Exxon has always used a take-no-prisoners strategy: If it's raining hard, they'll argue there's a patch of blue somewhere.
In 1985 when Santa Barbara was preparing for a referendum on regulating offshore oil drilling, the New York Times assigned me to shoot photos for the story.
The image chosen to run, which showed a closeup of sea lion atop a buoy near some oil rigs, evoked a near hysterical response from the company.