Print Coverage of Oil Spill

The visual and print media of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill 1969 created an awareness of our dangerous dependence on oil. Through media and print coverage of the extent of the oil spill, Santa Barbara residents and many across the country reflected on the severity of the oil spill and internalized their oil-reliance lifestyle. 

Analysis: 

As people watched from their home screens or visited the oil spill site to volunteer or witness the disastrous event, public outrage rose through printed media. Newspapers documented the days and weeks following the oil spill to gather nationwide attention. For example, a local Santa Barbara newspaper, published an update on the oil spill, the headline reading "Damage to Sea life, Birds Disastrous." As they offered an update on the death count and different rescue efforts, the newspaper's next page featured an editorial cartoon critique of the handling of the Santa oil spill titled, Sorry, Wally. Let's Say it was Exploitation for Exploitation's Sake' by William Henry "Bill" Mauldin. In the editorial cartoon, Union Oil workers try to fix platform A as they float on a boat surrounded by an oil-spilled ocean and dead birds. The cartoon drew criticism of the reaction and response of the Union Oil Company. Many environmentalists felt there was a lack of sensibility to the oil spill by the Oil company. Through visual and print media, Americans across the nation witnessed the violence of cheap energy that galvanized activists to spark environmental activism and enact legislation.