Join SOS California for a Santa Barbara Seep Tour!

SEE THE SEEPS TOUR   Join Us Aboard    The Condor Express! Thursday July 17, 2014   Oil slick in the Santa Barbara Channel created by natural oil seeps            PHOTO: Courtesy of Michael Howe - 5/13/08    We invite you to get a first hand look at the natural gas and oil seeps in the Santa Barbara Channel with the SOS See the Seeps Tour. At 25 knots, the Condor Express will calmly whisk you up the coastline to Coal Oil Point, the site of  Santa Barbara County's prolific natural offshore seeps -- the largest in the western hemisphere! Next you'll motor over to Platform Holly for an up-close view of a working oil platform. The size of this facility is astounding and the marine life it supports is unique and fun to watch. The 25 minute ride back to the beautiful Santa Barbara Harbor should be relaxing and quite possibly include more marine surprises. This seeps tour is filled with history and education and is guaranteed to be a memorable experience for all. We hope you will join us!  DO YOU KNOW ...  10,000 gallons of raw crude oil seep naturally into the Santa Barbara Channel every day and is by far the greatest source  of petroleum pollution in California's coastal waters.  Space is limited Register NOW! E: info@soscalifornia.org  Logistics  Date:  July 17, 2014   Cost:  (cash/check at boarding)      Adults - $20 donation Children - Free (under 12 yrs) Place:  Sea Landing Dock 301 W. Cabrillo Blvd, SB Boards:    10:00 am Departs:   10:30 am - Sharp! Returns:   12:30 am Dress:  Layers & comfortable shoes     * Coffee, soda & snacks available    for purchase on board   Registration required by July 15th Visit our website

It's Time to Educate Santa Barbara about Natural Oil Seeps!

Up until approximately 30 years ago, Santa Barbara schools would include facts about the offshore natural oil and gas seeps (located in the Santa Barbara Channel) within their curriculum. Unfortunately, today the knowledge of why we have tar on our SB beaches is not as readily available to both students and teachers. Often the offshore oil production take the blame for oil slicks in the water and tar on our white sand beaches, while the fact is actually just the opposite: offshore oil production has contributed to a cleaner marine environment in Santa Barbara.

This morning, SOS received a testimony from a concerned parent of a Santa Barbara student:

“I am a native to SB. My son came home and told me about a teacher (high school) that was almost in tears about getting tar on her feet on a SB beach and blamed the oil platforms for the problem.  I had to explain to him that it's from "natural oil seeps" in the SB Channel and that long before we were here the Chumash used the tar from the beaches to repair their boats. I told him the teacher was wrong to tell the class the tar was from oil platforms.  Then I did a quick search on google and found you. Your website is very helpful and educational.”

This exemplifies some of the issues in the Santa Barbara community that we at SOS California would like to address:

1. The lack of information about the oil in the water/tar on the beaches due to changes in the local educational curriculum - and the world-wide phenomenon that is unique to Santa Barbara (home to the 2nd largest offshore oil & gas seeps in the world!)
2. The perpetuation of myths from our children's ill-informed teachers/educational system (where is our environmental educators on this?)

Help us inform our local community about the concerns with natural oil seepage! We would like to invite any Santa Barbara local to the discussion.

• What are your experiences with tar on the beaches?
• What did you learn about it in school?
• How do you think we can change the way we educate our community about these issues?

Please SHARE your experience, it is valuable to us, you and the Santa Barbara community!