The Color of Climate
Gavin Newsom Has a Big Oil and Gas Problem
California was once the leading producer of oil and gas in the United States, and is slow to move away from fossil fuels
This is The Color of Climate, a weekly column from Future Human exploring how climate change and other environmental issues uniquely impact the future of communities of color.
On the outskirts of Bakersfield, California, it doesn’t take much effort to stumble upon an oil or gas well.
“You don’t have to drive far, especially once you get out into those rural areas,” Julie Solis, who lives in the city, tells Future Human. “The rural communities are really where they’re getting hit the hardest.”
Two of Solis’ four children attend school at Bakersfield College, which is on the edge of town. Right across the street is the massive Kern River Oil Field, where there are active oil and gas wells less than a mile away. Kern County, like many places in liberal, climate action-friendly California, is a hotbed for oil and gas drilling, with over 35,000 active oil and gas wells, according to 2019 data from The FracTracker Alliance, a watchdog nonprofit that monitors the activities of the oil and gas industry.
