I am posting this SierraRise alert on behalf of Jim Hines, the Sierra Club's Los Padres Chapter Conservation Chair in Ventura, CA.
Beautiful -- but threatened.
I never get tired of watching humpback whales breach the ocean and leap through the air. I'm a lucky man -- the Santa Barbara Channel, near my home in California, is
one of the best places in the world to see whales in their natural habitat.
But this could change if Exxon gets its way - they're asking for permission from the government to harass and even kill an unlimited number of whales, seals, & otters!
Exxon wants to "take" (i.e. harass) as many marine mammals as necessary to expand an offshore drilling platform -- already one of the world's deepest -- with hydraulic hammers. We're working hard at the Sierra Club's Los Padres Chapter to stop them, but we can't do it alone -- I'm asking for your help.
It's Big Oil vs. whales and sea otters -- and together, we need to submit 50,000 comments by THIS WEDNESDAY. Please raise your voice and tell the National Marine Fisheries Service to reject Exxon's request to kill marine mammals!
The Channel Islands are home to
a third of the world's whale, dolphin, and porpoise species, and sea otters and elephant seals were
reintroduced after disappearing from the area. Combined with the natural scenery, that makes this region a spectacular wild place to visit -- one worth protecting from the corporate polluters.
And yet, many of these animals are already threatened by climate change and the dumping of toxic fracking fluids into their waters. Some of the species are even listed as endangered or threatened. Now Exxon wants to make their situation even worse?! We can't let the fossil fuel industry kill our ocean's wildlife -- please stand with these beautiful creatures today.
Will you raise your voice to protect marine mammals from Exxon? If you speak out now, the SierraRise community can give this campaign the boost it needs to save the whales and otters!
In it together,
Jim Hines
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter
Images by CC BY-2.0. Credit Paul Jones for the whale and Chuck Abbe for the otter.