Massive California oil spill leaves locals unbothered

I've been hearing coverage of this major spill for a few weeks now, including of Gavin Newsom's visit to McKittrick, population 115, the town closest to it on the western edge of Kern County.  Here's the Los Angeles Times latest:  "California's biggest oil spill in decades brings more defiance than anger from locals."  Here's an excerpt from Louis Sahagun's story, specifically excerpts from interviews with several folks at Mike and Annie's Penny Bar:

“Environmentalists have it all wrong,” argued Troy Smith, 46, an oil field worker who grew up in the area. “Compared with the catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and BP’s deep-sea spill in the Gulf of Mexico, our little outbreak is nothing. Yet, they’re using it as an excuse to shut down California’s oil industry and wipe us out. 

“What more do they want?” he asked no one in particular. “We already work under the strictest standards imaginable, and adhere to them tooth and nail.” 

Smith, like many others in McKittrick, was more worried about how the largest California spill in nearly three decades would affect election campaigns and new oil industry legislation in Congress and the state Legislature.

Interesting California fact:  5.5 million people live within a mile of an oil well in the Golden State.  Of course, given California's 40 million residents, that's a relatively low percentage.