Santa Barbara Environmental Attorney

As a Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Environmental Lawyer, the news we receive indicates that the environmental problems being faced by this country and the world are becoming dramatically worse. As an environmental attorney with experience as a lawyer in Santa Barbara and in San Luis Obispo, I have great affection for the beauty of this part of the state.

Sadly, there is news footage coming in daily from around the world, that makes it clear not only that global warming is a problem, it is getting worse, and action is needed immediately. For residents of San Luis Obispo and those of Santa Barbara concerned with environmental issues, this is particularly disturbing.

Now there is news that nearly one fourth of the world's mammals are at risk for extinction due to the damage to their ecosystems. As an environmental lawyer for the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo areas, nothing could make me as an environmental attorney more concerned.

What’s stopping action from taking place to reverse these effects on the planet? Oil companies and energy companies of all kinds certainly share some of the blame, especially those who reportedly spend more to confuse people and the issue than they do on alternative energy research. But other companies and politicians as well.

At our law offices, we will not represent any company who seeks to evade or prevent action to combat global warming or who spends money to confuse the public on the issue. There are plenty of other law firms who would be pleased to take on their representation. We will not.

Our environmental lawyers for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo are pleased to represent companies who are involved in renewable energy sources such as solar, and wind power, the building of energy free homes, and we support environmental groups and the efforts of Governor Schwarzenegger to make California a leader in the world in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gasses.

It will take all of us to make the changes we need to save our planet, our environment and the animal species that are so much at risk. Even as it was widely reported that one in four mammals face extinction, there are still people who will either not believe that man is either the cause of global warming or who feel that it would be too costly to the economy to take actions to help the environment such as reducing greenhouse gasses.

It is only hoped that in the not too distant future, with greater public awareness, and better education to our school children of the environmental problems we face, that when this new generation grows up demanding change and they ask the current generation how we could have let this problem get so bad without doing more to prevent it, it will not be too late to reverse the effects of mankind’s damage. The protection of this planet's environment and the animal and plant species that enjoy life here must no longer be allowed to be a political issue, but an issue for all mankind.

In an age when the carelessness of large corporations seems endless and the public has awoken to environmental dangers such as global warming and pollution of groundwater, toxic tort cases, which we handle, can not only provide a measure of redress to injured plaintiffs but also assist in the fight against what some entities would do to our planet in the name of profit.

Individuals in their homes, at work, in school and during leisure or recreational activities are exposed to toxic chemicals, drugs, and mercury from the places they live, work, or elsewhere spend time and what they eat and drink and the cosmetics they use.

They can be damaged by exposure to asbestos, lead, mercury, zinc, chromium, TCE, PCBs, arsenic, benzene, beryllium, pesticides, silica, manganese, formaldehyde and other toxins from places and things they would never have expected. Examples include lead-paint covered toys, toxic chemicals not only in the groundwater and the tap water used by companies to fill bottled water.

But pollution can come from the air, from the water, from the soil, and from other sources one often doesn’t consider. Pollution also comes from electro-magnetic fields, cigarette smoke, and mold in the home or at work.

Air pollution includes unhealthy levels in the air quality index, acid rain, indoor air quality, and particulate pollution from construction. Smog and haze aren’t just depressing, they can also be deadly when filled with types of pollution that is of particular risk to the elderly. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and chlorofluorocarbons are just some of the chemicals one faces in every day life. Too much of any of these can cause severe problems including cancer and even death to most anyone, not to mention other damage to the ecosystem.

Water pollution can come from wastewater, surface runoff, sewage, waterborne diseases, water quality, oil spills, ship pollution, and ocean acidification, just to name a few sources. Soil pollution can come from herbicides, pesticides and even from invasive species. Among those soil contaminants people should be most concerned with, are MTBE, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Because it happened thirty years ago, many today are unfamiliar with or have forgotten the groundwater pollution case known as Love Canal. In the late 1970s, residents in the Love Canal area of New York were suffering from high rates of cancer and birth defects. The cause was traced to chemicals that had infiltrated into the groundwater and water supply from an industrial landfill. Hundreds of families were reimbursed for their damages but had to move from the area.

Radioactive contamination is becoming more and more of a problem. There is already plutonium in the environment, radium in the environment, uranium in the environment and other environmental radioactivity. Soon we will be hearing more about alpha emitters and actinides.

Recently there has been much publicity about the increase in bed bugs in hotels, schools and homes. When one goes on vacation, one must also worry about lice, ticks and other bugs that can be carried home. When one goes to the hospital or to the doctor, one can return with a more dangerous infection or virus than the problem the patient was originally concerned about.

While not a health risk, there is also visual pollution such as that caused from billboards, to the recent addition of advertising at the gas pump, in elevators and in public restrooms, as well as light pollution.

In the health field, pollution can come in the form of contamination of blood, from the environment of the hospital, the medications, thimerosal (a preservative used to prevent spoiling in vaccines) surgical implants, the beds or from other patients.

If you think a toxic material or environmental problem has caused or contributed to an injury you've received call Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo environmental lawyer Sebastian Gibson today. If others have been similarly injured, you may well have a class action case and a Santa Barbara environmental attorney from our offices may be interested in your situation. We will be pleased to discuss your case with you over the phone and learn more about your specific situation.