Jonathon Berman, (202) 297-7533, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Santa Barbara, CA -- On Monday, April 17, the Sierra Club and other local organizations will protest Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s speech at the Reagan Center.
Since taking office, Donald Trump’s Interior Department has repeatedly sought to destroy publicly-owned lands for fossil fuel development. The Secretary has celebrated expanding leasing for fossil fuel development, calling it “a pillar” of Trump’s plans, he ended the federal coal leasing moratorium, which protected our public lands and prevented publicly-owned coal from being sold for pennies on the dollar, and even had the Bureau of Land Management’s homepage swap an image of a family enjoying our public lands to one of a coal mine.
"Just last week Zinke told an industry conference that an offshore oil directive was set to be issued soon," said Katie Davis, chair of the Sierra Club Santa Barbara group. "That's why it's surprising that he would then hold an event a block from the beach that was the site of the first major offshore oil spill in the U.S. Our Congressman is Salud Carbajal and his first act in congress was to introduce a ban on offshore drilling. That's a testament to the sentiment against drilling here. Of course there's a protest."
While the details of the speech are currently unknown, there are rumors that Trump and Zinke may seek to renew offshore drilling in the Pacific Ocean. There has been no new offshore drilling leases offered since 1982.
The waters just off Santa Barbara has a history of oil spills, including what was then the largest oil spill in American waters in 1969. This disaster dumped as much as 100,000 barrels into the Pacific Ocean. In 2015, an oil pipeline ruptured just off Santa Barbara’s coasts, spilling more than 100,000 gallons of oil.
For further details on the protest, please contact the Chair of the Sierra Club Santa Barbara group, Katie Davis, at (805) 451-4574.
What: The Sierra Club and other groups protesting Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke
When: Monday, April 17 at 6:00 pm PST
Where: Reagan Ranch Center, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara
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