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John, I want to tell you about what happened last week. My dear friend Julia Louis-Dreyfus and I stood in front of a packed crowd in Santa Barbara, surrounded by passionate activists and local leaders who have seen this fight before. The pouring rain didn’t stop us from speaking out.
We were there for one reason: to stop a Texas oil company from restarting a dangerous pipeline that never should have existed in the first place. This is the same pipeline that burst in 2015 and spilled over 120,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. It poisoned the waters, killed sea lions, dolphins, and birds, and spread oil across beaches as far as 100 miles south. Fisheries closed. Tourism suffered. Local businesses took a hit. And communities along the coast were left to clean up Big Oil’s mess. This isn’t the first time Santa Barbara’s waters have been poisoned by oil. The 1969 spill here was so catastrophic it helped launch the first Earth Day. More than 50 years later, history is still repeating itself. Now, Sable Offshore claims the pipeline is “fixed” and “safe.” Safe? I call B.S. And Julia — who lives in Santa Barbara County and cares deeply about this community — said it best: “I can smell a rat. And this project is a rat.” She’s right. But here’s what makes this even more outrageous: Sable Offshore has already been hit with two cease-and-desist orders for operating in the coastal zone without proper approval. And yet, they’re still pushing forward and acting like they can bulldoze ahead without consequences. We have a choice. We can allow Sable Offshore Corporation to bulldoze ahead and put California’s coastline at risk of another catastrophic spill. Or we can raise our voices alongside leaders like Senator Monique Limón, one of our endorsed climate champions leading the fight in the California State Senate to stop this project.
The fossil fuel industry has spent decades lying to us — telling us they can drill safely, that oil spills are rare, and that we need their dirty energy to survive. But the truth is every new fossil fuel project locks us into more climate chaos and destruction. If this pipeline is approved, it’s not if there will be another leak. It’s when. Governor Newsom has the power to stop this. But right now, he’s wavering. He’s been a climate leader before, but on this? He’s playing it safe. I made it clear: We need Churchill, not Chamberlain. We need bold action, not empty words. The good news is the fight isn’t over. The decision hasn’t been made yet. And public pressure works. So let’s turn up the heat.
With determination, Jane Fonda
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