“For me, the oil trains rolling into the oil refineries located on March Point epitomize the fossil fuel industry’s arrogance — wrecking the climate, recklessly carrying their dangerous product through cities, towns, and sacred Indigenous lands, endangering people at every link in the chain."
These words, spoken by Laurie Dougherty, a climate activist and resident of Salem, Oregon,are not merely idealistic liberal complaints. They are the words that have been and continue to be echoed and magnified on a global perspective, not just a local or state one. The climate crisis looms larger than ever, with news of oil spills, record heat waves, droughts, soil infertility, and agricultural travesties being only a few of the tragic headlines that enter the lexicon of the 21st century and the state of our world. Despite the lack of coverage by many United States politicians, especially during the 2016 election, climate change is in the hearts and on the minds of countless citizens of nations far and wide and from all walks of life and backgrounds. Never has there been as issue that connects and represents not just a nation, but a planet, the way that climate disruption has.
Earlier this month, these feelings turned into ideas, which turned into movements, which turned into actions. Lots of them. Twenty-nine, to be exact. While that may sound low in number, it is astonishingly high when one takes into consideration the intensity behind each of them. Combined over a twelve-day period, truly can be called “The Twelve Days of Action”. The US, UK, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Canada, Germany, Ecuador, and New Zealand, all rose to the challenge of becoming world ambassadors on climate and social justice.
What makes this event so strongly memorable is the stakes that we as a planet are experiencing temperatures that are superseding the previous year every year. More records are being broken, more people and wildlife are dying, and more resources are being used up to create an economy that destroys both the natural and human environment.
The Sierra Club aligned itself with two of the actions, one taking place in Los Angeles on May 14 and the other in Washington, D.C. the following day.
Thousands of California residents paraded through Los Angeles to demand that Mayor Eric Garcetti and local elected leaders break free from fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to 100 percent renewable energy in the city and throughout the state. One particularly important goal was to ensure that the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility near Porter Ranch be shut down permanently, for what is hoped to be a signal to the end of urban oil drilling in the city. Additionally, Los Angeles is currently one of the few places in the world with an active oil field under the city, a distinction that made the metropolis worthy of inclusion in the series of actions.
The resplendent march started at City Hall and winded around to the Los Angeles County building and ended at SoCal Gas' corporate offices. Those who participated blared their desire for clean energy and democracy via a wide variety of colorful and inspiring banners and posters. Additionaly, unions, community organizations and local government members, who urged elected officials to break the addiction to fossil fuels and to permanently end neighborhood oil drilling , were present. The rally also featured performances by Grammy-nominated singer and actress Antonique Smith and LA Hip Hop Group Inner City Dwellers.
“California’s done good things on climate–but the world needs great things, especially a bold commitment to keep fossil fuels in the ground. California’s extraction affects the climate–and the vulnerable communities that live nearby,” said Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org. “It’s time for it to stop.”
Demonstrators came from across Los Angeles, including Porter Ranch residents who were evacuated from their homes due the massive gas leak that occurred from October to February(the largest gas leak in history), families from the South Bay who were forced to leave their homes following the ExxonMobil refinery explosion, residents from South Los Angeles who live near active oil drilling sites, and those from Inglewood where the oil field has been operational since 1924.
“We are marching in Los Angeles because the city is ground zero for neighborhood oil drilling. Fossil fuel extraction is happening in our backyards. Communities live next door to active oil drilling sites, exposing children and families to various health risks like headaches, nosebleeds and respiratory problems including asthma,” said Monic Uriarte, a community organizer at Esperanza Community Housing Corp. “We are marching because this is an injustice not only to our climate, but to communities in Los Angeles and throughout the state of California, which disproportionally are low-income and communities of color.”
In the Los Angeles area alone, upwards of 1.67 million Californians live within a mile of an active oil well. The fossil fuel industry continues to grow, developing and implementing dangerous drilling techniques and dirtier extraction practices that hurt the environment and the health of all Californians. Farmers in Kern County, which is the most fracked county in the state, are now using waste water from oil wells to grow crops that are consumed around the world. In February, the Porter Ranch community was put into a state of emergency when a gas leak released more than 1.6 million pounds of methane each day, equivalent to the methane emissions of six coal fired power plants, 2.2 million cows per day, or 4.5 million cars.
“Today was a reminder that Los Angeles has a long way to go in the fight against climate change. Neighborhood drilling continues to harm the children and families of this city. Ninety-one percent of the people living around L.A.’s oil drilling sites are people of color. While they get sicker and sicker, the city’s leaders fail to prioritize their health and safety with common-sense policies that could end oil drilling in our local communities,” said Antonique Smith, who performed during the rally on Saturday. “I hope today’s march was a meaningful first step towards creating a healthy city for every Angeleno.”