Drilling Rigs in Bakersfield, California. Photo by David Seibold.

On March 8, Kern County, which houses California’s prime oil patch, approved an ordinance that would fast-track drilling of thousands of new oil and gas wells in the county over the next 15 years. The ordinance creates a blanket environmental impact report to approve as many as 2,700 new wells a year and eliminate future environmental reviews and public participation. Environmental and local community groups are challenging the decision in court.

Terra Verde co-host and Earth Island Journal editor Maureen Nandini Mitra, talks with Riddhi Patel, communications coordinator with the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and Hollin Kretzmann, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Center’s Climate Law Institute about the ongoing struggle against fossil fuel extraction in Kern County.

 

 

The post The Struggle Over Oil and Gas Drilling in Kern County – March 12, 2021 appeared first on KPFA.