Oil From the Sea

Concerning your article on drilling for oil off Santa Barbara near UCSB (Dec. 5): You make it look like, once again, the big, bad oil companies are pushing around the innocent public so they can reap huge profits. Rubbish. The oil companies exist as a direct result of a tremendous consumer demand for energy products and the lifestyle they support.

The article mentions the citizens’ defeats, the platforms dotting the ocean, the slight smell of oil and the tar seeps on the beaches. Well, the “defeat” for some of those citizens was a victory for others. How about the people who brought home oil company paychecks that gave them a good standard of living, and by spending those paychecks helped the businesses in the area prosper and grow? How about the tax money that flowed into state and local coffers? Finally, what about the general public who used this amazing product, in all its myriad forms, to make their lives better?

As to the smell of oil and the tar seeps, do not attribute that to the oil companies alone. Mother nature has leaked thousands of barrels into the ocean since before Europeans arrived. Life still exists in the area.

One final piece of irony. You mention that four platforms will be removed in the near future. This is correct, but please think about this: Those platforms were installed 30 years ago and have become artificial reefs teeming with marine life. When those platforms are removed, four vibrant oases in the ocean will disappear. I can only hope that somebody will come to their senses before this takes place and turn the remains of those platforms into marine parks--but I am not betting on it.

TREVOR MAINGOT

Ventura