En Garde

We’ve just learned that the Trump administration through Interior Secretary Zinke intends to dismantle the approximately 30-year ban on offshore oil leases.

As the 50-year anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill approaches (it happened on January 28, 1969), this action underscores the retrograde nature of the Trump administration when it comes to all matters related to the environment. Care and protection of natural resources seem to be a footnote, at best, in its value system, and the more exploitative the better. Bleed dry the oil fields, on or offshore, and let as much carbon into the atmosphere as possible.

California and other states will stand fast in this latest environmental assault. Hopefully this proposed action will spark the Santa Barbara community to support its stalwart organizations to defend our shores. Let’s lend our time and our money to help the organizations that have worked so hard to preserve and protect this magnificent place on earth — the Environmental Defense Center, the Community Environmental Council, and Get Oil Out.