All posts by Peter Terezakis

Man and Nature

1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill

“The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters at the time, and now ranks third after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills. It remains the largest oil spill to have occurred in the waters off California.”

Man and Nature

Santa Barbara Oil Spill 1969

“….The spill, which spewed more than three million gallons of oil into the ocean, spread quickly, marring 35 miles of coastline between Isla Vista and Ventura.

Thousands of birds and other marine animals were killed. The damage to beaches, on the mainland and at the Channel Islands, would have been, and still is difficult to calculate….

Many believe the spill and its devastating impacts gave birth to the modern day environmental movement….

Shortly thereafter, in late 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established. According to the EPA’s Web site, a string of environmental-related laws followed, including the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Environmental Quality Impact Act of 1970. The list goes on.” (click for full article)