Protect the Ocean

On January 28, 1969, there was a devastating oil spill right off the coast of Santa Barbara. The destruction of nature that followed showed people that our attitude about the environment needed to change. The disaster inspired Earth Day, and that legacy gives me pride as a student attending UCSB. It was a message that everyone needs to actively take care of the Earth, because if we don’t, the consequences will be disastrous.

Unfortunately, this disaster did not stay long in the public memory. Our oceans are currently threatened by corporate interests that lobby to indiscriminately exploit the ocean’s natural resources, sea creatures, or fossil fuels.

I urge you all to push our governor to advise his state agencies to increase ocean protections to the necessary 30 percent level recommended by the UN. The alternative is to surrender to those who won’t stop until they’ve killed the last fish.