California is the third-largest producer of oil in the U.S.
But while Big Oil reaps big profits, Californians pay the price in air pollution, health problems, water contamination and oil spills. And then we get to pay all over again at the pump.
Big Oil tries to sell oil production as some fabulous job-creating machine with no downside.
Californians know better.
Campaigns:
CA’s meth(ane) Problem: Methane – a primary component of natural gas – is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Throughout the state and country, natural gas extraction, transportation and storage are leaking huge, we mean YUGE, amounts of this gas. Find out more with our series of videos.
#BadNeighbors: In addition to everything else, the oil industry makes a terrible neighbor. Just ask the people of Wilmington, California, where thousands of oil wells operate in neighborhoods where people live, work and play. Our video series explains why this matters – and what the community is doing about it.
The Fracking Boom is Now
Fracking, the toxic process of extracting oil or gas by blasting water and industrial chemicals underground, threatens California’s water, air, food, health, wildlife, climate, and economy. Yet oil companies want to expand the practice.
Ten Reasons to End Fracking Now
- 1Fracking threatens our groundwater.
- 2Wastewater from oil fields where fracking has occurred is used to irrigate crops.
- 3Oil extraction in California has an ugly track record of leaks and spills.
- 4In a time of record drought, fracking uses a lot of water.
- 5Fracking is likely to cause earthquakes in California.
- 6Fracking threatens endangered wildlife.
- 7Around half a million people in California live within one mile of a well that has been fracked or otherwise stimulated.
- 8Fracking uses a cocktail of highly toxic chemicals.
- 9The EPA allows offshore fracking wells to dump toxic wastewater directly into the Pacific Ocean.
- 10What we don’t know about fracking in California is frightening.
Source →
Kern County
71% of oil produced in California comes from one place: Kern County.
Oil operations in Kern County waste 80 billion gallons of water each year. That’s enough to keep a half-million homes supplied with water. If it were clean. Which thanks to the oil industry, it isn’t.
In exchange, the people of Kern County get some of the worst air quality in the nation.
Kern County By the Numbers
- 50,000Total active injection wells statewide
- 2,553Total injection wells illegally permitted to inject into potential drinking water sources
- 532of the Illegal injection wells are used for disposal (381 active)
- 176of the Illegal disposal wells were permitted to inject into high quality drinking water aquifers (128 Active)
- 13gallons of waste water for every gallon of petroleum
We know the oil industry doesn’t try to spill oil. It’s bad public relations. Which means we can
chalk all those oil spills up to incompetence.
Take the Santa Barbara oil spill that sent over 100,000 gallons of crude sloshing along California’s coast in May 2015, closing beaches and killing birds and marine mammals.
The company whose pipeline ruptured has a history of this kind of thing. In fact, it had to pay $40 million to settle with the EPA over 10 spills in four states.
News
Top News
Californians learning that dwindling water supply contaminated
California orders 12 oil-field wells shut to protect groundwater: California orders closure of 12 injection wells used in oil and gas production in the Central Valley
Hundreds of illicit oil wastewater pits found in Kern County: Survey reveals more than 300 unlined oil wastewater pits operating in Kern County without permits
Agencies admit failing to protect water sources from fuel pollution: State agencies admit doing a poor job of protecting water sources from fuel pollution
Resources
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Refinery Report
Shining a spotlight on refineries throughout the United States and Canada. Created by Oil Change International.
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Californians Against Fracking
The statewide coalition to ban fracking in California
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FACT SHEET: California’s Oil and Gas Injection Problem
A factsheet overview of what’s really going on with oil and gas injection wells. Put together by Clean Water Action.
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Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources
The website of the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources, the state division that oversees drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil wells.
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FracTracker
Customizable, data-driven maps outlining all oil and gas activity in the golden state
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FACT SHEET: In the Pits
A resource on illegal wastewater dumping by the oil and gas industry