L.A. County’s First Initiative Ending Urban Oil Drilling

The Los Angeles County Board has implemented its first step towards cutting down oil/petroleum production across unincorporated areas. The un-governed regions include Inglewood Oil Field. The environment-favoring move is seen as a historic step by the environmental justice advocates.

The L.A. County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of banning the new oil well. The board agreed upon evaluating the status of existing wells and, in the meantime changing their zone to nonconforming. L.A. County’s residents have witnessed the adverse implications of excessive oil drilling. The impact of these activities has fallen unreasonably on people of color.

Supervisor Holly Mitchel, who drafted two motions focusing on drilling activities this week, highlighted that 73% of the count citizen residing near oil wells are people of color. Mitchell’s motion includes facts pointing out that proximity to oil drilling increases the chances of asthma. It can also spike the risk of heart disease as well as increase the odds of low birthweight babies.

The Inglewood Oil Field is one of the biggest adjoining urban oil fields in the U.S. the field has reported an average of 2.5 to 3.1 million barrels annually for the last decade. The surrounding community consists of 71% Black and 17% Latino.In addition to the equity issue, which is also being addressed, a major challenge that is a mutual concern is oil and gas drilling. Extensive drilling of crude oil and petroleum adversely affects the environment, according to Mitchell.