Hands Across the Sand to End Offshore Drilling
By Jordan Volz
Hundreds of Santa Barbara residents, climate groups, and youth organizations joined hands at West Beach on Saturday, Sept. 26, for Hands Across the Sand, a community protest to fight offshore drilling. Over 300 protesters joined organizers Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Center, Fearless Grandmothers, 805 Action, and many more.
Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, spoke on Saturday, stating, “We are here to stand up for the rule of law, which is essential for our democracy, which means we need to stand up to the Trump administration's plan to open our coast to more oil drilling.”
Sable Offshore, a Texas-based oil company, reopened the Santa Ynez pipeline 11 years after a rupture spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto the local coast. The reopening of this pipeline is a result of the Trump administration's push to reopen pipelines, using the Defense Production Act, citing an energy crisis fueled by the Iran war.
Ethan Maday, a student climate activist and leader of 805 Action—a climate youth organization that helped organize Hands Across the Sand—said, “The Trump administration used the Defense Production Act to justify restarting Sable oil, and claiming it is critical for national energy, which it's not. And they're trying to do a strategic oil petroleum reserve, which the United States Armed Forces operates zero refineries. The entire restart is a political play, it is not necessary.” The restart has provoked intense pushback from environmental advocates and supporters. Santa Barbara locals are fighting against the Trump administration's push to “Drill, baby, drill ” and its restarting of oil production off the coast of Santa Barbara.
Meagan Harmon, chair of the California Coastal Commission, also spoke. “Our commitment to defend the California Coastal Act is as urgent today as it has ever been since this law was passed 50 years ago,” she said.
The California Coastal Act is a law that protects public use of the California coast, protects the land and its inhabitants, and regulates how the coast is used. Harmon continued her speech, “Public access and environmental protections are rights, not luxuries,” urging the community to stand up for the people’s rights to enjoy the coast safely.
Maday also said, “What doesn't work is when the feds try to rip apart the laws and protections of our coasts. The federal government has poked the bear, California, and we are fighting back. Our coastline is not for sale. Not now, not ever. The decisions made by any government should be thinking about the young people and the future and the way history will think of them.” Maday finished his speech by mentioning Gregg Hart, an Assemblymember who introduced Assembly Bill 1448, legislation to protect the California coastline. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Wednesday, Sept. 30, to sign this bill.
