The Environmental Defense Center hosted a “People’s Hearing” on Jan. 16 to discuss and raise awareness of the federal government’s plan to open the California coast to new offshore oil and gas development.
Nikki Talebi spoke regarding her personal experiences, which contributed to her belief that environmental advocacy is so critical. Iris Guo / Daily Nexus
Held at the Community Environmental Council’s Environmental Hub in downtown Santa Barbara, the event included speakers and tabling from various local environmental organizations, including Surfrider Santa Barbara, the Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura chapter, UC Santa Barbara Environmental Affairs Board (EAB) and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. Prominent environmentalists were also present, including actor Ted Danson.
Last November, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released an offshore oil and gas leasing plan that aims to reopen the California coastline to offshore drilling. The plan includes 34 lease sales — three of which are in the Southern California program area — which are scheduled to begin as early as 2027.
In the plan, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said it was created in order to ensure that “America’s offshore industry stays strong,” which could thus enable America to be “energy dominant for decades to come.”
Maggie Hall, deputy chief counsel at the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), was the first speaker at the event and spoke about the logistics of the plan, as well as arguing for why it could be detrimental to local environmental interests. According to Hall, “no new leasing has occurred in the [Southern California program area] since 1984,” and the EDC is working to “keep it that way.”
Hall explained the history of oil drilling off the California coast, as well as the major oil spills that have occurred since the first oil drilling in the world occurred in 1986 off Summerland.
“In 1969, the well blowout at Platform A in Santa Barbara sent an estimated 3 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, devastating wildlife, marine ecosystems and tourism, and giving rise to the modern-day environmental movement,” Hall said. “Fast forward to May 19, 2015, the oil pipeline then operated by Plains All-American ruptured and spilled crude oil onto Refugio State Beach and into the ocean.”
Hall described these events as having “devastating impacts” on the local environment, and said that there is “no safe way to drill for oil.”
“This is especially important in such a diverse and sensitive environment that we have here,” Hall said. “The Santa Barbara Channel has been dubbed the Galapagos of North America because of its incredible biological diversity.”
According to Hall, the EDC is currently working to fight the “dangerous proposal” by working with a broad coalition of national groups to submit a collective sign-on letter. The letter urges regional governments to adopt resolutions opposing the plan and to connect with state representatives to compel the federal government to remove California from the plan.
Following this, Chumash community leader Mia Lopez spoke about how the interests of the local Indigenous communities come into play in relation to the proposed oil and gas developments. Lopez encouraged attendees to “protect the land” and warned them against “[forgetting] their connection to the earth.”
“We’re not here because our voice is any different than any of yours. We’re here because the Mother Earth is our responsibility,” Lopez said. “That’s part of what our culture teaches us, that no matter what’s happening, we have a bigger responsibility. We don’t get to walk away and say, well, it’s just too big.”
Ted Danson then spoke regarding his experience with environmental activism and thanked attendees and fellow speakers for their dedication. He encouraged the audience to “fight with love” and recognized that people with differing political affiliations and points of view share a mutual love for the California coast.
“Let’s protect this thing that we both love. Because if you come from anger, rarely does it work,” Danson said.
Following this, Congressmember Salud Carbajal thanked local community leaders for their continued dedication to the matter. Carbajal said that issues with offshore drilling have motivated his policymaking and advocacy in protecting the coasts.
“The Trump administration’s recent meddling in the disabled pipeline permitting process has been atrocious and detrimental to our community,” Carbajal said. “These decisions are deeply troubling, not only for the future of our coastlines, but for the public’s trust in our nation’s commitment to environmental protection.”
After, California Assemblymember Gregg Hart and Santa Barbara County Supervisors Laura Capps and Joan Hartman shared similar messages, emphasizing people’s abilities to advocate for issues they care about.
“That’s what we do here in California. That’s what we do here in Santa Barbara,” Capps said. “The people rise up. That’s what we did after 2015, right? The people rise up.”
Hartman specifically emphasized the ability of energy to shape power structures, concluding that renewable energy sources like solar could “distribute power, literally and politically.”
“Oil doesn’t just power cars. It keeps us addicted, tied to weekly fill-ups, to centralized utilities, to geopolitics that send our military overseas to secure supply lines,” Hartman said. “It creates a system where a few people at the top hold all the levers.”
Among the politicians and prominent community members who spoke, Nikki Talebi, a fourth-year environmental studies major and advocacy co-chair of EAB, represented UCSB students. Talebi spoke regarding her personal experiences, which contributed to her belief that “California is a special place” and that environmental advocacy is so critical.
“There is now a plan to recklessly sell our ocean — which is an integral part of our identities — and a part of the many communities who have lived along this coast for centuries for oil drilling,” Talebi said. “When one oil spill has the power to span across the coast of California, this is a decision that will affect us all.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the Jan 22, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
