Why Santa Barbara’s Fight Against Offshore Drilling Matters More Than Ever
From the 11/4 Santa Barbara hearing on the Sable Offshore pipeline restart
A Community Speaks -
After two decades as a deep-sea oilfield diver and fifteen years as a documentary filmmaker covering the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, I’ve learned a few things. For one, the general public does not know the deadly health risks that oil drilling operations pose to communities. I’ve worked blowouts, lived through deadly accidents, and covered the long-term health consequences of spills, so when I hear companies talk about “safe operations,” I know how shallow that promise can be. For instance, there is no safe way to clean up an oil spill, and when they happen, communities and workers alike are unprotected and uninformed of the long term and potentially deadly health effects.
All of that was on my mind last week at the Santa Barbara hearing on Sable Offshore’s permit request to restart oil operations in the Santa Barbara Channel. After hours of testimony from residents, students, and workers, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 to deny the permit transfer — a decisive stand that reaffirmed this community’s long tradition of environmental leadership.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster, May 3, 2010 — Photo by John Wathen
At a time when the country feels so divided, and as Trump moves to open all U.S. waters to dangerously under-regulated drilling, it was deeply inspiring to see so many people come together, including parents, activists, local leaders, and students, to have their voices heard. And they were. More than a hundred people stood in line starting at 6:00 a.m., and ninety-six came up to the podium to make impassioned public statements. Democracy in action.
And I want to acknowledge the oilfield workers who spoke out. I was one of them once, and their voices matter too. They spoke of jobs, family, and community. We may come from different experiences and hold different views on where the county’s energy should come from, but in the end, most of us want the same thing: safe communities, healthy bodies and oceans, and a future that sustains us all. Someday we may realize we are on the same team, and that good-paying jobs can come from clean energy and sustainable power grids. Many of us hope that a move like shutting down offshore oil expansion moves us in that direction.
Santa Barbara Hearing on Sable Offshore, Nov 4 2025 — Photo by Jenna McGovern
Santa Barbara: A Community That Still Leads
With Trump moving to reopen U.S. coastlines for new offshore drilling, and his administration backing efforts to restart the Sable pipeline here in Santa Barbara, this community once again finds itself at the front lines. But Santa Barbara also has something powerful to offer the rest of the nation; experience from hard-earned victories, and a proven model of local leadership.
The environmental movement was born here after the 1969 oil spill, and the 2015 pipeline rupture reminded us how fragile this coast remains.
Refugio Oil Spill, 2015 — Photo Mike Eliason
Yet out of every disaster has come determination. Santa Barbara has learned how to organize, how to persist, and how to win. The student groups, local organizations, and community members who have been leading this fight can help other coastal regions do the same. Together, we can show that real change still begins in communities that stand together.
This is just the beginning of a larger conversation. In the months ahead, we’ll be talking more about how Santa Barbara can help connect and support other communities, organizations, students, and leaders across the country, building bridges, sharing what works, and building hope together. Many frontline communities facing Trump’s push to expand offshore drilling will not have the resources or visibility that Santa Barbara does. This community can help. What we’ve learned here will be invaluable to others, and these connections can form a web of resistance strong enough to protect coastal communities across the nation from the immense power of oil companies. Alone we don’t stand a chance, but together we cannot be silenced.
Our platform, ENGAGESTREAM, will strive to serve as the connective tissue that links community to community. We have built a platform to make these connections possible and to turn inspiration into sustained action. Stay tuned, this story is just beginning.
— Mark Manning
Filmmaker | Director, The Cost of Silence
CoFounder, ENGAGESTREAM
Stay connected for future updates and stories about Santa Barbara and the movement to protect our coastlines.