California oil spill a sobering moment for a state that sees itself as a leader in climate action
Even on a Monday morning, the beaches would usually be bustling in the place that calls itself “Surf City USA”.
But the sands in Huntington Beach in California are deserted. So too, the beaches that stretch for miles south.
The closures are part of a massive response to the spill of thousands of gallons of oil from a pipeline under the Pacific Ocean, a disaster that has raised questions once again about the rights and wrongs of offshore drilling.
Urgent efforts are under way to clean up the spill and stop further damage
The impact on wildlife is already being seen at the Wetlands And Wildlife Care Center. An oiled sanderling was among the first birds to be brought in for cleaning and treatment, the likelihood is that many more will follow.
Booms have been floated to try to prevent the oil from reaching ecologically sensitive marshland and the wildlife that calls it home.
At least the weather has been cooperating so far. Calm seas have limited the amount of oil coming ashore to just isolated patches of tar-like balls and dark specks in the sand.
That might not last and, even if it isn’t coming ashore, it has the potential to cause damage elsewhere.
People who were out on the water over the weekend reported seeing pods of dolphins swimming through the sheen of oil.
For the man leading the wildlife rescue operation, this is the cost of our reliance on oil.
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Rush to protect wetlands after oil spill
Dr Michael Ziccardi, a veterinarian who is director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, said: “If there was no oil, there would be no potential impact to wildlife. But I think, based on our society right now, there is a reliance on oil.
“If we’re going to use oil, produce oil, extract oil, I think the best thing we can do is be as prepared as possible to respond to accidents such as this.”
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Dead fish wash up after US oil spill
The California coast has seen oil spills before. One off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 led to major environmental changes.
But campaigners say we are not learning the lessons.
More than 572,000 litres of heavy crude spilled into the ocean between Huntington Beach Pier and Newport Beach. Pic: AP
Dr Chad Nelson, chief executive of the environmental organisation the Surfrider Foundation, said: “This is a stark reminder that oil drilling equals spilling and killing because we’re seeing marine life and coastal economies impacted by this.
“We’ve seen this in countless other pipeline spills. Despite our best efforts, it is an inevitable conclusion of our relying on fossil fuels.”
Patches of an oil can be seen on the sand south of Huntington Beach Pier. Pic: AP
It is a sobering moment for a state that likes to be seen as a leader in environmental change, and politicians who have pushed for California is to go even more green.
“We have to address the environmental impacts,” said Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley. “I don’t want my grandkids dealing with oil on their feet like I did when I used to go to the beach as a kid.”
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‘Environmental catastrophe’ in California
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Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
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