Our Challenge

Oil slicks in the Channel are from natural seeps are a danger to coastal habitat... The slicks of crude oil found daily on the oceans surface is the very same oil that spilled in Santa Barbara's harbor in 1969 or from the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. It is the same oil, baring the same effects on the marine ecosystem in the Santa Barbara Channel and coastline.

• Coastal birds: Oil can be especially harmful to our seabirds, as it interferes with their ability to maintain their body temperature, often resulting in death from hypothermia.
  
  
• Marine mammals: Santa Barbara’s coastal waters are home to rich and diverse marine environments.

Tar on our beaches is from raw crude oil... The natural seeps on the ocean floor causes the raw crude oil from the many subsea reservoirs to rise to the ocean’s surface. And as it rises, it coagulates and biodegrades into tar. This is the same sticky globules of tar that lap up onto our coastal beaches everyday, sticking to the rocks, shells, kelp and other shoreline habitat. The greatest amount of tar appears on Santa Barbara beaches during the summer months as a result of seasonal weather and ocean conditions. It is common—if not expected—for beach goers in Santa Barbara County to encounter the problem of tar on their feet, shoes, towels, wetsuits … even on the paws and fur of their canine companions.