Imagining California Without Oil Refineries

Not Being Gasoline Consumers Has Become Part of Residents' Identity

On the morning of May 31, Robert Hubina hurt his foot, so he skipped surfing to walk on the beach in Ventura, where he saw a dolphin with black tar in its mouth, lying dead amongst the rocks. He quickly realized it came from the 100,000 gallon Goleta oil pipeline spill north of Santa Barbara and took a photo with his phone. Then he saw another dolphin and photographed that, too. The two photos were shared more than 2,300 times on Facebook, with people adding anti-oil hashtags, including #leaveoilinthesoil.

The …