As I've discussed on this blog, I recently traveled with a group of bloggers to visit man-made islands where drilling for oil and natural gas occurs in coastal waters--the THUMS Islands in Long Beach, CA.

Watch the video above to relive my experience at THUMS where in 2008, 10.9 million barrels of oil were produced along with 4.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas. And even with all of the energy production occurring here, the location keeps the appearance of a resort community or high-end condominium complex, making it really unique.

For more on my trip, listen to the THUMS episode of Energy Tomorrow Radio and read the following blog posts:

• Energy Tomorrow Radio: Episode 91 - THUMS Islands Location Tour
• Riviera of the West
• Resource-Rich Real Estate
• Traveling to THUMS

This week's episode focuses on a recent tour of the THUMS Islands, a group of four manmade islands in California's Long Beach Harbor, where oil and natural gas are produced. The episode also features sound bites from Frank Komin, president of Occidental Petroleum, and Charlie Plant, production manager of White Island.

Use the audio player below to listen to the recap and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find the podcast informative.

Show Notes:

00:20 The THUMS Islands are four manmade islands in California's Long Beach Harbor where oil and natural gas have been produced for the past 40 years.

01:00 The discovery of oil in the Long Beach area set off a drilling boom that threatened to turn the coastline into an industrial zone, so city voters passed an initiative to tap... more »

No one likes to watch sausage being made, but most of us enjoy sausage. That seems to be the case with oil and natural gas, too. The vast majority of Americans enjoy the benefits afforded by these energy-rich fuels, but some Americans would prefer not to see how they are produced.

The City of Long Beach successfully addressed the "sausage-making issue" back in the 1960s when it passed a resolution allowing several oil companies to produce energy in its harbor. It said the companies could create man-made islands to drill for oil and natural gas in the coastal waters, but in return the companies had to disguise their activities. The companies agreed, and the THUMS Islands were born.

The THUMS Islands, named after Texaco, Humble, Union, Mobil and Shell, were constructed from 640,000 tons of... more »