The Refugio Oil Spill was a rude awakening for us at Patagonia. An onshore pipeline ruptured on May 19, 2015, tarring our coastal front yard with at least 140,000 gallons of thick crude oil. It shut down beaches, greased marine protected areas and killed or injured several hundred birds and marine mammals. The effects continue to linger and likely will for some time. If there’s any upside to this horrible mess, we now have a good opportunity to stop future spills.

While we all remain dependent on fossil fuels, we don’t need more drilling on our coast. We believe environmental disasters can move our society in the right direction—toward renewable alternatives, and safer ways of producing oil and gas in the interim. Offshore oil production is just too risky—oil spills and damage to the coast and ocean are simply inevitable.

For more information, visit: patagonia.com/crudeawakening