Celebrate this upcoming Earth Day with an end to drilling off our west coast!

Tell your legislators to pass the West Coast Ocean Protection Act!

“In 1969, a massive oil spill occurred in Santa Barbara. A U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, visited the spill site and was inspired to establish the first national Earth Day on April 22, 1970. The first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans take to the streets and parks to express support for the environment. Public support for efforts to improve the environment led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. Read more here.

Two Democratic members of Congress from California – Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Jared Huffman – have introduced H.R.470/S.22 – West Coast Ocean Protection Act, legislation intended to permanently ban oil and gas drilling in federal waters off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington.

Why do we need this? “In 1994, California passed the California Coastal Sanctuary Act, which prohibited new leasing for offshore oil drilling in state waters. In 2018, however, the Trump administration released a five-year offshore leasing plan that proposed opening up the entire West Coast to new drilling. That proposal was blocked by the courts, but the threat of drilling will remain, said Senator Feinstein in a statement, until a permanent ban is enacted. The West Coast Ocean Protection Act, if passed, would provide that permanent ban.“

Minimal script for cosponsoring legislators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Rep./Sen. [___] for supporting the passage of [Rep. – H.R.470/ Sen. – S.22] the West Coast Ocean Protection Act. It’s been 54 years since the oil spill disaster that started Earth Day. It’s long past time to get this done.

Minimal script for NON-cosponsoring legislators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to Rep./Sen. [___] to cosponsor and support the passage of [Rep. – H.R.470/ Sen. – S.22] – West Coast Ocean Protection Act to permanently ban oil and gas drilling off the western coast of the United States. Not only are these wells risking another environmental disaster that endangers local economies and healthy marine ecosystems, but the companies that own them are wasting millions of our taxpayer dollars, as Rep. Katie Porter called out in 2021 in the House Committee on Natural Resources.

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Wed. 4/22: Happy Earth Day! Make a call to your state legislators and share your best resource-saving tips!

Action #1: Call Governor Newsom and tell him to stop all fracking permits now!

For the first time since last summer, CA’s oil and gas regulators CA Geologic Energy Management Division, or CalGEM, has issued permits for fracking – to Aera Energy, a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil, for “well stimulation” for 24 Aera wells in two Kern County oil fields.

$3-4 fracking$

In a bizarre twist considering how this type of expensive drilling operation affects air quality and human health, the Aera spokeswoman Cindy Pollard stated “These permits come at an especially critical time as the nation is dealing with a public health crisis unlike anything before.” Continue reading “Wed. 4/22: Happy Earth Day! Make a call to your state legislators and share your best resource-saving tips!” →

Mon 1/28: Today – 10:00 am in Camarillo. 50th anniversary of the environmental tragedy that started “Earth Day”.

The Center for Biological Diversity would like to cordially invite you to their “big, bold, badass protest” they are organizing on January 28th, the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill disaster.

From the Center for Biological Diversity…

“On January 28th, 1969, a massive offshore oil spill erupted in the Santa Barbara Channel, blanketing the California coast, including Chumash ancestral homeland, in over 3 million gallons of oil. The sight of the 800 square-mile oil slick inspired then-Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to organize what came to be known as “Earth Day“, when he succeeded in amassing some 20 million people to the cause of educating people on issues related to the environment on April 20, 1970, with the help of U.S. Rep. Pete McCloskey of California.

In the 50 years since Santa Barbara’s disaster, other devastating oil spills – from Exxon Valdez in ‘89, to the BP Disaster in 2010, to the Plains Refugio spill in 2015 – have proven that offshore drilling remains dirty and dangerous.

But Trump and his swamp cabinet are moving forward with a proposal to dramatically expand offshore drilling in all our oceans – including off the California coast for the first time in more than 30 years – while simultaneously rolling back protections that prevent catastrophic oil spills. Continue reading “Mon 1/28: Today – 10:00 am in Camarillo. 50th anniversary of the environmental tragedy that started “Earth Day”.” →

Thur – 1/10: You are cordially invited to the 50th anniversary of the environmental tragedy that started “Earth Day”.

From the Center for Biological Diversity…

But Trump and his swamp cabinet are moving forward with a proposal to dramatically expand offshore drilling in all our oceans – including off the California coast for the first time in more than 30 years – while simultaneously rolling back protections that prevent catastrophic oil spills. Continue reading “Thur – 1/10: You are cordially invited to the 50th anniversary of the environmental tragedy that started “Earth Day”.” →