3: Oil
- Page ID
- 305540
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This chapter will help you accomplish the following:
- Demonstrate understanding of environmental issues related to oil
- Demonstrate understanding of environmental justice and apply it to current environmental issues related to oil
- Demonstrate understanding of the specific examples of global and U.S. oil extraction
- Apply your knowledge of oil extraction and negotiate the interdisciplinary complexities with peers
Environmental Issues with Oil
Global dependence on oil, and its extraction processes and impacts, not only contribute to climate change but also have severe environmental justice issues. Before 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined environmental justice as an issue of rates of negative impact and access to positive aspects of the environment:
[T]he just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so that people:
- are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and
- have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices
Similarly, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) notes the environmental justice "crisis is intertwined with the crisis of inequality and is inextricably linked to the protection and fulfilment [sic] of human rights and sustainable development" (UNDP).
Just as environmental justice issues in terms of water use, access, and pollution are global, so are environmental issues with oil. This chapter will cover petrostates and oil extraction, specifically, focusing on Venezuela, the U.S. Permian Basin in West Texas, and the U.S. Bakken formation in part in North Dakota and Montana.
"The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of protective environmental laws, regulations, and policies" ("Environmental Justice"); additionally, the understanding that social, cultural, and political biases have historically created inequalities among those who most suffer from environmental impacts.
While oil is a major contributor to climate change (covered in a later chapter), it is also extremely harmful to the communities that extract it. The United Nations notes that “[f]ossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions” (United Nations Climate Action). In addition, Jill E. Johnston, et al. writes, “Approximately 17.6 million people live near (<1.6 km) an active oil or gas extraction site, the majority of whom are living in rural communities in the continental U.S. UOG [unconventional oil and gas] extraction has been linked to worsened air pollution, contaminated ground and surface water, increased noise, more traffic, and disruptions to the local social fabric” (Johnston, et al. 2). But not all communities impacted are rural. Los Angeles County is a densely populated area with the same issues. Anakaren Andrade, et al. write that LA County “is home to over 5,000 active oil and gas wells,” meaning roughly “one third of Los Angeles County residents live within one mile of a drilling rig and more than half a million live within a quarter mile, with people of color and low income residents suffering the brunt of the health issues" (Andrade, et al.). Especially considering the ways in which engaging with environmental issues often requires a sense of empathy, a direct understanding of those impacted, the health issues with extraction may be especially compelling as opposed to an often abstracted climate change argument.