ExxonMobil is proposing to restart its offshore oil platforms in
Gaviota that have been shut down since the 2015 Refugio oil spill and transport
the oil via 70 tanker trucks, 24 hours a day along Highway 101.
The cities of Goleta, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo all
oppose Exxon’s trucking proposal. Offshore oil is risky anywhere, which is why
even Republican-controlled states like Florida oppose it, but California has
the largest GDP of any state, and 80 percent of that economic activity is in
coastal counties.
With its economic importance, coastal population and marine
biodiversity, California is the worst possible place to drill for oil offshore.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill off the coast of Louisiana caused $22.7
billion in lost tourism dollars alone. A similar spill in California would cost
trillions. This is why new oil leases are prohibited in state waters, and why
thousands of businesses and a number of Chambers of Commerce have joined defendthepacific.org to oppose offshore oil leases in federal waters.