Educational Tours of Natural Seeps Offered Ahead of County Hearing
SOS California wants to help residents understand the effects of natural-gas and oil pollution in the Santa Barbara Channel.
For the next 35 days, SOS California, an environmental nonprofit organization, will be working to educate the community about the effects of natural gas and oil seep pollution in the Santa Barbara Channel.
On Aug. 26, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will meet in a special hearing to address the nation’s energy crisis and its short- and long-term local effects.
The hearing will be an opportunity for the Board of Supervisors to set forth a policy position for offshore oil resources and communicate the position to state and federal officials. SOS believes that many county residents are unaware of the magnitude of pollution caused by the natural seeps and that a solution is possible — sensible expansion of offshore drilling.
“The environmental impacts we face daily due to natural oil seepage pollution is not being addressed,” SOS co-founder Bruce Allen said. “SOS looks forward to the public becoming better informed about the UCSB peer-reviewed research showing that increased offshore oil and gas production can lead to further meaningful reductions in the extensive natural offshore oil seeps. The county can not afford to ignore the potential income source from expanded offshore drilling, and should exercise a fiduciary duty to determine the potential for royalty and tax revenue sharing agreements with the state of California regarding new or renegotiated leases in the federal OCS for oil and gas production.”
Aboard the “Condor Express,” county residents on Thursday traveled up the coastline to witness firsthand seep gas bubbling up from the ocean floor and the oil sheen that blankets large areas of the Santa Barbara Channel. SOS explained that virtually all of the oil polluting the marine ecosystem and beaches is gushing up freely from cracks in the ocean floor, driven by subterranean trapped pressure and releasing both oil and gas to the surface.
At a rate of about 10,000 barrels per day, the quantity of seepage in Santa Barbara’s coastal waters since 1970 equals 31 “1969” oil spills. Scientific methods and extensive research quantify the significant reductions possible to permanently reduce these sources of pollution. SOS is planning to offer several more seeps tours to the public in the next 35 days.
“There is no better tool than this by which to educate the public about the negative impact these oil and gas seeps have on the environment,” board member Jim Nelson said. “And the toxicity in the air around the oil and gas seeps is undeniable — most of us experience an instant headache, which is proof-positive that this is a major environmental problem. In fact, the seeps are one of the major sources of air pollution in Santa Barbara County.”
Judy Rossiter represents SOS California.
» wrote on 07/29/08 @ 05:55 PM
SOS must be green and groovy because the Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur Of The Year placed this advertisement under the “Sustainable Life” category of content at Noozhawk.
[Editor’s note: Meow! It seemed more like a Sustainable Life article to us than a Nonprofit one.]
» wrote on 07/29/08 @ 08:16 AM
I would like to respond to the anonymous comment stating that, “SOS California is an industry lobbying group funded by Venoco”. SOS California is a registered 501 (C)(3) nonprofit corporation organized in the State of California. We have no affiliation of any sort with Venoco or any industry organization. Specifically, Venoco has no representation on our Board of Directors or Advisory Board, nor are any of its employees affiliated in any way with our organization. To date the majority of our funding has come from our board and advisory board members—not to mention the thousands of hours these individuals have devoted to SOS research and community outreach activities. It is interesting that the reader does not address any of the factual material in the press release or on our website or that provided in recent local and national radio and television interviews with SOS. It is our responsibility to utilize our charitable contributions to conduct fact-based research and education regarding the impact of seep pollution, that extraction of existing offshore California oil and gas reserves can be conducted safely and in an environmentally sensitive manner, and the resulting funding can address budget shortfall issues and serve as a bridge to renewable energy.
» wrote on 07/28/08 @ 07:22 AM
The article failed to note that SOS is industry lobbying organization funded by Venoco. Not sure that qualifies as a “non-profit environmental organization.”
[Editor’s note: And all this time I thought it was funded by the Pentaverate, who run everything and meet three times a year at a secret country mansion in Colorado known as ... “The Meadows.” That’s a pretty strong allegation. Of course, you have documentation you can share with Noozhawk readers, right?]
» wrote on 07/27/08 @ 11:12 AM
David Pritchett, since you have posted 2 of the 5 postings so far, we must assume that it is you being paid per posting?
» wrote on 07/27/08 @ 01:02 AM
Wow… someone is getting paid a fee per posting here.
Next is how any new oil extracted from offshore California will be sold only in the local market and never to China or India.
» wrote on 07/26/08 @ 09:05 AM
You all need to look at the marine research visually (and with measurements)documenting the seeps out there off Coal Oil Point. Not to mention the historical evidence from ships logs back to the 1800s mentioning that sour gas smell and all the tar. Oh, and the Chumash using the tar for their boats, water pots, etc. The seeps are nothing new here, except for the decline of their effect over the years since drilling started at Platform Holly. If you haven’t taken that boat ride, you don’t have the credibility to criticize the information given in the tour.
» wrote on 07/26/08 @ 07:30 AM
All those Hydrogen Sulfide releases that smell like rotten eggs… guess what, they are the seeps! Gas from the seeps intoxicates the Venoco workers out on Platform Holly and makes them ignore warning klaxons and other signals, leading to all the Hydrogen Sulfide releases over the years!
And guess what, the seeps also cause the rotten financial deal the taxpayers get from Platform Holly! The bureaucrats from the State Lands Commission go out to Holly, and they can’t think straight, and they say, `sure, Venoco can have another billion!’.
» wrote on 07/25/08 @ 03:12 PM
That’s right, there really isn’t any oil or gas seeping up. It’s all a sham by Big Oil to convince us to let them rape the environment. You might be interested to know that just an hour before the boat’s arrival, scuba divers were out there planting oil slicks to fool everyone onboard. A snowy plover told me.
» wrote on 07/25/08 @ 02:50 PM
Wow… a free boat ride with some mediocre food provided as we all can see oil in the water and imagine foul gases because the tour guide says the gas is there.
Therefore, obviously, and logically, we need more offshore oil development.
Another version:
http://www.offleashpublicaffairs.net/2008/07/episode-025-how-santa-barbara-welcomes.html