Saw an article in the LA Times today that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to support lifting the ban on new offshore oil drilling rigs.

Practically, this does nothing. Very few County Boards have the power to reverse federal law, and really all they ended up doing was sending a letter to California Governor Schwarzenegger saying they support lifting the ban. But it is a massive symbolic victory for the Friends of Drilling.

Santa Barbara you see is the home of one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history. In 1969 a Union Oil Company platform had a blowout which lead to a massive oil spill that poisoned the ocean and killed thousands of sea birds, and some say gave birth to the modern environmental movement.

So, it's with great sadness I announce the Santa Barbara Board has fallen under the misleading spell of the pro-drilling camp.