Talk:STAND-L.A.
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Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling (STAND-L.A.) is an environmental justice coalition of community groups that seeks to end neighborhood drilling in Los Angeles, California. The coalition attempts to establish a human health buffer around existing oil wells in Los Angeles to protect the health and safety of Angelenos affected by urban oil extraction.
Background
editThe coalition was originally founded in 2013 but came together officially in 2014 under the name STAND-L.A. It organizes around several urban oil sites, including the Inglewood Oil Field, Wilmington Oil Field, and Porter Ranch. These oil extraction sites operate in the neighborhoods of coalition members, their families, and their children.
STAND-L.A.’s founding members include: Communities for a Better Environment Esperanza Community Housing Corporation Holman United Methodist Church Liberty Hill Foundation Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles Redeemer Community Partnership
Issues and Campaigns
editHealth Impacts of Neighborhood Drilling
editLos Angeles is the largest urban oil field in the United States, with thousands of active oil wells amongst a population of more than 10 million people. Many of these wells are located near sensitive receptors – meaning areas where populations that are biologically sensitive to air pollution and cancer-causing chemicals (the elderly, the very young, and people with respiratory disease) live or spend the majority of their day.
In Los Angeles, 130 schools, 184 daycare facilities, 213 elderly homes and nearly 628,000 residents live within a half-mile of an active oil well – where risks of exposure to toxic air contaminants are most significant. Residents living near oil well sites routinely report symptoms of dizziness, nosebleeds, headaches and exacerbated asthma.
Members of the STAND-L.A. coalition live in these communities and some have been personally affected by the adverse health effects associated with living next door to active oil sites. Therefore, the coalition focuses on raising awareness about the health and safety threats associated with neighborhood drilling and advocates for the implementation of a health and safety buffer around active oil wells in their communities.
Environmental Justice
editSTAND-L.A. seeks to highlight the inequities of oil drilling given that neighborhood drilling disproportionately occurs in low-income communities and communities of color. Several neighborhoods in Los Angeles experiencing expanded oil drilling and development show strong patterns of disproportionate exposure to the health hazards associated with neighborhood drilling. Drilling sites in South Los Angeles and Wilmington are on average 260 to 300 feet closer to homes than residents living in wealthier L.A. communities.