Crude L.A.: California's Urban Oil Fields

[snooper2]

VICE

Published on Apr 26, 2016
For nearly four months, the Aliso Canyon methane leak just north of Los Angeles spewed several thousand metric tons of potent greenhouse gases into the air before it was finally sealed in February. The disaster displaced residents, forced schools to close, and incited widespread distrust in the local government's regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Few people realize that Los Angeles was actually built on oil. The Aliso Canyon natural gas facility is just one of thousands of oil and gas drilling and storage sites located in and around the city, which is also home to the country's largest urban oil field. Thousands of wells dot the cityscape, and many operate in highly populated, low-income neighborhoods.

VICE News visited Los Angeles, California to investigate how carcinogenic fumes from urban oil drilling are affecting local communities.

[KamaAina]

1. There is a working oil derrick on the grounds of Beverly Hills High School!

[IDemo]

4. There was one at Huntington Beach High decades ago, not sure if still so n/t

[Retrograde]

2. If you look at pictures of Long Beach in the early 20th century

you can barely see the houses for all the oil derricks. Much more recently - like a couple of years ago - I came across a place on the way to King's Canyon that was roughly equal parts orange trees and oil pumps. And there are a number of small active fields along 101 in Monterey County.

[pinboy3niner]

3. My L.A. neighborhood was blown up by a gasoline pipeline explosion in '76

The pipeline from the El Segundo refinery ran under the median of Venice Blvd. in Palms (on the West side, bordering Culver City). The explosion was caused by a backhoe doing median work. The explosion killed 4, injured 16, and destroyed a block of businesses along the boulevard.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. “They ruined a perfectly good oilfield by building a city on top of it.”

You would have to be damn near blind not to notice that Los Angeles is an oil town. The irony of course is that the oil produced in California is some of the filthiest sludge being produced anywhere on earth.