A total of 1.2 million oil and gas production facilities scar the U.S. landscape—from active wells to processing plants. More than 12 million people live within 1/2 mile of these sites and are exposed to pollutants on a daily basis. What’s more, when fossil fuels are burned by automobiles, power plants and industrial facilities, they release even more impurities.
Air pollution from fossil fuels is known as the “invisible killer.” It can lead to respiratory, cardiovascular and other diseases and is responsible for more than 13 percent of deaths in people aged 14 and older in the United States. Fossil fuel development can also leak toxic substances into the soil and drinking water sources, causing cancer, birth defects and liver damage.
Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted since these groups tend to live in neighborhoods with more pollution. Not surprisingly, these communities are fighting back. In Greeley, Colorado, residents of a predominantly Latino and immigrant community are trying to close an oil and gas operation located two blocks from a public school. The original plan was to place the wells near a predominantly white school but the location changed after angry parents pushed back.
The health threats from oil and gas production are very real and it’s crucial to reduce fossil fuel development—especially on public lands that should be contributing to our health and well-being.
