COMMUNITY

A Historical and Legislative Look Back on Earth Day

CHRIS DAY Bodker , Ramsey , Andrews , Winograd & Wildstein , P . C . cday @ brawwlaw . com

O n January 28 , 1969 , Union Oil drilled a well off the Santa Barbara , California coast that killed more than 10,000 seabirds , dolphins , seals and sea lions . An estimated 210,000 gallons of oil spilled over a 75 square-mile radius , and in the following days , Santa Barbara residents awoke to black beaches covered with dead marine life and the smell of crude oil . Five months later , a spark from the train tracks along Cleveland ’ s Cuyahoga River flared to the water below , igniting industrial debris emanating along the surface of the water and creating yellowish-black rings of grease easily seen by the local community . The United States

Santa Barbara Oil Spill - January 28 , 1969 public then responded .

16 March / April 2024