Regarding New Times’ April 16 article “REACT Alliance urges federal refund of California offshore wind leases,” I have concerns about REACT. As energized as this nonprofit group is in opposition to offshore wind power, its website has literally nothing to say about offshore oil and gas development. The group casts itself as having a “singular cause,” which is its right. But ask yourself: How is it that this coastal conservation group cannot spare a paragraph to take a position against or in favor of pumping oil out of the seabed off the shore of California and other West Coast states?
Todd Katz
SLO
This article appears in April 23-30, 2026.
Simple answer, Mr. Katz. Oil drilling does not impact Morro Bay at this time. It is just a Santa Barbara issue right now and since the REACT movement is simple NiMBYism, it is of no concern to those folks. By opposing wind power they passively endorse more drilling for fossil fuels (which is far worse for the ocean than any offshore wind farm because it exacerbates climate change) and the building of more nuclear power plants. To ignore offshore wind is another sign the U.S. is surrendering interest in renewable energy technology to China, just as we did with solar panels (over 80% of panels are built in China).
REACT members are not NIMBYs. We do not support wind anywhere off the California coast.
The offshore wind lessees off our Central California coast are literally foreign-owned oil and gas corporations. There is more evidence being gathered from offshore wind projects that show offshore wind facilities, including turbines, cables, leaking fossil fuels needed to maintain these structures and ships that service them are directly impacting wildlife and its ocean habitat.
California is unique and not comparable to offshore wind projects on the east coast and Europe. Because of the 3,000 to 6,000 depth, 300 1000-+-feet-high turbines and maintenance substations will be on floating offshore wind platforms tethered by huge cables to the ocean floor creating a maze above and below surface web disrupting wildlife migration, movement, and distorting their senses.
California’s grid is inadequate to transmit the renewable energy being produced today. The state of California imports fossil fuel energy from other states. The California CPUC recently adopted low-wind and no-wind planning scenarios for future planning purposes based on this issue.
The amount of fossil furls used to source, manufacture, transport, maintain and decommission the turbines and supporting structures (which have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years) makes offshore wind an antiquated technology. It is not green energy.
There are many other innovative, emerging energy technologies that hold more promise than sprawling ocean windfarms for a future clean energy future
Contrary to Michael Smith’s deceptive post – REACT Alliance has publicly and clearly opposed ALL ocean industrialization, including oil drilling.
I can find no place on the REACT website that says the organization opposes offshore drilling. Rather, it says, “As a board, we bring together a diverse group of individuals united to stop offshore wind, not to promote any one alternative solution. Our varied perspectives mean we often don’t align on other energy options (debating them would be an extreme sport!) Instead, our focus remains on opposing offshore wind to protect what matters most to our planet and community.”
They never mention offshore drilling. But, I can guarantee there are folks on that board (varied perspectives) who have no problem with the drilling off the shore of Santa Barbara as long as it never comes to Morro Bay. In other words, they “passively endorse” offshore drilling activities.
REACT does not support industrialization of our ocean period.
It is a pretty audacious statement to say you can “guarantee” there are folks on the REACT Alliance board “who have no problem” with drilling for oil. Sorry you choose to make up stories.
It has come to my attention that other people have tried to comment on this post and that their comments have not been published. Why is this? Are comments being curated?
Anyone who hasn’t posted comments on our site before goes through a vetting process to verify that they’re human. We get a lot of spam and scam comments, so new users’ comments aren’t automatically approved. It just takes time to go through them all. Most will get approved within a few days.
The original question, posited by Mr. Katz, asked why REACT does not explicitly state that it is against offshore oil drilling. It’s nowhere in their literature, just the vague statement that they oppose “industrialization of our oceans” without a definition. I also wonder what they support? What exactly are these “emerging energy technologies” they speak of. Seems to me they have nothing to say about it as long as offshore wind doesn’t come to the Central Coast. It’s fine to be a single issue organization, but don’t pretend it doesn’t reek of NiMBYism.
China, our leading economic competitor seems to believe that offshore wind is one of the solutions to its energy needs. Once again, it seems shortsighted for our nation to ignore the potential and to cede the development to China. I thought maybe we had learned our lesson with solar and the fact that more than 80% of solar panels are built in China.
But, REACT can relax for a few more years while Trump is in power. Of course, the oceans will pay the ultimate price of more fossil fuels being burned and our continuing inability to mitigate carbon consumption.