In 1969 a destructive oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel woke up the world, and Santa Barbara emerged as the birthplace of the environmental movement in the U.S. Several grass roots organizations, including GOO (Get Oil Out), formed in reaction to the event with objectives to protect the environment and future spills, and the spill encouraged the federal government to legislate new regulations to protect the marine environment.
Another lasting impact of the spill was set into motion after the late Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) took a trip to Santa Barbara and was horrified by what he saw. He went back to his hometown and passed a bill declaring April 22 as National Earth Day.
Today, Santa Barbara’s annual Earth Day Festival is hosted by the Community Environmental Council and is held at the Couty Courthouse Sunken Gardens in April. www.sbearthday.org
Santa Barbara's proactive community and the environmental groups based here continue to protect the environment and work to preserve the region's natural bounty.
The State of California’s recycling movement and the regulations that ultimately formalized landfill diversion mandates initiated in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara residents approved amendments to City land-use policies declaring that we “live within our resources” in regards to commercial and industrial development in the 1980’s. In the late 1990's, Santa Barbara residents approved a 2% increase to the hotel tax to raise revenue and support activities and projects to restore urban creek corridors and improve water quality.
Currently, Santa Barbara County government agencies and environmental and business organizations are developing a Green Business Program to support local businesses greening their operations. Additionally, the City of Santa Barbara recently formed a Green Team, made up of managers who are engaged in environmentally-oriented roles and/or have strong personal values about living sustainably. The City has adopted a Sustainable City Program, and is working to reduce the emissions that contribute to global climate change, and promote sustainable practices.
Visit the Green Business and Green Culture sections of this site for additional information on current green initiatives and more.
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