Santa Barbara

Discover the city of Santa Barbara, California, the birthplace of Earth Day. A 1969 oil platform blowout off the coast of Santa Barbara led to a wave of environmental laws nationwide. That gave impetus to what we consider now the cornerstones to the modern environmental movement. A year later, the first Earth Day was held followed by the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. A succession of other laws protecting water, marine life and endangered species followed.