Environmentalists Rally Against Trump Plan To Open California Waters For Oil Drilling

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — From the Pacific coast to the state Capitol, environmentalists protested a plan by the Trump administration to open the California coast to offshore oil drilling.

Seth Weinfield, 13, is worried he'd get lost in the sea of protestors. He made his point crystal clear with an inflatable dolphin.

"This is the future we want to see for the next generation, not a polluted ocean that is crumbling," he said.

A team of marine biologists backed him up.

"We saw from a Santa Barbara oil spill four years ago, we found 48 dead sea lions and 12 dead dolphins," said UC Irvine Ecology and Biology Professor Kathleen Treseder.

That's why Assemblywoman Monique Limon (D- Santa Barbara), says this fight is personal.

"We will not expand offshore oil drilling because we as Californians will pay the cost," she said

California lawmakers have a battle plan, warning the White House the state will block the construction of pipelines to get oil back to land.

Supporters chanted that message for miles all the way to the Sacramento Library. It's where the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management set up kiosks to gather feedback.

"Our society has to find a way to move forward realistically," said Chief Environmental Officer Bill Brown.

Brown is overseeing the government's drilling program. He says preventing oil spills is a priority.

"Our job is to make sure we don't do this in the areas that are especially sensitive. But at the end of the day, we're not gonna have all of our energy supplied by renewable wind and solar," he said.

For now, Seth is using all his energy to protect the Pacific.