A few weeks ago, the Trump administration reintroduced plans to open nearly 2 million acres of California’s public lands to oil drilling and possibly fracking through the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
In 2019, a coalition of California environmental groups successfully fought off Trump’s first attempts to open these lands — including areas close to wildlife refuges, state parks, coastal habitat, schools, and homes — to new drilling. We have stopped them before and with your help, we will do it again!
This past week, the BLM hosted public hearings about the proposed drilling and fracking. With the help of talking points from the Last Chance Alliance, a statewide coalition that includes The Climate Center, Californians showed up to fight the pollution being forced on their communities, nature, and our climate.
Send a message today to the BLM urging them to protect our public lands, our health, and our future by cancelling these proposed new fossil fuel projects.
Unsurprisingly, the current federal attack doesn’t stop at our shores. Two weeks ago, the Trump administration invited the oil and gas industry to choose areas for a potential sale of offshore oil and gas leases in Southern and Central California.
In addition, the federal government has claimed authority over pipelines transporting oil and gas from offshore drilling. The state is now suing the Trump Administration, challenging federal findings on pipeline safety in light of the “devastating environmental and public health impacts of coastal oil spills,” as California Attorney General Rob Bonta said recently.
One of the pipelines that the feds are claiming jurisdiction over is key to oil company Sable Offshore Corporation’s plans to drill for oil off our coast. Unfortunately, this same pipeline ruptured and leaked 142,000 gallons of oil in the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill off Santa Barbara. That spill devastated wildlife and was estimated to cost roughly $257 million, including cleanup and legal settlement costs.
Submit comments directly to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management here and here opposing new oil drilling leases off Central and Southern California before February 26, 2026.
Together, we can stop dangerous new oil drilling and secure a climate-safe future for all! Thank you for taking action!
This blog first appeared in The Climate Center’s bi-weekly newsletter. To keep up with the latest climate news and ways to take action for a climate-safe future, subscribe today!
