The recent rupture of Plains All American’s oil pipeline in Santa Barbara County is a reminder to all of us that offshore drilling can ruin more than just our vacation. This crude spill turned the palm-tree lined paradise of Refugio Beach into a sludge-filled horror. Although we've been told that these things "just happen," in actuality, a study by InsideClimateNews found that 19 out of 20 spills go unnoticed and unreported due to weakly regulated leakage detection systems. Even more alarming, these systems do not detect four out of five oil spills larger than 40,000 gallons. According to the California Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources , Santa Barbara County had been stained 158 times by unstable pipelines as of June 2014, a frustrating data point that explains why every time I run on the beach, I need to spend 20 minutes scraping off the oil from my feet.
As a resident of Santa Barbara and a UCSB student, I can only hope that this latest pipeline leak sparks a similar public response as did the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill. Despite the devastating effects that spill had on marine life and the coastal economy, it spurred the beginning of the environmental movement, prompted the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and halted new leases for oil wells in state waters. However, pre-ban offshore wells have continued to pump out crude a few miles off our coast, carrying catastrophic spill risks into the indefinite future, all while oil development inland grows at an accelerated and aggressive pace.
As the numbers show, little progress has been made in terms of spill prevention, and the most recent technology, although readily available, is still not being used. So I feel outraged that irresponsible and irreversible damage continues to be inflicted by the oil industry’s furious drive to get every drop, while relying on unsafe leak-detection technology. The stability of our climate, health, precious potable groundwater, marine life, seafood, and fertile soils cannot continue to depend on the motives of selfish tycoons.