Oil Company Waited 41 Years to Clean Up ‘Hazardous Cesspool’ Source of this article, the Santa Barbara Independent, June 14, 2023 Last week, a Santa Maria jury found Unocal (a k a Union Oil) — and its parent company, Chevron — reprehensibly negligent for waiting 41 years to clean up a benzene-laden underground waste sump in Read more…
Central Coast Community Energy Gives Progress Report to Board of Supervisors Source of this article, the Santa Barbara Independent, May 10, 2023 Whatever else the rest of the world is doing, Santa Barbara County is on the way to 60 percent renewable energy by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030, Read more…
Monique Limón’s Senate Bill 675 Would Integrate Livestock Grazing into California’s Existing Wildfire Prevention Programs Source of this article, the Santa Barbara Independent, March 30, 2023 Santa Barbara is no stranger to prescribed wildfire prevention. For years, the county has used prescribed burning and chipping to clear away the fine, Read more…
Channel Islands Restoration Seeking On-Site Volunteers to Field Questions About Grazing Program at San Marcos Foothills Preserve Source of this article, the Santa Barbara Independent, February 17, 2023 To restore native grassland and help prevent the spread of wildfires, 150 ewes (female sheep) and their lambs are currently grazing in Read more…
Compressed Air Could Be the Missing Link to Carbon-Free Electricity Source of this article: The Santa Barbara Independent, February 1, 2023 If all goes according to a new $774 million deal struck with a Canadian green energy company, most Santa Barbara County electrical customers could find themselves relying on compressed Read more…
Forest Service Seeks Controlled Burns and Tree Thinning Across 235,000 Acres Source of this article: The Santa Barbara Independent, August 10, 2022 If the past is anything to go by, out-of-control wildfires are a legacy Santa Barbara and the American West are facing as climate changes dry out the landscape Read more…
Source of this article: The Santa Barbara Independent, June 23, 2022. A small group of us had the privilege of recently touring the Strauss Wind Energy Project in Lompoc while it is under construction. It is the first and only wind project permitted anywhere along the California coast. From the Read more…
Thorough Environmental Review Required Before Fracking or Acidizing of Offshore Oil Wells Source of this article: The Santa Barbara Independent, June 3, 2022 In a long series of court proceedings, permits allowing the fracking and acidizing of oil wells in federal waters off the coast of California were prohibited by Read more…
Pedestrians and bicyclists use new Santa Barbara path Source of this article, the Santa Barbara News-Press, March 5, 2022 After more than a year of construction, the Las Positas and Modoc Roads Multiuse Path project is officially completed. The city of Santa Barbara held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Read more…
The Carpinteria Planning Commission Chooses Option for ‘Best Trail for the Most People’ Source of this article, the Santa Barbara Independent, January 25, 2022 The Rincon Multi-Use Trail project — a 2,800-foot bike and pedestrian trail connecting the city of Carpinteria to Rincon Beach Park — is on the brink Read more…