be a little more expensive but may make them feel better about their footprint on the earth.
Currently, everybody is forced to pay the subsidies and benefits for the oil companies and so many people have no choice but to spend the rest of their money on the cheaper alternative that was pre-selected for them.
Jarvis, all I'm asking is to let the market work. You are trying to use socialist tactics to push oil on the market when the market may very well have different preferences.
Sure, we give subsidies to oil. But I bet if we cut them out, stopped taxing at the pump and lifted California's onerous reformulation requirements, prices would be a lot lower than they are now.
Riceman, many on solar have to replace their original equipment after 8 years, get lousy service once the installation is complete, and deal with continual error messages from even the top-end equipment. Talk to my hand rice man, because we have had photovoltaic for years.
Today selling solar is far more selling financing plans and then doing a disappearing act when things go wrong. Solar is a great theory, but remains a lousy practice in most settings long-term.
It's a young industry and yes there are problems, but I have zero unhappy customers. Many with systems that are approaching 15 years old. Failures have occurred, but all have been fixed and are running fine. I'm sure there's more than solar contractors that have ran away from you!
Europe has long been used to higher gas prices than the US and this has made cultural changes in the types of cars they drive. But they still drive. Agree, there should be no subsidies for any energy resource. Cost will drive more conservation, than pious scoldings and alarmist visions of an ultimate apocalypse.
Approximately 250,000 energy users in the South Coast and you sold 250 units? Yes, this industry is in the zygote stage of development here. Though selling financing plans is as old as door to door magazine sellers.
In Europe the government allows diesel cars that get 80+ mpg so they can drive at least as far, dollar for dollar as we can. Thanks to government regulations, we can't have 80+ mpg diesel cars here in the US.
The argument that we should turn in our cars, plastics, is a bunch of BS. The industry is intrenched and kills all competition. Change the subsidies to other energy sources and we will have change. Until then, there is no other option for anyone.
You guys are talking about renewable energy like it's pie in the sky or fiction. Guess you are unaware of what places like the EU are doing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewabl...
And yes, they still have cars there. (And even high speed trains - uh oh, shhh, don't want to stir up that argument.)
I like the fact Europe depends so much on nuclear energy, particularly now that they are in the process of their green energy conversion and needed a reliable back-up so as to not tank their lagging economy completely. Where are they storing their nuclear wastes, z28racegirl?
Once again, Paul Wellman is taking great shots, and risks smelling those vapors.That said, why the pressure drop in this pipe wasn't noticed? Over 3 1/2 hrs to stop the flow.Demand all pipes to and from Las Flores are moniturd...HELLO
"In 2014, more than a third of all new electric capacity was solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. At that rate, a new panel is installed approximately every three minutes; the one-millionth solar panel will likely be installed this year.
This is good news for the U.S. solar industry, which is expanding and adding jobs at a blistering pace. It’s also good news for investors, who are taking advantage of new opportunities like SolarCity’s Solar Bonds to participate in that growth."
----
"Call them renewable energy pioneers. The number of high-profile companies calling for power procurement policy changes or making direct investments in clean energy sources grew exponentially over the past 12 months.
Over the summer, a dozen trend-setters — including General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Walmart — wrote and signed the Corporate Renewable Energy Pledge asking utility companies to make it simpler for them to buy power generated sustainably through solar, wind, fuel cells and other alternative sources.
More than 19 big brands are on board, representing a combined demand of more than 10 million megawatt hours (MWhs) per year. Or, put another way, enough power to run 1 million homes for a year.
Then, in October, another group of companies lit up the RE100 campaign, which seeks to convince 100 of the world's largest companies to switch over to 100 percent renewable power. First on board: BT, Commerzbank, FIA Formula E, H&M, IKEA, KPN, Mars, Nestle, Philips, Reed Elsevier, J. Safra Sarasin, Swiss Re and Yoox. (IKEA and Swiss Re were the founding sponsors.)
Both developments underscore growing frustration within the corporate world with the level of progress being made (or not made) by utility companies adding renewable energy-generating sources."
Breitbart brings their slant to the oil-drilling story:
"According to the Los Angeles Times, the Coast Guard described Tuesday’s spill as “medium” in size.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) wasted no time attempting to make the spill political.
“This incident is yet another stark reminder of the serious risks to our environment and economy that come from drilling for oil,” she reportedly said, expressing her deep disappointment with the situation.
Democrats and the left have long been opponents of oil drilling measures such as fracking, despite Governor Jerry Brown’s support the process. Brown has reportedly been “monitoring the situation with great concern,” according to spokesman Evan Westrup.
The leak was reportedly first discovered by a woman around noon on Tuesday, and the U.S. Coast Guard was able to stop it three hours later. The Coast Guard was working with 60-70 employees from Plains All American Pipeline to clean up the crude mess on the coastline and ocean on Wednesday."
I'm reminded of the budget meeting I went to a few years back. The city council told us they thought spending the "rainy day" funds was prudent cause we hadn't had any environmental disaster since 69! And as we all know SB rarely has any natural disasters so the council decided it was time to make it rain. (and I'm not talking cloud seeding!)
thanks Lois Capps for stepping up to the plate for our local commercial fishing industry I went several rounds with your minion staffers post Deepwater Horizon trying to get you to initiate legislation to provide a fiscal safetynet should a spill happen in local waters. Well Lois that day is here and you have done NOTHING for us not to worry you are on the way out preceded only by your sterling record regarding commercial fishing.
@HowGreen...I'm on the record AGAINST desal over many years, and am working against the current stupid idea of bringing it back, and largely because of the pollution involved...and the cost. Yes, it's tragic.
A very informative article about a very serious issue. It may take years to carry out the restorative work needed to reverse the damage caused by this catastrophic oil spill.
Comments
I sure hope they cite the source of this nasty spill and if it's NOT a seep, but a company's closed well that's at fault, they are charged to clean every last drop from the shore & water! Boo!!
Barron (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 2:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for the coverage. Do you have any photos that give a better sense of scale? I'm not sure what I'm looking at.
GoodlandGirl (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 3:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It appears to be oil and water crashing in some kind of wave... Needless to say this is a very fluid situation!
touristunfriendly (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 3:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Or how the pipe broke. More info is definitely needed here.
Botany (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 3:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
" moping up the large slick on the ocean" appropriate spelling error.
tabatha (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No on P. Jobs, you know.
spacey (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Absolute incompetence on the part of the pipeline operators is what caused this. A lack of sufficient regulation of those incompetent operators is a contributing factor. In this day and age, there is no excuse for this kind of accident. Plains should be fined hundreds of millions of dollars. This will affect the Santa Barbara County coast for months. Refugio is one of the most poplar destination parks in California. The Parks Service should get reimbursed for every cancelation. Nice work oil companies. We've got to keep your eye on these characters, they are idiots in charge of dangerous systems.
Eckermann (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Time to get out of the petroleum business! I hope we bankrupt and fine the hell out of Plains All American Pipeline Co (assuming they are responsible). This beach area WAS fantastic, now 4 miles of it is ruined...and the shorebirds? Can't wait for NattyG's apologetic BS, c'mon sensible molly, let's hear your baloney: this will help us pass an EXPANDED Measure P in the next election which will bring us full turnout.
DavyBrown (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is not OK...gorgeous Santa Barbara coastline and wildlife covered with oil? My heart is breaking.
CalGalSB (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources is at fault here as well.
The Santa Barbara coast line is riddled with old, outdated, and abandoned wells, pipes, etc. Houses have been built over uncapped wells on the Mesa! Oil companies have just walked away from unwanted facilities for a century and the regulators have not done their job leaving ticking time bombs all over the place. As these old forgotten, neglected, facilities become deteriorated we will see more of this unless DOGGR steps up, identifies all of the potential problems and makes the oil companies responsible clean up their act. Trouble is, most are long gone or changed ownership. Fines should be put into an account to find and properly address these issues.
outasight (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
and yet we haven't had one press report from the candidates running for congress! Are they all on an early Memorial day vacation?
touristunfriendly (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DavyBrown:
If you are so outraged, and want to rid us of oil, youll immediately surrender your car(s), home, electricity, upscale SB lifestyle, all of it. Otherwise you'd be a hypocrite . . .wouldnt you?
nuffalready (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
oh BS! and 'nuff already! We'd phase it out of course, and no I won't be surrendering anything, ha ha and don't have an "upscale SB lifestyle" to give up, I'm a Westsider. Relax, it will be OK as we move to solar and other renewables, just look at Germany and it's potent solar energy resources. But hey, cash out or trade your oil stocks now, it's over you just don't know it but...your inchoate fear reeks.
DavyBrown (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Danny Boy, I hope you are just as outraged at the millions of gallons of HEAVY BRINE that the City of Santa Barbara proposes to pump into the Pacific Ocean each and everyday with their Desalination Plant, no free lunch it will do a lot of damage and kill many many organisms.
This is so sad for the wildlife, I witnessed the 69 spill and the damage.
4,000 gallons of Santa Barbara raw sewage, 21,000 gallons of oil, and proposed millions of gallons of Santa Barbara heavy brine water daily - it is an ecological disaster - Coastal over-population.
howgreenwasmyvalley (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I know I'm looking for trouble in saying this - because I'm relatively new here, having come back to California after (too many!) years in Virginia and deciding that Santa Barbara was the best place to land now.
But this is really awful -- the Achilles heel of the area. I went down the 100 Steps last summer for a walk and got so much tar on my feet that it scared the surfer dudes when I showed it to them and asked if it was common? They said: "Brah! That sucks!"
And it really sucks if the paradisiacal beaches going up to Gaviota -- places that are hard to surpass in their beauty -- are getting trashed.
Drill baby drill! In North Dakota!
(not really)
quatrecoin (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You have a new cause Davy. Bewailing the '69 spill was (admittedly) getting a bit old. Now you have a fresh outrage. You can rent your shirts and ashes over your heads every year at this time, for years to come. We can feel your excitement
Congratulations to you all on your good fortune.
nuffalready (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I didn't cause it, honestly, I didn't do it!
dolphinpod14 (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 7:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Chevron sonar beacons in the channel regularly broadcast to all of us that the 1969 oil spill was salubrious for all ocean life and that oil operators are our best friends.
eleventysevendolphins (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 7:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Danny Boy"
howgreenwasmyvalley (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 6:46 p.m. :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLuGx...
dolphinpod14 (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great, let the organic panic begin...... This area will be restored to yesterdays pristine beauty in less than a year. The oil is natural and will be biodegraded by the warmer waters and absorbed.
catskinner (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Those were some pristine reefs. That much oil will kill off most of the sea life living amongst the reef. Much of it will not come back.
Offshore oil drilling is Neanderthal. We're still in the dark ages.
Georgy (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 8:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Quatracoin:
The tar balls are from the Earth. About 100 bbls a day seep off the same coastline PXP had the spill. Slicks miles long and hundreds of yards wide are reported every day from the platforms. They dont want credit for them.
So the Earth is (by far) the biggest polluter. Should we cancel Earth Day?
nuffalready (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 9:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The subtitle of this article is wrong and misleading.
Four miles of beach and ocean are NOT *filled* with crude.
They "coated" in crude or "covered" in crude - not "full" of crude.
Just more enviro-wacko bias showing up in an otherwise accurate and well reported story.
Penalize the offender, build stronger fail safe systems - keep drilling.
realitycheck88 (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 9:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Shame on the Independent for opposing Measure P last November! This is exactly the kind of corporate malfeasance that we need to protect ourselves from. These incidents will continue to happen as long as we tolerate them. Let's put an end to it now. Get Oil Out of Santa Barbara County.
Nockamixon (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am absolutely SICK!!! GET OIL OUT NOW!
wisewoman (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is very difficult for me not to judge people who do not believe in saving the ocean and our environment. I do not understand people who are so greedy for money that they ruin the earth for everyone. I am so sick of money being the end all be all. How can we prove a point to these people that they can't do this just because they have money?
pony (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
More government regulations are not going to prevent these spills, if anything government regulations cause the spills.
The company should not be "fined", they should pay for complete and total restoration of the area. In a free market this would require that they carry very expensive insurance, and the insurance companies could vary the insurance rates based on the risk of the type of drilling they are doing, maintenance and infrastructure records as well as the company's own safety processes and records. This would give incentives to oil companies to be as safe as possible because it would give them the best insurance rates.
Currently, oil companies are shielded from total liability by government regulations. Their maintenance requirements are simply the minimum requirements that come from government regulations and do not give these companies the incentive they need to be as safe as possible.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 10:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We live in the Industrial Age. Industrial accidents happen. Congrats to the clean-up crews who were poised and ready to do what is necessary. Oil is natural. It is part of the Earth. Now it is also part of the Ocean. Which it often is naturally anyway. Earth and its creatures are resilient.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 10:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jarvis, we will give you a Mulligan on that absurd, asinine, offensive comment. Try again.
John_Adams (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 10:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We live in the Industrial Age. Industrial accidents happen. Congrats to the clean-up crews who were poised and ready to do what is necessary. Oil is natural. It is part of the Earth. Now it is also part of the Ocean. Which it often is naturally anyway. Earth and its creatures are resilient.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 19, 2015 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are you a creature of the earth, Jarvis? Then drink a quart of crude and demonstrate resilience, wontcha? Or at least a glass of Roundup, eh....
I drove by there and smelt it, ergo I dealt it. Let's just not call it "natural."
atomic_state (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Arsenic is part of the earth. So is cyanide. So are toxic plants, and poisonous creatures. That does not mean we should cover the land with any of those "natural" substances that are part of the earth.
Yes, Coal Oil Point has one of the largest seeps in the world. Yet marine life thrives in this area. Why - because the seeps arise from the bottom of the ocean, disperse and are not in any concentration sufficient to cover marine animals with goo.
It is all about concentration. Mankind concentrates earth's resources in a highly unnatural way. Chemicals. Oil. Gas. And when those spill, they destroy. Yes, we are in the industrial age - and those who profit the most have the most responsibility not to destroy.
Per a certain ideology - people should take responsibility for their actions. Unfortunately, the biggest profit makers are the least responsible, and try to avoid paying up. As happened in the Gulf. As happened with Exxon Valdez. Yes, we are in the irresponsible, pass the buck, privatize the profits, socialize the losses, glorious poisoning and polluting, industrial age.
tabatha (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Environmentally damaging fossil fuel companies enjoy US$5.3 trillion each year in subsidies, working out at around US$10 million a minute, an alarming estimate by the International Monetary Fund reveals. The financial organization labeled the find “shocking:” the US$5.3 trillion figure for 2015 equates to more than all government’s in the world spending on health, combined.
The figure is down to the heavy polluters failing to pay fines handed out to governments for burning coal, oil and gas, which harms local populations and causes widespread catastrophes like droughts and floods. The IMF, one of the most important financial institutions in the world, indicated that the results were “dramatically” greater than expected, and said reform of energy subsidies was imperative. “Post-tax energy subsidies are dramatically higher than previously estimated and are projected to remain high,” the report “How Large are Global Energy Subsidies?” reads.
“This very important analysis shatters the myth that fossil fuels are cheap by showing just how huge their real costs are. There is no justification for these enormous subsidies for fossil fuels, which distort markets and damages economies, particularly in poorer countries,” Nicholas Stern, a leading climate economist at the London School of Economics told the Guardian.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news.... If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
tabatha (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 3:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How many more wake up calls do we need? The extraction and production of fossil fuels for energy generation involves unlikely, but extremely catastrophic consequences... Santa Barbara should be the leader in promoting sustainable transportation. This is one spill too many, by what appears to be a known corporate rogue.
BondJamesBond (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Okay, forget the part about the Chumash caulking their boats with natural seep tars (Gasp), but do go to the Natural History Museum to view the Chumash Hall so you can get a good idea how a culture stuck in the pre-Industrial Revolution lives like.
Then ask our "environmental" legislators Hannah-Beth Jackson and Das Williams to return this area to this pre-Industrial state ASAP. Until people take aborting humans more seriously, I remain untouched by the loss of a few short-lifespan shore birds who live in an eat or be eaten world anyway.
This odd revulsion of "money" is the most laughable aspect of this discussion.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 6:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Davy sounds absolutely thrilled that he can use this to further his Progressive agenda. How sad that a lousy event leaves a number of you frothing at the mouth in delight.
The spill sucks.
It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event.
The company should be fined and forced to pay according to strict liability rules.
nomoresanity (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 7:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Drill! Baby, Drill! High five, everyone! Nice work!
@nomoresanity: "Davy sounds absolutely thrilled that he can use this to further his Progressive agenda. How sad that a lousy event leaves a number of you frothing at the mouth in delight."
Yeah, I bet he's totally thrilled that the climate-denial Luddites have unleashed yet another totally predictable oil spill on our community. No more sanity is right.
@nomoresanity: "It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event."
I'd ask you to describe the level of carnage necessary for you to pull your head out of the sand, but I have a feeling you'd spend your dying breath choking on oil while denying there's a problem.
DRILL BABY DRILL! WOOHOO!
EatTheRich (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Progressives refuse to accept their agenda runs on other people's money. City now asking us for a sales tax increase so they can keep spending other people's money, on progressive paychecks and pensions.
Your call voters if you want this wealth redistribution to this public employees elite to continue. And if you will let them extort these higher taxes with the threat they will let the city infrastructure continue to crumble, while they keep feeding the public employee elite.
No new taxes until the city reforms city employee compensation and new taxes go into a city employee union proof lock box dedicated only to city infrastructure projects approved by city residents. No majority vote allowed for the new taxes; 2/3 vote resolution only.
The city is screwing you over every which way from Sunday on this new sales tax scheme. This is simply a city employee full-employment and full-benefit act.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I thought Jarvis might be the source of this latest environmental crisis, but then I realized that it wasn't a SEWAGE spill.
DRILL BABY DRILL! WOO HOO!!
EatTheRich (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
(Snicker) Good one, ETR. Very clever. I admire a little humorous take on these faux outrage events.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is an unfortunate cost of doing business.To be able to live the lives that all the SB'ers want (and anyone else in America for that matter) , oil is a necessity. Like one of the posters above stated, turn in all fossil fuel related luxuries you have if you feel that strongly towards renewable energy.
tinman78 (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Dang! Don't know how this happened. The oil business is so safe and clean and should never be regulated or limited. I guess fish and our region's natural beauty will have to take a hit on the chin for the rest of us. After all, if we use oil in our car and home, then big oil should have the right to drill and dig anywhere using whatever techniques it deems best!
LeeKaplan (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It looks like SB has more than oil in their reports of spills - Maybe that's what each of you should be addressing:
-SPILL Report 12/19/2014 11:27 PM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Residence SEWAGE
- SPILL Report 11/13/2014 09:16 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Waterways SEWAGE
- SPILL Report 07/04/2014 08:47 PM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Public Works Residence SEWAGE
- SPILL Report 11/18/2013 09:05 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Airport Airport SEWAGE
- SPILL Report 02/20/2013 08:19 PM Santa Barbara County Lompoc Mission Hills community Service District Road SEWAGE
93% SPILL Report 12/03/2012 10:50 AM Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara City of Santa Barbara Public Works Other SEWAGE
tawnyfawn (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I urge readers to consider electric cars. I have been driving a full electric car for 3 years and love it! From as low as $16k from Nissan, Fiat, Chevy, BMW, Kia, Mercedes, and Tesla (who is opening a store in Santa Barbara this Friday!). Really, be a part of the solution. And hey, these days, you can get solar on your house to charge your car with no money outlay.
gene (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 10:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Progressives refuse to accept their agenda runs on other people's money." -Jarvis
"Environmentally damaging fossil fuel companies enjoy US$5.3 trillion each year in subsidies, working out at around US$10 million a minute." -tabatha
Come on Jarvis, can't you see you are getting destroyed by tabatha here? Don't let that happen. The conservative, free market position is the correct one you just don't understand it well enough to argue it. You think that everybody who is rich deserves their money, even if they lobbied and lied to congress to get us into wars and then sold weapons to our military to kill innocent people. I mean, come on.. there is a huge difference between providing goods and services purchased voluntarily by members of society and paying off politicians to get special rights and subsidies for your business. Being rich isn't good or bad, it depends. You need to learn that. Being poor isn't good or bad. It depends.
You talk about an "aversion to money" but the people here on the left have a legitimate aversion to giving welfare to people with Bentleys, as do I.
Anyway, it looks like there is a new type of wind energy technology that doesn't rely on blades spinning, instead it is simply a stick with a magical shape that sticks up in the air and shakes in the wind. It is 50% more efficient than the blade systems, takes up far less space and doesn't kill birds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...
People with extra money should feel good about investing and using these new clean types of energy, poor people shouldn't have to feel ashamed for using the cheaper available alternatives until the cleaner technologies become more affordable. So hold these companies responsible and stop giving them subsidies, let the market determine the prices and maybe you will see that some of these alternative energy solutions be able to compete as they constantly get better with time.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unfortunately solar has to continue to compete against the heavily subsidized fossil fuel industry. And then we have the joys of a local permitting inspector who puts ridiculous requirements on solar contractors. I worked heavily with the community environmental Council and other organizations to streamline the permitting process for solar in this county, but that was all written in sand, now we have a new inspector who has taken us backwards a decade primarily over his ego!
Riceman (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
tabatha cannot destroy a paper tiger. But it is good to have her throw her very best stuff into the debate or else we may never resolve our energy needs questions.
We do now rely on some form of externally produced energy in virtually every aspect of our lives. I also would like to see it be clean, efficient, renewable and cheap. No source today is perfect.
Research appears stagnant. Hair-pulling and false scenarios do nothing to move this issue forward. Fossil fuels moved civilization forward and I will always be grateful for the bountiful world they created.
May we continue to invest in energy research and apply the best and brightest minds to this goal. In-figthing with tabatha produces nothing but hot air, which so far we cannot harness to run electric cars who still depend primarily on dirty coal.
Or do we adapt to dirty energy in order to obtain its obvious benefits? That is for the next generation to decide. If they want to go back to looting the forests for fire and slave labor (Slavs - the first Euro continent slaves) like times past, that will be their decision to make.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
unhappy about the spill of course: I hike there often. Nomore's apologetic BS is silly, he writes "The spill sucks. It is not even near a catastrophic environmental event." Well OK then: it is a horrible event, and the only positive is that it guarantees passage of an expanded Measure P type proposition for SB County at next election. Head on up to your mythical North County [mission] and enjoy your oil-polluted selves there.
DavyBrown (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Talking subsidies and market shares is sideline. Clean, safe, efficient and renewable energy still remains in the land of theory, not practice. Quibble over the present practice if you want but never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and what we must do to get there.
We have three elected "environmental protectionist" representatives. What have they done to foster energy research, instead of strangling current energy delivery. It is one thing to choke off what you don't like; but it is reprehensible to not find a replacement in its stead.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
@jarvis-Jarvis, yawn....that dirty coal argument is so yesterday. Most states use a minority amount of coal and are forever decreasing. Even in the states that use a lot of coal generation the net effect of EV's is beneficial. Electricity can come from many sources of which these sources are becoming cleaner and cleaner. There is only one source for gasoline, that's oil.
There has never been a war over electricity and there never will.
gene (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"renewable energy remains in the land of theory, not practice" really Jarvis? Maybe you should talk to the over 250 homeowners that I have put on solar in the last 10 years. In most cases the solar system generates 100% of their annual electrical need, and a number of them also charge their electric vehicles. Many have also stated that the return on their investment hovers around eight years or less.
Riceman (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As soon as we get around the basic physics problems for energy storage we can all happily own electric cars. As soon as we get around the basic energy storage and inefficiency of solar panels we will all be totally solar. As soon as we invent impossibilium all of our problems will be solved.
No Davy, I hike there too and camp there a couple of times a year and am incredibly sad that this happened. I, however, do not view this problem as an opportunity to push an ideology that is not yet practical or doable. I'm so sorry to keep my logic intact. I would take all of you that want to ban oil seriously if you had pushed equally hard to get natural gas implemented on a massive scale; predictably and because it did not fit the ideology that too has been hampered. You seldom get "perfect", you can often get "better"...
nomoresanity (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bottom line: if we stop giving benefits and subsidies to oil companies and make them responsible for their actions, then consumers will actually be able to see the true price of oil. Jarvis thinks this is some how 'bad' and 'choking off' our current energy supply but that is inaccurate. We already pay the true price of oil through tax dollars and monetary inflation, we just don't actually see the true price at the pump and so it is a commodity that is overly competitive in the market.
So if the subsidies and benefits that went to oil companies came back to consumers, then we would see the true price of oil. Since the price of oil will be higher AND consumers will have extra income to spend on energy consumption, consumers will be able to make a personal decision whether they want to invest in new or different types of energies that might be a little more expensive but may make them feel better about their footprint on the earth.
Currently, everybody is forced to pay the subsidies and benefits for the oil companies and so many people have no choice but to spend the rest of their money on the cheaper alternative that was pre-selected for them.
Jarvis, all I'm asking is to let the market work. You are trying to use socialist tactics to push oil on the market when the market may very well have different preferences.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sure, we give subsidies to oil. But I bet if we cut them out, stopped taxing at the pump and lifted California's onerous reformulation requirements, prices would be a lot lower than they are now.
Botany (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Riceman, many on solar have to replace their original equipment after 8 years, get lousy service once the installation is complete, and deal with continual error messages from even the top-end equipment. Talk to my hand rice man, because we have had photovoltaic for years.
Today selling solar is far more selling financing plans and then doing a disappearing act when things go wrong. Solar is a great theory, but remains a lousy practice in most settings long-term.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 12:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's a young industry and yes there are problems, but I have zero unhappy customers. Many with systems that are approaching 15 years old. Failures have occurred, but all have been fixed and are running fine. I'm sure there's more than solar contractors that have ran away from you!
Riceman (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Europe has long been used to higher gas prices than the US and this has made cultural changes in the types of cars they drive. But they still drive. Agree, there should be no subsidies for any energy resource. Cost will drive more conservation, than pious scoldings and alarmist visions of an ultimate apocalypse.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Approximately 250,000 energy users in the South Coast and you sold 250 units? Yes, this industry is in the zygote stage of development here. Though selling financing plans is as old as door to door magazine sellers.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In Europe the government allows diesel cars that get 80+ mpg so they can drive at least as far, dollar for dollar as we can. Thanks to government regulations, we can't have 80+ mpg diesel cars here in the US.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 12:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The argument that we should turn in our cars, plastics, is a bunch of BS. The industry is intrenched and kills all competition. Change the subsidies to other energy sources and we will have change. Until then, there is no other option for anyone.
spacey (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You guys are talking about renewable energy like it's pie in the sky or fiction. Guess you are unaware of what places like the EU are doing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewabl...
And yes, they still have cars there. (And even high speed trains - uh oh, shhh, don't want to stir up that argument.)
z28racergirl (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I like the fact Europe depends so much on nuclear energy, particularly now that they are in the process of their green energy conversion and needed a reliable back-up so as to not tank their lagging economy completely. Where are they storing their nuclear wastes, z28racegirl?
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Once again, Paul Wellman is taking great shots, and risks smelling those vapors.That said, why the pressure drop in this pipe wasn't noticed? Over 3 1/2 hrs to stop the flow.Demand all pipes to and from Las Flores are moniturd...HELLO
Folart (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"In 2014, more than a third of all new electric capacity was solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. At that rate, a new panel is installed approximately every three minutes; the one-millionth solar panel will likely be installed this year.
This is good news for the U.S. solar industry, which is expanding and adding jobs at a blistering pace. It’s also good news for investors, who are taking advantage of new opportunities like SolarCity’s Solar Bonds to participate in that growth."
----
"Call them renewable energy pioneers. The number of high-profile companies calling for power procurement policy changes or making direct investments in clean energy sources grew exponentially over the past 12 months.
Over the summer, a dozen trend-setters — including General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Walmart — wrote and signed the Corporate Renewable Energy Pledge asking utility companies to make it simpler for them to buy power generated sustainably through solar, wind, fuel cells and other alternative sources.
More than 19 big brands are on board, representing a combined demand of more than 10 million megawatt hours (MWhs) per year. Or, put another way, enough power to run 1 million homes for a year.
Then, in October, another group of companies lit up the RE100 campaign, which seeks to convince 100 of the world's largest companies to switch over to 100 percent renewable power. First on board: BT, Commerzbank, FIA Formula E, H&M, IKEA, KPN, Mars, Nestle, Philips, Reed Elsevier, J. Safra Sarasin, Swiss Re and Yoox. (IKEA and Swiss Re were the founding sponsors.)
Both developments underscore growing frustration within the corporate world with the level of progress being made (or not made) by utility companies adding renewable energy-generating sources."
Yep, renewable energy is going nowhere.
tabatha (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Breitbart brings their slant to the oil-drilling story:
"According to the Los Angeles Times, the Coast Guard described Tuesday’s spill as “medium” in size.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) wasted no time attempting to make the spill political.
“This incident is yet another stark reminder of the serious risks to our environment and economy that come from drilling for oil,” she reportedly said, expressing her deep disappointment with the situation.
Democrats and the left have long been opponents of oil drilling measures such as fracking, despite Governor Jerry Brown’s support the process. Brown has reportedly been “monitoring the situation with great concern,” according to spokesman Evan Westrup.
The leak was reportedly first discovered by a woman around noon on Tuesday, and the U.S. Coast Guard was able to stop it three hours later. The Coast Guard was working with 60-70 employees from Plains All American Pipeline to clean up the crude mess on the coastline and ocean on Wednesday."
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PONY wanna change the WORLD ?
get the world = ( all humans beings ) to stop lusting after the $in of the Flesh
and seek Christ Jesus :)
THINK YOU can do that ?
read the Holy Bible = Tells you to turn from $in and seek Jesus and then abide in the WORD until you DIE
( $in is what is bring all humans to it`s END ) period :)
TRUTH reveals = $in
lovebrucez1 (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, at least we know there is someone on here /\ /\ that's crazier than pardall!
sacjon (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm reminded of the budget meeting I went to a few years back. The city council told us they thought spending the "rainy day" funds was prudent cause we hadn't had any environmental disaster since 69!
And as we all know SB rarely has any natural disasters so the council decided it was time to make it rain. (and I'm not talking cloud seeding!)
touristunfriendly (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This current incident did not happen in Santa Barbara city. This was on Doreen Farr, Lois Capps, Hannah Beth Jackson and Das Williams watch.
JarvisJarvis (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 4:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
thanks Lois Capps for stepping up to the plate for our local commercial fishing industry I went several rounds with your minion staffers post Deepwater Horizon trying to get you to initiate legislation to provide a fiscal safetynet should a spill happen in local waters. Well Lois that day is here and you have done NOTHING for us not to worry you are on the way out preceded only by your sterling record regarding commercial fishing.
cojo69 (anonymous profile)
May 20, 2015 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
@HowGreen...I'm on the record AGAINST desal over many years, and am working against the current stupid idea of bringing it back, and largely because of the pollution involved...and the cost. Yes, it's tragic.
DrDan (anonymous profile)
May 21, 2015 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As of about 4:30pm Saturday 23rd, a dying dolphin? or some large creature with a fin is floating and visible from the West Beach volleyball nets.
We can't find who to call... it's probably too late
ktemby (anonymous profile)
May 23, 2015 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A very informative article about a very serious issue.
It may take years to carry out the restorative work needed to reverse the damage caused by this catastrophic oil spill.
JC Axe
JC_Axe (anonymous profile)
June 6, 2015 at 4:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)