On Tuesday, May 19, an underground pipe holding 105,000 gallons of crude oil off of the California coast of Santa Barbara ruptured, reaching parts of the Santa Barbara coast. The operator, Plains All American Pipeline, began the cleanup process immediately after the news broke, according to the Associated Press.
According to Associated Press, out of the 105,000 gallons, approximately 21,000 gallons made it to sea and the spill has caused a nine-mile stretch of crude to be laid across the northwest part of Santa Barbara. Two days after the spill, 9,000 gallons of crude had been vacuumed up.
BYUH student, Kristan Tiritilli, a sophomore majoring in EXS from California shared her thoughts on the spill and effects it has on the environment. Tiritilli said, “The coast is such a pretty place, and it is sad to hear when damaging stuff like this happens. I think it is important for operators to keep up on the regulations to prevent damaging the environment.”
BYUH student, Carina Aldrich, a senior majoring in political science from Laie, shared her thoughts and reaction to the oil spill. Aldrich said, “Oil spills are awful, and they shouldn’t happen. Obviously, they are really bad for the environment, but the way most of our country runs on oil we should have better systems in place to first prevent oil spills, and second, to clean up afterward. The clean-up process is hard, and it is much easier to prevent it than to clean it up. I think prevention is really the key when it comes to oil spills.”
The operators of Plains All American Pipeline must take a series of steps before they can restart the line, according to the Associated Press. The company stated there were no previous problems with this particular 10.6 mile-long pipeline, and there is no current understanding as to why this rupture occurred. The situation is under investigation and if any violations are found regarding the protection of the people, property or environment there will be a strong enforcement action order, according to the Associated Press.
There is significance in the area in which this spill took place. In 1969, an oil spill damaged the same part of the Californian coast. During that time, 3 million gallons of crude oil spread out along 30 miles of coast, and about 9,000 birds died because of the damages done to the environment, according to the Associated Press.
The more recent spill was a reminder to the environmentalists about how important it is to prevent and take action when these types of damaging things happen.
In reaction to the news of the oil spill, BYUH student, Xinyue Song, a senior majoring in international cultural studies from China said, “First of all, I really hate the oil spill. H-A-T-E, hate it. In the biology chain, eventually, everything has connections with each other. You are a human being, and you are highly reliable. You are a part of the environment, and you really have a responsibility for that. Everyone, no matter where they come from, lives in a world where everything is connected.
"We should have an organization to protect it. Even when the environment gets worse and where nobody cares about it, we need to take the initiative and protest. As individuals, we sometimes feel small in the world, but people collectively need to let others know how serious this issue is. We can come together and change the nation for the better.”