It killed seabirds and marine animals, and fouled the California coastline. The large oil spill, off the coast of Santa Barbara, helped galvanize American support for the first Earth Day in 1970.

Almost four decades later, Earth Day is celebrated by 500 million people in 180 countries.

Earth Day has morphed from a single day of environmental action to a month-long jamboree of worldwide events and projects.

But one thing hasn?t changed. As the Exxon Valdez disaster showed, a single oil spill off North America?s west coast can destroy thriving local fishing industries and wildlife.

The B.C. government has asked Ottawa to lift a long-standing moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration. A 35-year-old ban on tankers in B.C.?s northern inside passage is also in jeopardy.

?Quite apart from ecological risks, Canada should not even think of increasing its hydrocarbon production when global warming and Kyoto obligations require precisely the opposite,? says BC Chapter marine campaigner Colin Campbell.

The Sierra Club, along with other environmental organizations, will participate in Earth Day activities across the province on April 22. Details here