Once again the state of California is far from content with the decisions and new goals being made by the Trump Administration. It is not new information that oil drilling is extremely harmful to the environment. Oil drilling not only can cause large and harmful oil spills on land and offshore, but it can also cause disruptions in wildlife habitats and migration routes, drastically change landscapes and cause haze, toxic chemicals, and dust to pollute both the air and water. Back in 1969, the U.S’s worst oil spill—prior to Alaska’s Exxon Valdez oil spill—off of Santa Barbara devastated the state and killed thousands of fish and birds.

Since then, California has been extremely concerned and against plans to expand federal oil drilling off of the state’s coast. Trump’s proposals would implement the first new federal lease sales off California since 1984.

Graphic by The LA Times

The Trump Administration has proposed a plan to implement oil drilling in several offshore areas of California that have been protected and off-limits for oil exploration for many years. Naturally, Former Governor Brown, new Governor Newsom and large numbers of California environmentalists are completely outraged over the proposal.

“For more than 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further drilling, and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, shortsighted action,” Brown and Govs. Kate Brown of Oregon and Jay Inslee of Washington said in a statement.

Former Governor Brown has signed legislation to block the Trump Administration’s proposal for expansion of offshore oil drilling. In addition, other California based politicians including, Senator Kamala Harris and Senator Dianne Feinstein have spoken out against the oil drilling proposals. Politicians and environmentalist alike are alarmed at the recent proposal and fear that new oil drillings would cause severe damage. Simply the process of finding and exploring ocean habitats can do damage to marine ecosystems and life.

Fortunately, the state of California has the ability to challenge and fight against the proposal, however, the federal government can often have a more powerful say when it comes to offshore oil drilling decisions. California typically controls the water off their coast up to about 3 miles. Further out at sea, the federal government has a more influential say in drilling plans.

Some Californians are not opposed to new offshore drilling because of the possibility of cheaper gas and energy prices. However, does this really outweigh the environmental consequences that come with oil drilling? Several leaders and California professionals say it does not. Bonnie Castillo, executive director of the California Nurses Association says that offshore oil drilling can have a detrimental effect on communities at risk of oil spills which in turn impacts people’s health and safety. In addition, Castillo argues that expansion of offshore drilling results in reliance on fossil fuels which will only worsen the problem and destruction on our globe.

On the other side of the argument, low-income families and communities would benefit from low-priced and affordable energy. But the destruction of the California coastline is not the way to achieve these affordable prices. The real goal to attain low-cost energy should be one that does not potentially affect future generations and the future of our globe.

Executive Director for Los Angeles Muslim-Jewish community organization New Ground Aziza Hasan said, “we need to be investing in long-term solutions.”

Expansion of offshore oil drilling and the environmental disasters that potentially come along with it could dramatically and negatively affect the well-being of future generations.