Retired engineer Craig Smith’s recounting of his experiences around oil production facilities (“Oil Business,” November 20, 2025) reflects the grim reality of how the oil industry impacts our lives. While there’s no doubt that cheap, readily available fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) contributed immensely to raising living standards around the world, we now know their dark side. Their air pollution alone kills more than 8 million people annually. Their carbon emissions are over-heating the planet causing deadly heat waves, chronic droughts, more frequent and intense wildfires, and the melting of polar ice which raises sea levels and floods coastal communities.
There’s no rationale to continue burning these dirty fuels. Cheaper, safer, cleaner forms of energy, particularly solar and wind technologies, are available. Only the enormous financial and political power employed by fossil fuel interests are preventing the transition to a clean energy future. For our health and the health of our planet, these dirty fuels must be phased out.
Galvanized by the audacious efforts of Sable Oil to re-start a 50-year-old pipeline, the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors is now in the process of instituting a fair and effective way to phase out oil production in our county. So far, state and local officials are effectively blocking Sable’s efforts, but we must be vigilant because an oil-soaked Trump Administration could come to Sable’s aid.
