Oil Tankers
* If John Chiu (letter, June 29) wants to lead the protest on offshore oil drilling if the federal ban is ever lifted, he is already missing an opportunity to protest the greatest risk to our coast. Every day, tankers travel the ocean off the California coast to deliver oil to local refineries. The risk factors for these tankers is much higher than those for fixed platforms and the pipelines that serve them.
Most fishermen and environmentalists would agree that the presence of an oil platform benefits the marine habitat by creating an artificial reef that helps add to the diversity of the ocean. As long as offshore drilling is banned, the number of tankers arriving at our ports and the accompanying risks will continue to increase.
LARRY W. ALEXANDER
Irvine
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