SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— College students will celebrate the decommissioning of Platform Holly and oppose ExxonMobil’s proposal to restart its offshore drilling platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel this Saturday at a park in Isla Vista.
“RIP Platform Holly: A Wake to End Offshore Drilling” will feature live bands, free food, speakers and colorful demonstrations against offshore oil drilling.
Platform Holly is being decommissioned after it was idled by the 2015 failure of Plains All American Pipeline’s coastal oil pipeline. ExxonMobil has applied to restart its three platforms and transport the oil by tanker truck along California highways. Plains has also applied to build a new coastal oil pipeline to serve those platforms.
Both projects are now undergoing environmental review in Santa Barbara County and could be voted on sometime next year.
“College students understand the urgency of the climate crisis and want offshore drilling quickly phased out. So we’re celebrating Platform Holly’s shutdown as the beginning of the end of dirty, dangerous offshore drilling,” said Stephanie Prufer, an oceans organizer at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Santa Barbara has suffered more than its fair share of deadly offshore oil spills. Exxon should pay for the damage it’s done to our planet, not revive its threat to our coastline and climate.”
What:“RIP Platform Holly: A Wake to End Offshore Drilling,” featuring live bands, free food, speakers and colorful demonstrations against offshore oil drilling.
When:Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where:Anisq’oyo’ Park, Isla Vista, CA.
Who:Sponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity, CalPIRG, Sunrise Movement, Campus Democrats, Food and Water Action, UCSB Environmental Justice Alliance, and the Young Democrats. Speakers include representatives from the Center, Sunrise, Wishtoyo Foundation, and the district representative for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann.