There’s an excellent report on the Santa Barbara natural oil seepage from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The study documents the 5,280 to 6,600 gallons (nearly 20 to 25 tons) of oil per day that seeps into the area waters and has been active for hundreds to thousands of years. In earlier days local Native … Read more
Excellent opinion piece in San Jose Mercury News from Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara who writes on the efforts to block opening more oil drilling on California coast: “Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill. On Jan. 28, 1969, a blowout on a Unocal rig six miles off the coast of California … Read more
According to the California’s Oiled Care Network (OWCN), three live oiled birds are now in care following the Sunday morning leak near a Santa Barbara Channel oil platform. (Photo above of Grebe: Erica Lander/IBRRC) The birds are being treated at the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in San Pedro. IBRRC co-manages this … Read more
Three members of IBRRC’s oil response team have been dispatched to a small oil leak off the coast of Santa Barbara. At least 1,134 gallons (27 barrels) were reportedly spilled on Sunday, December 7, 2008. No oiled birds have been found. On Tuesday team leaders from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) will help coordinate … Read more
Using his strong memory of the catastrophic 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger renewed his opposition to any new oil drilling off the state’s coastline. Schwarzenegger remembers walking the beach in his Santa Monica bodybuilding days after the Santa Barbara oil spill: “Every single time I walked around Muscle Beach, my feet … Read more
IBRRC has been assisting with the care of hundreds of birds that have been showing up with a mysterious illness along the central coast of California from Morro Bay south to Santa Barbara. Many of the 200+ birds are also showing signs of oiling. The grebes are being treated at IBRRC’s Corelia and San Pedro … Read more