HEY, CALIFORNIANS!

Thank you Aunt Boni H.

Not only shall I feature this, but send an email out to our group,

Californians on Gather

You know how we Californians do LOVE our State, and especially our Pacific Ocean.

I was there less than a week ago -- in Santa Cruz -- and I wanted to BEAT the people there on the beach for their very disrespectful treatment of it. Messy, messy, messy!

As my friend and I started down the steps to walk onto the beach, a Little One told us (we were on the far end of the beach),

"Don't go down there. The water is tainted. You should go down over there."

He was pointing to the main part of the beach, but the area that my friend and I were about to descend onto was the part for the Little Ones, because there was an area where the water was shallower.

I didn't allow the Little One to see my fury, but I was -- furious at the way we disrespect our State, and the way visitors do, too.

Then too, loving ocean fish the way that I do, my doctor recently told me to not eat any of the fish coming out of the Bay/immediate Pacific Ocean area. Why? "Too much mercury" was his explanation. It just gets worse and worse.

Thank you, Aunt Boni H.!

Wow! Seems odd that the Santa Barbara mayor would be for this in his own backyard...........

It doesn't seem odd to me that the Santa Barbara mayor would be for this in his own backyard.
I'm sure there is going to be some $$$ in his pocket somewhere along the line if it happens and what that makes it is WRONG, DEVIOUS, EVIL, etc...that the Santa Barbara mayor would be for this in his own backyard.

I just sent Arnie an e-mail and will now give him a call.

Finally some cool and Californian heads saying no!

I live on the coast about an hour north of Santa Barbara and I don't want them here. I look out my bedroom window and see the beautiful bay and Morro Rock. I don't want that to change. And it isn't just about the view. I just don't see that as a solution to our oil woes. It would take a long time and from what I have learned, just isn't going to supply enough to make a huge difference. We need to move away from oil.

What I always find funny is that most of the people that are always so pro-offshore drilling live in landlocked areas or in the interior states where it won't really effect them. They whine, bitch and fight having green energy projects like wind farms in their back yard, but have no problem saying that they think that offshore drilling is a good thing.

Gwen, It affects everyone. Unfortunately, our "landlocked" neighbors do not realize it.

Thanks for your comments and participation, Everyone!

The Santa Barbara Channel has already had oil rigs there for years. Some of them have been removed, but the mayor is used to them already and figures they aren't bad.

There are about seven offshore of where I live (Huntington Beach) - quite frankly I'm used to them too, they're part of the seascape, but I wouldn't want to see any expansion.

It is less than useless to drill offshore of CA. There isn't enough there to last more than 16 months in our current use rates. Might as well be nothing at all. So we ought to keep our drills out of there.

"Absolute favorite place in the world is in a kelp forest; the Beach, tidepools, aquariums, streams, anywhere I'm near water or can hear it, wild places where I can see wild things, but hot showers and clean sheets are good too."

Senioritafish, these words are quoted from your profile. I'm surprised that you accept the view of these existing drills as "part of the seascape". What about the damage those pumps are doing "under the sea"?

Our Californian coast isn't just a national treasure - it is a resource that belongs to the entire world. I am hoping that we invest way more in alternative fuel sources.

Amen Boni!