Trump’s plan to open California’s coastline to oil drilling threatens more than ocean life |
Cargo vessels are seen anchored offshore, sharing space with oil platforms, before heading into the Los Angeles-Long Beach port on Oct. 5, 2021.
Forty years ago, Californians rose up by the thousands and stopped an ill-conceived federal plan to open our coast to offshore oil and gas drilling. We understood clearly that our healthy coastal waters are the foundation of a thriving economy and are a national treasure worth protecting. There’s wonder in ocean life and caring for it helps us all. It’s as true today as it was then.
We won that battle. We helped pass a moratorium on offshore drilling and we worked to establish the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which specifically forbids offshore drilling.
In the decades since, we’ve taken remarkable steps to safeguard our coastal waters. California created a science-based statewide network of marine protected areas that is restoring ecosystems and fisheries. Federal waters from Point Arena to the Channel Islands are protected as part of five vibrant national marine sanctuaries that are home to extraordinary ocean life.
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By safeguarding the ocean, restoring coastal ecosystems, and shifting to sustainable, climate-friendly practices, we ensured that everything from favorite outdoor places to beloved species could thrive. Once-shrinking populations of whales and sea otters are now recovering.
Tens of millions of people from California and around the world have been awed by the ocean’s living wonders in places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, during visits to our coastal parks, and on whale-watching........