After 500 barrels of oil spilled from a California pipeline, environmental groups said the regional quality of life was under threat. “This incident is all the more reason to ban fracking both offshore and onshore to help prevent future spills and protect Santa Barbara’s beautiful beaches and coastal environment,” Becca Claassen, a Santa Barbara County organizer with Food & Water Watch, said in an emailed statement. Sheen reported off the Santa Barbara coast stretches for about 4 miles from a leak of about 500 barrels, or 21,000 gallons, of crude oil from a 24-inch pipeline operated by Plains All American Pipeline, which has headquarters in Texas. Bob Deans, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said big oil comes with big […]