Liberty Hill Foundation Releases New Report "POWER OF PERSISTENCE: The Fight to End Neighborhood Oil Drilling in Los Angeles"

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Jul 13, 2023, 14:20 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 13, 2023, Liberty Hill Foundation announced the release of its new Power of Persistence Report, highlighting the decade-long battle local residents and community organizers have fought to end toxic neighborhood oil drilling in Los Angeles.

The Power of Persistence Report recounts the story of L.A.'s hard-fought victory for environmental justice. With more than 5,000 oil wells in the City of Los Angeles and over 22,000 in the County of Los Angeles, data shows that a significant portion of the oil activity in L.A. exists within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, and other public areas. The result is a wide range of increased health harms for frontline communities including respiratory illness, increased risk of cancer, and birth defects when exposed during pregnancy.

For more than a decade, frontline residents in Los Angeles have been fighting to end these environmental injustices through community organizing by means of the Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling (STAND-L.A.) coalition. The environmental justice coalition formed in 2014—uniting frontline neighborhoods, environmental justice groups, and public health organizations across Los Angeles—to protect the health and safety of Angelenos.

"It's been nearly 10 years since community members in Wilmington and across LA first started to speak out against the oil wells in their neighborhoods," shared Ashley Hernandez, Youth Organizer for Communities for a Better Environment. "In that time, we've seen this resident-led movement flourish, youth take up the mantle of leadership, and communities achieve major wins for environmental justice. The fight ahead continues as we work to make sure oil wells are cleaned up properly and the future use of the land benefits the community, but one thing is clear: when frontline communities lead, we all win."

Their persistence paid off in 2022 and 2023, when the City and County of Los Angeles both committed to end new oil and gas extraction activities and phase out existing oil drilling. The report recounts STAND-L.A.'s significant work around outreach, education, community mobilizing, and advocacy—an innovative model that other organizers are already utilizing to advance environmental justice in their respective communities.

Additionally, the report lays out the next steps needed to protect public health and ensure a just transition to a green economy for workers and communities.

Recommendations include accelerating the phase-out timeline, implementing strong health protections at oil drilling facilities during the phase-out period, and providing a just transition by supporting workers in moving to comparable, family-sustaining jobs in the green economy.

"As the title suggests, this report underscores the incredible persistence, ingenuity and fortitude of community leaders and neighborhood residents in their quest to address environmental injustice. Their courageous commitment to end oil drilling is making a huge difference to the quality of life in their communities and improving environmental health for us all," says Michele Prichard, Liberty Hill Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives.

The Power of Persistence Report was published by Liberty Hill Foundation and authored by community leaders, organizers, researchers, and attorneys involved in the fight to end neighborhood oil drilling. Read the full report at https://libertyhill.org/pop.

For more information about the Power of Persistence Report or any of Liberty Hill's environmental justice work, please contact Courtney Kassel, Chief Communications Officer, at [email protected].

About Liberty Hill Foundation

Liberty Hill Foundation is a laboratory for social change philanthropy. We leverage the power of community organizers, donor activists, and allies to advance social justice through strategic investment in grants, leadership training, and campaigns. We envision a society in which all people have a powerful voice, including those currently shut out of our democracy, people cut off from opportunities because of their skin color, gender or sexual orientation, where they live, or where they were born. We will not rest until society provides justice and equality for all.

SOURCE Liberty Hill Foundation