Hundreds of San Diegans rallied Saturday, Feb. 3rd in Mission Beach against the Trump’s administration proposals to vastly expand offshore drilling off the California coast – the first time this has been proposed in more than three decades.
Besides the rally, participants spelled out “No Oil!” on the sand, while others held hands up and down the length of the beach, off Belmont Park. The Hands Across the Sand event organized by Oceana as well as other well-known environmental activist groups, such as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and 350.
Similar rallies were also held Feb. 3 in Laguna Beach, Santa Monica, Brea, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz. Plus, more will rally and march on Thursday, Feb. 8 in Sacramento, an event coinciding and including a march to the plan’s only formal hearing in California.
Meanwhile, San Francisco, Los Angeles and at least 25 other California communities have passed resolutions opposing new offshore drilling in the Pacific. (For more information on the California campaign against offshore drilling, visit here. )
Mission Beach rally, Feb 3, 2018; photo credits: oceana
Near Belmont Park at Mission Beach on Saturday, Brady Bradshaw with Oceana Southern California welcomed the crowd. A number of San Diego-area politicians attended and spoke. Todd Gloria, Assemblymember for District 78 stated, as reported by CBS8News:
“There are more jobs in clean energy than there are in coal energy and it’s crazy that the Trump administration wants to double down on the 20th century and not invest in the 21st century.”
Representative Scott Peters said:
“The disastrous decision to expand drilling along our coasts is a step backward for our environment and our economy. Trump can’t bring back the energy jobs of the past, so he needs to stop this attack on San Diego’s beaches and bays and realize that clean technology is rapidly growing and creating jobs.”
Other speakers from the political class included: San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, and San Diego City Councilmember Lorie Zapf. Everyone spoke in opposition to expanded drilling, and they highlighted the impacts that dangerous offshore drilling activities will have on local businesses, city revenue, fishing, favorite surf spots, the overall California coastal way of life.
There will be only one public comment opportunity for all Californians to speak on the issue: Thursday, February 8 at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
Jackie Savitz, Oceana’s Chief Policy Officer, stated:
“Whether you are driven by economics, politics or science, offshore drilling is a bad idea. Not if, but when there is a spill, coastal businesses will pay the price. Why risk this existing thriving economy which depends on healthy coasts, to gamble on a high-risk, hoped-for venture that threatens coastal businesses and coastal economies.”
Many older Californians certainly remember the disastrous 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill; it ignited a huge pushback across the state and helped enliven the environmental movement. That and 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill disasters, combined with multiple leaks from offshore platforms and undersea pipelines, have released more than four million gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean over the decades.
Healthy oceans support more than 89,000 jobs and generate $4.3 billion in San Diego County through tourism, recreation, and fishing sectors alone. Offshore drilling related spills and chronic oil leaks put the ocean economy, marine wildlife, and the health of communities at risk—a risk San Diego County cannot afford.
The rallies came about in response to the announcement by the Secretary of the Interior that only one public meeting will be held in California—on February 8 in Sacramento—to allow for public comment on newly proposed offshore oil leases off California. One meeting for the entire state of California is inadequate to provide the opportunity for Californians to participate and comment.
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