Although neither a birder nor an ornithologist, I am a fan of The Canary opinion column in the Santa Maria Sun. It’s snappy and entertaining. But recently it bordered on the bird-brained (Aug. 24, “On the record”).
This bird looks and sounds yellow. It ought not to quake and quiver. Refuse to be caged by ExxonMobil’s naked threats to sue the county. Buck up, bird up, do the right thing and fly free.
Recall 2015 when over 100,000 gallons of Exxon oil spilled at Gaviota. In late August, our Board of Supervisors met to decide, in effect, if Exxon could reopen the same corroded and still uninspected pipeline.
Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked a question, intended to be a zinger, of all opposing the reopening, “Do you drive a car using gasoline or an EV that rides on asphalt roads?” Actually, that’s not a serious or pertinent question.
We’ve built a world that depends on burning fossil fuels and now it requires a major renovation. We have plenty of oil and always will. We are weaning ourselves off of it in favor of clean and renewable fuels. Regardless of Exxon’s insatiable greed, we are well along on this better path now.
Most remaining fossil fuels must remain in the ground if the world is to remain livable and if we, children, canaries, and angry poodles are to survive and thrive together.
Seth Steiner
Los Alamos
