1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: Culture Latino USA. Latins Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa. We 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you, 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: overlooked by the rest of the media, and while the 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: country is struggling to deal with these, we listen to 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: the stories of Black and Latino Studios United Latino Front, 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 8 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: I'm Maria Inojosa, nose bayan o la Latino USA. 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: Listener. 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: Here's an episode from our archives. 11 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 3: So it was around twenty ten, so I was and 12 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 3: I'm going on ten that I started getting really sick 13 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 3: out of nowhere. 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: Nayeli Gobbo is now nineteen, but she was just a 15 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: kid when she moved with her mom to University Park, 16 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: which is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. 17 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 3: I got spontaneous nose bleets extremely frequently. They were so 18 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 3: intense that I couldn't sleep or as antilie anymore. I 19 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 3: had to sleep vertically so I wouldn't choke on my 20 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 3: own blood. 21 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: She started getting body spasms to the point where she 22 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: sometimes couldn't even walk. She started getting heart palpitations, stomach 23 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 1: pain and headaches. 24 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 3: Every day I had a different doctor's appointment. I was cardiologist, neurologist, 25 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:26,199 Speaker 3: gastern terrologist, and all these other specialists, and they never 26 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 3: found what was wrong with me. 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 4: And I always speakture that. Arsai was like very scared. 28 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: That's Monique Uriarti Naielli. 29 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 4: Small, thinking that she has brained two more or she 30 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 4: has said heart problems. Sometimes I need to run to 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 4: a doctor of us because her stomach pin is so intense. 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just her. She'd hear other people in 33 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: the neighborhood talk about similar things that were happening to them. 34 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: One day, Naielli and her sister were walking back home 35 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: from yoga when they noticed a foul smell that reminded 36 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: them of overripe, spoiled fruit. 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 3: And we were like, that's weird, Like we've never smelt 38 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 3: this before, so we were like whatever. We just shook 39 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 3: it off and went inside to our apartment and the 40 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 3: house was empty. 41 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: She says, her mom opened the door of their bedroom 42 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: and told her to go in. 43 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 3: And that's when my mom told us there's an oil 44 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 3: wall across the street. 45 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: Monique had recently come back from a community meeting with 46 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: a toxicologist that said that their health problems were being 47 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: caused by an oil well. An oil well in the 48 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: middle of a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles. In 49 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: one of their next visits to the doctor, Nayeli's mom 50 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: decided to bring up this new piece of information. 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 3: My mom told the doctor, oh, you know, we live 52 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 3: next to an oil wall. I don't know if that 53 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 3: could have anything to do with this. And the doctor 54 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 3: took off his glasses. He put them on top of 55 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 3: his head and said, you need to. 56 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: Move from futuro media and PRX. It's Latino USA. I'm 57 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: Maria ino Josa. Today we take you to Los Angeles, 58 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: a city that sits on the largest urban oil field 59 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: in the country. A young Latina and her mom decide 60 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: to take on the powerful oil industry producer, Andres Caballiro 61 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: picks up the story from here. 62 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 5: Once you start looking for oil sites in LA you 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 5: start to notice them all over the place. And so 64 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 5: I just made this left on Topeico Boulevard. In this case, 65 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 5: I'm on the west side of town and I'm looking 66 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 5: at a beige seven story structure disguised as an office building, 67 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 5: and there's this giant, let's see one, two, three, four, five, six, 68 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 5: six or seven story building that has no windows and 69 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 5: it just hovers over the neighborhood. And this, I've been 70 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 5: told is the packer drill site that is still active. 71 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 5: Inside this windowless building, there are no floors, just open 72 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 5: space for an oil rig. It also has no roof, 73 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 5: so that toxins can escape easily, so you can hear 74 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 5: the birds and then sporadically this sort of mechanical noise 75 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 5: coming from behind the big walls here. This specific site 76 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 5: has been active since the late sixties, and it still 77 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 5: produces thousands of barrels every year. I wonder how many 78 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 5: people who live here actually know what happens inside this building. 79 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 5: About a five minute drive west closer towards Fancy Beverly 80 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 5: Hills is another the Cardiff Tower drill site in the 81 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 5: Pico Robertson neighborhood. This area became a Jewish enclave after 82 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 5: World War Two, and it said the tower was built 83 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 5: to resemble a synagogue. Its exterior is still well kept, 84 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 5: painted yellow and white, and there are now forty active 85 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 5: wells beneath it. And so I'm right here at the 86 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 5: entrance to this other windowless tower, and there's a sign 87 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 5: from the California Health and Safety Code that reads, Detectable 88 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 5: amounts of chemicals known to the State of California to 89 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 5: cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm may be 90 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 5: found in crude oil and other petroleum products in their vapors. 91 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 5: If you really take the time, you'll even find a 92 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 5: drill site hidden inside the Beverly Hills Mall. You'll find 93 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 5: four islands off the coast of Long Beach built to 94 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 5: resemble a tropical world of fake waterfalls and palm trees 95 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 5: that cover up more than a thousand oil wells. That 96 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 5: project was courtesy of the same company that helped build Disneyland. 97 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 5: But the reality is that not all the drill sites 98 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 5: in Los Angeles are this esthetically pleasing or guarded by 99 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 5: four walls to redirect toxins away from residences. For example, 100 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 5: the site near where Naielli lives. 101 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 6: She's the nineteen year old we heard from before, the 102 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 6: one with the nosebleeds and other symptoms. The site is 103 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 6: so well hidden that the family lived across from it 104 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 6: for a while without knowing it was active. 105 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 5: I followed Naelli and Monique for a quick tour. 106 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 4: And that beautiful bread building. 107 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 5: This one right here, yes, on that corner from Naielli's building. 108 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 5: If you look less than sixty feet across the street, 109 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 5: you'll see a big concrete wall partially covered by plants. 110 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 5: And then there's a gate with some signs on it. 111 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 4: You made her look Asaki PIKETI sell. 112 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 5: Gate, a yellow gate that says allen Co Energy Inc. 113 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 5: Allenko Energy A bought the oil production facility about a 114 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 5: year before Naielli moved across the street. They're a smaller 115 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 5: oil company with a few operations in southern California, now 116 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 5: Alien Monique. Then take me a couple of floors up 117 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 5: into a parking structure where you can get a clear 118 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 5: look at the Allenko site from above. How did you 119 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 5: find this spot, by the. 120 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 3: Way, Oh my mom found it. 121 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 5: I don't know. 122 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 3: Since we're at a high elevation, you get a better 123 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 3: view of what's really behind this big wall. So there's pipes, tanks, 124 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 3: all kinds of other weird looking stuff underground. They have 125 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 3: twenty one walls. 126 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 4: But also you can see the blue pipes. They are 127 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 4: the escapes for these films and they are wide open 128 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 4: to the community. I always are how close it's from 129 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 4: a schools and we have nine schools right here. 130 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 5: Oil rigs in Elle neighborhoods are new. The beginning of 131 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 5: oil production in Los Angeles goes way back to the 132 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 5: eighteen seventies, when oil was discovered there. Back then, the 133 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 5: city only had a population of about five thousand. Before 134 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 5: would be actors flocked to Los Angeles, people came here 135 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 5: with dreams of striking oil. You may remember the film 136 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 5: There Will Be Blood starring Daniel day Lewis that took 137 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 5: place just north of La. 138 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 7: Ladies and gentlemen, If I say I'm an oil man, 139 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 7: you will agree. 140 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: I'm a family man. 141 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 5: By the eighteen nineties, LA's population had grown tenfold. That's 142 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 5: when a man named Edward L. Dohaney sharpened a sixty 143 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 5: foot eucalyptus log, which he then used to drill one 144 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 5: of the city's first wells. That site today is known 145 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 5: as Echo Park. By nineteen thirty, California produced almost a 146 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 5: quarter of the world's oil. LA was basically that Erasaudi Arabia. 147 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 5: If you look at the black and white photos of 148 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 5: Los Angeles, Venice Beach, Long Beach back in the twenties, 149 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 5: thirties and even fifties. You'll be shocked at the sea 150 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 5: of oil rigs that once covered these parts of the 151 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 5: city and its coasts. Now most of the oil has 152 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 5: already been extracted, but many operations are still going and 153 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 5: new drilling permits are still being handed out. In order 154 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 5: to exploit what's left, oil companies have had to resort 155 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 5: to more sophisticated extraction methods, and these methods release toxins 156 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 5: known to cause health issues. In twenty ten, Alinko Energy, 157 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 5: the oil company that had been operating in Nayeli's neighborhood 158 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 5: when she and her mom moved in, started engaging in acidizing, 159 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 5: a process similar to fracking in which acids are used 160 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 5: to dissolve rock and then free up oil deposits that 161 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 5: are deep beneath the surface. After they started acidizing, action 162 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 5: for Allenco Energy went up by four hundred percent, but 163 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 5: so did the number of neighbors complaining about their horrible smells, 164 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 5: people with headaches, children with recurring nosebleeds. That was the 165 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 5: same year that Naielli moved to the neighborhood. Across the 166 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 5: street from Allenco is Naielli's building, which is owned by 167 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,679 Speaker 5: a nonprofit that offers affordable housing to low income families. 168 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:22,960 Speaker 8: Here. 169 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 5: Her mom actually works for the non profit that community. 170 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 3: Feel that a lot of people experiencing Latino cultures. If 171 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 3: my mom needed a tomato, for example, I know I 172 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 3: could go tell our next door neighbor and we could 173 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 3: get that. 174 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 4: My neighbor who is beautiful, the elotero man Yalen, the 175 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 4: lady Selin Tamales, kids from a school. 176 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 5: Running money, came from Mexico decades ago. Like most people 177 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 5: looking for better opportunities. Naielli's dad was an immigrant as well, 178 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 5: but the relationship eventually became abusive. She decided to leave 179 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 5: and raise Naielli a single mom. 180 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 3: My mom had the strength and courage to leave my 181 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 3: father there. No, it was like a really tough call 182 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 3: to make. Like I've always admired her for that, and 183 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 3: she's like, really my best friend. 184 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 5: Her mom was the kind of person that would never 185 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 5: accept defeat. So after Naille got sick and the doctor 186 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 5: told them to move, her reaction was to do the opposite, 187 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 5: to stay and fight. 188 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 4: Because if I move, another family came and it's getting 189 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 4: sick again. I think that tou hut down permanently Alenko 190 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 4: energy is the solution. 191 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 3: So it all started with door to door knocking, mom saying, hey, 192 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 3: do you smell this? Do you know what's going on? 193 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 5: Oh? 194 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 3: It smells Okay, go knock on so and so the door, 195 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 3: and I'll go down the block and tell these other 196 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:50,959 Speaker 3: families to call. 197 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 5: Naielli and her mom started organizing neighbors to call the 198 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 5: Southern California Air Quality Management District, which is a state 199 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 5: agency in charge of dealing with air related health complaints. 200 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 3: Okay, okay, we did that, what else can we do? 201 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,719 Speaker 3: It was creating town hall meetings. It was finding out 202 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 3: when we could go to city hall hearings. 203 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 4: All right. 204 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 3: Vicacy is more than simply voting, but it is holding 205 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 3: out the. 206 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 2: Officials of home. 207 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 5: Eventually they got the support of the nonprofit that runs 208 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 5: the low income housing unit they lived in, and they 209 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 5: created a campaign called People Not Posos, People Not Wells 210 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 5: to shut down the Alanco site. 211 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 3: The Grads Ruts campaign in South Los Angeles really started 212 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 3: because of the moms, the moms wanting to give their 213 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 3: children the ability to clean air. And something my mom 214 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 3: always says, which I like to point out, is that 215 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 3: when she immigrated here for Mexico. She never thought she'd 216 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 3: have to fight for our right to breathe clean air. 217 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 5: They're around five thousand active wells in LA County and 218 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 5: more than eight hundred within the LA city limits alone, 219 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,599 Speaker 5: and according to studies by advocacy groups, the majority of 220 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 5: these active wells are near low income, Black and Latino neighborhoods. 221 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 5: After all, low income families are less likely to have 222 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 5: the resources to put up a fight to get rid 223 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 5: of drilling in their neighborhoods. For many years, there was 224 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,680 Speaker 5: little oversight of oil operations in Los Angeles. In fact, 225 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 5: the city's petroleum administrator position was left vacant for decades. 226 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,199 Speaker 5: Only a few years ago, partly in response to communities organizing, 227 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 5: did the city finally fill the post. And even for 228 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 5: the regulations that were in place, some seemed only to 229 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 5: apply to wider, more affluent areas. 230 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 3: It was heartbreaking knowing that my life didn't matter as 231 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 3: much as little girls in Beverly Hills because she's not 232 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,959 Speaker 3: exposive toxic commissions, but I am. 233 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 5: According to advocates, sites on the West Side were regularly 234 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:59,119 Speaker 5: required to use electric rigs to help reduce diesel emissions 235 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 5: and noise, but in South LA, where Naielli lives, that 236 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 5: rule seemed to not be enforced, and oil operations in 237 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 5: wealthier areas also seemed to have more protections like bigger 238 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 5: or enclosed walls to reduce pollution. 239 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 3: Yet when it was in the hood per se with 240 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 3: black and brown people, immigrant people, they didn't care about us. 241 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 5: It can be. 242 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 3: Allowed, whereas in Beverly Hills there had to be silent 243 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 3: machines and we never got that. 244 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 5: Nielli and her mom continued to organize now with a 245 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 5: group called stand LA until they finally got the attention 246 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 5: of US Senator Barbara Boxer, who flew down to La 247 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 5: and held a press conference there along with Nielli and 248 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 5: other activists. She called for Alinco Energy to seize all 249 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 5: operations in the neighborhood. The attention prompted on site inspections 250 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 5: by state and federal agencies. Local papers reported that at 251 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 5: least one EPA official got sick while inspecting the Alenco site, 252 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 5: and in twenty thirteen, finally, when Nielli and her mom 253 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 5: started led to a victory for the neighborhood, Aleenko Energy 254 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 5: voluntarily halted its operations, with pending investigations by several agencies and. 255 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 3: It's spent years that they've been temporarily shut down. 256 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 5: They won another victory in twenty fifteen after a lawsuit 257 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 5: led to Alanko having to pay more than one million 258 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 5: dollars in penalties and to revamp their safety monitoring system 259 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 5: before even being able to open again. I reached out 260 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 5: to Alenko for comment, but they didn't return my messages. 261 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 5: Naielli and her mom, along with other advocacy groups, have 262 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 5: now set their sights on a bigger target, closing down 263 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 5: every well in Los Angeles. But the oil industry isn't 264 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 5: going to take that fight. Lying down. 265 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, we hear from a representative 266 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: of the oil industry, and we look into how influential 267 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 1: big oil really is in local politics. Stay with us, 268 00:16:12,560 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: not the rights. Hey, we're back. When we left off, 269 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: anti oil advocates had won in a fight to shut 270 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 1: down oil wells in a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles. 271 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: Now we're going to hear why going up against the 272 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: oil industry isn't so easy andres Caballero is going to 273 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: pick it up from here. 274 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 5: For Naielli and her mom, shutting down a few oil 275 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 5: wells across the street from where they live is one thing, 276 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:38,239 Speaker 5: but they had a much bigger goal in mind. I 277 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 5: met up with them at a rally at LA City 278 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,640 Speaker 5: Hall where more than one hundred people gathered and listened 279 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 5: to Naille speak. 280 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 9: So that's why we're here at city Hall asking our 281 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 9: politicians that work for us, because we put them in 282 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 9: those seats and we can just as easily. 283 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 3: Take them out. 284 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 9: So we are on the south lawn of Los Angeles 285 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 9: City Hall. We are having a rally on behalf of 286 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 9: stand delay so we can tell LA City Council members 287 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 9: to vote yes on the twenty five hundred but health 288 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,160 Speaker 9: and safety buffer zone. 289 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 5: The twenty five hundred foot buffer zone. The idea is 290 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,680 Speaker 5: to create a law at either city or state level 291 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 5: that mandates a half mile buffer zone between drill sites 292 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 5: and places like schools, residences, playgrounds, or hospitals. About nine 293 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 5: hundred thousand people in California live within a half mile 294 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 5: of an active oil or gas well. This is according 295 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,479 Speaker 5: to the Environmental Defense Fund. But a challenge to passing 296 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 5: a law like this is that to do so, you 297 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 5: have to go up against the oil industry. And I 298 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,120 Speaker 5: happen to get an opportunity to speak with a representative 299 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 5: of the oil industry myself. 300 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 7: In the LA basin, if you draw half mile radius 301 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 7: circles around all production, you would and all production. 302 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 5: That's Rocket Zeerman. He's the CEO of the California Independent 303 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 5: Petroleum Association. When you think of oil companies, you probably 304 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 5: imagine giant corporations, but many of the companies drilling in 305 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 5: LA are actually small, some even family run operations. Zerman 306 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 5: represents about four hundred of these independent oil and gas producers. 307 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 5: He argues that the buffer zone that Naille and her 308 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 5: mom want to see is shortsighted. 309 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 7: It would definitely shut down nearly all oil and gas 310 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 7: production in Los Angeles, and those lost barrels would simply 311 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 7: have to be imported from foreign countries, primarily Saudi Arabia. Obviously, 312 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 7: in California, we operate under the strictest environmental rules and 313 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,679 Speaker 7: regulations in the world, and if we were to outsource 314 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 7: our oil and import it from the Middle East, we 315 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 7: would simply be trading our strict environmental rules for their 316 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 7: very loose environmental rules, and that would harm the environment. 317 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 5: But then there's a more pressing issue, which is what 318 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 5: got community advocates to mobilize in the first place the 319 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 5: impact oil drilling is having on people's health. In twenty eighteen, 320 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,920 Speaker 5: a report released by the Los Angeles County Department of 321 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,439 Speaker 5: Public Health from the oil and gas operations close to 322 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 5: residential neighborhoods is a major risk factor. But Zerman says 323 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 5: that studies like these are not backed by proper scientific research. 324 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 7: Most of the agencies that actually use scientific methods to 325 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 7: go evaluate our operations find that our operations are safe. 326 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 7: But a lot of these, for instance, will just plot 327 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 7: where people live and then they'll say oil and gas 328 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,479 Speaker 7: may be near, and so whatever problems there are, they'll 329 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 7: attribute it to oil and gas operations and discount the 330 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 7: fact that they're near highways, they're near the port, they're 331 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,640 Speaker 7: near all kinds of sources of pollution. 332 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 5: This is an argument you hear from the industry side 333 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 5: a lot that health complaints are exaggerated or unconfirmed, and 334 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 5: that there's still no actual proof directly linking oil operations 335 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 5: to people's health problems. I reached out to the South 336 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 5: Coast air Quality Management District. That's the state agency that 337 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 5: monitors air quality, which also helped investigate Alenco. They do 338 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,719 Speaker 5: say that many health complaints may be related to proximity 339 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 5: to highways and exposure to traffic pollution. But they shared 340 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 5: an interesting piece of data with me that suggests that 341 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 5: an active drill site can make air pollution worse. They 342 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 5: took air quality data before and after Allenco stopped drilling 343 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 5: in Nili's neighborhood, and they found a big improvement in 344 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 5: air quality after they stopped, a nearly forty percent drop 345 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 5: in methane. I asked Zerman how he can say that 346 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 5: oil drilling isn't affecting people's health when sites like Alenco 347 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 5: are being shut down for violations. I mean the fact 348 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 5: that Alenko Energy, for example, had operations halted, you know, 349 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 5: by a judge was ordered to pay a fine. Is 350 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:03,920 Speaker 5: that an indication of something? 351 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,400 Speaker 7: Obviously, there are going to be some instances for any 352 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 7: industry where you may have one or two examples of issues. 353 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 7: If you're not compliant with rules and regulations, the city 354 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 7: and the Division Oil and Gas and the water and 355 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,040 Speaker 7: air districts absolutely should take action. 356 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 5: Is there an actual difference in how companies are behaving 357 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 5: or abiding by regulations in wealthy areas compared to less 358 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 5: wealthy ones none whatsoever. 359 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 7: We operate in Beverly Hills where there's oil production surrounded 360 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 7: by multimillion dollar homes. We produce where the oil is, 361 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 7: so we don't get to choose where our facilities are located. 362 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 7: They're located where the oil is underground, and historically they 363 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 7: were there first and the community built up around those 364 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 7: oil facilities. 365 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 5: Ziermann says that he's concerned that if more regulations are 366 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 5: passed for the industry as a whole, jobs would also 367 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 5: be lost. 368 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 7: Now you have people in Los Angeles that have high 369 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 7: paying jobs that are going to lose their jobs. 370 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 5: German's organization connected me with the California Resources Corporation, where 371 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 5: Mada Castro works as a well analyst. 372 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 8: Both of my parents, being born in Mexico, came out here. 373 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 8: My dad had two jobs. My mom worked at a 374 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,640 Speaker 8: hotel cleaned houses on the weekends just to make ends meet. 375 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 5: She also thinks that there's a lot of misinformation in 376 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 5: communities linking oil drilling to health hazards, and she's afraid 377 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 5: that if any buffer zone law were passed, her company 378 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 5: would have to shut down because we. 379 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 8: Are so close to so many homes. If you're in 380 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 8: this industry, and you see something like that, you definitely 381 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 8: have that in the back of your mind. Every day 382 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 8: you come to hear that I won't have a good 383 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:50,639 Speaker 8: career to provide for my kids. 384 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 5: This is the type of scenario where the government is 385 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 5: cut up between the interests of communities who say their 386 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 5: health will be better without oil production and those like 387 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 5: Maida whose livelihoods depend on oil production. If the buffer 388 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 5: zone law is passed in LA or at a state level, 389 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 5: it would be a major blow for the oil industry. 390 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 5: But one of the reasons it's hard to get bills 391 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 5: like that through the legislature is that the oil industry 392 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 5: has a lot of political muscle, even in ultra green California. 393 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 5: In twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen, the Western States Petroleum Association, 394 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 5: which is the industry's main lobby group, spent nearly sixteen 395 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 5: million dollars to persuade legislators to vote for their interests. 396 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 5: A year before that, a group called the Coalition to 397 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 5: Restore California's Middle Class, basically a kind of superpack, spent 398 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 5: about two million dollars on eight candidates. Six of those 399 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 5: candidates were led Tino and Black Democrats. That same oil 400 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,360 Speaker 5: coalition poured a ton of money into recently elected California 401 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 5: Senator Lena Gonzalez. She's a Latina Democrat and she represents 402 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 5: Senate District thirty three, which includes Long Beach, also partly 403 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,680 Speaker 5: in Los Angeles County and just twenty miles south of 404 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 5: Naielli's neighborhood. A big concentration of active oil wells are 405 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 5: in her district. Formerly, she was on the Long Beach 406 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 5: City Council. According to campaign records, the oil coalition spent 407 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 5: more than one million dollars to promote her campaign, more 408 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 5: than on any other candidate at the time, most of 409 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,639 Speaker 5: it going to billboards and TV ads. 410 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 10: Without blue collar workers, coffee wouldn't get here. 411 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 9: Lena Gonzalez respects what blue collar couples do. 412 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 5: I called Senator Gonzalez to see how she felt about 413 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 5: all this. She says she was surprised when she first 414 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 5: found out that the oil industry was actually supporting her. 415 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 2: I was getting called from the family member, Hey you're 416 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 2: on TV, and hey, I see your sillboards, and I 417 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 2: was like so confused. You know, a lot of fool 418 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 2: were not at me because they were like, you took 419 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 2: money from Shutron, and you took money from balto. 420 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 5: Senator Gonzalez says she had no choice whether to accept 421 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 5: the money or not, and that's true. By law, the 422 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 5: money didn't even pass through her hands. The oil companies 423 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 5: can choose to spend it on whoever they like, but 424 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 5: it still raises questions about her relationship with the industry 425 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 5: and the expectations or pressures that might follow. Senator Gonzalez 426 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 5: again is a Democrat. She has a progressive platform and 427 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 5: has even been endorsed by some environmental groups. On her 428 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,479 Speaker 5: campaign website, she brings up her record on green issues, 429 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 5: cleaning up the La River and fighting against styrofoam. 430 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 10: And what I don't understand is you know why refineries 431 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 10: want to continue to expand pollute our neighborhoods. The state 432 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 10: of California has very tough goals and emissions, but yet 433 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 10: you know, these refineries have so many opportunities to expand 434 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 10: continue to operate. It doesn't make any sense to me. 435 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,160 Speaker 10: So I hope that I will be able to put 436 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 10: my foot down be a strong voice for my community, 437 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,439 Speaker 10: especially communities of color. 438 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 5: I asked her, considering her stance on drilling, why she 439 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,199 Speaker 5: thought the oil coalition chose to spend their money on 440 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:17,880 Speaker 5: her campaign. 441 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 2: I'm not the oil industry. I have no idea, but 442 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 2: I can only speculate. They pick and they target people 443 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 2: that they know that are going to win. 444 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 5: In other words, the oil industry bets and puts money 445 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 5: on front runners with the hope that maybe it buys 446 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 5: them some influence down the line. I asked Rock Zeerman, 447 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 5: the head of the California Independent Petroleum Association you heard 448 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 5: from earlier, why he thinks the oil coalition chose to 449 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 5: fund centered Gonzalez's campaign. 450 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 7: Well, the City of Long Beach is an oil company. 451 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,600 Speaker 7: A lot of the money that they have in their 452 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 7: budget comes from the oil that has produced there, and 453 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 7: so I think the councilwoman, in her tenure on the 454 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 7: city council, has become acquainted with our operations and the 455 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,399 Speaker 7: fact that they're safe, and so I think there was 456 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 7: a confidence there that the councilwoman would come to Sacramento 457 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 7: with the necessary knowledge to make sound decisions. 458 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 5: After relentless lobbing by the oil industry, the bill that 459 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 5: would help create the twenty five hundred foot buffer zone 460 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 5: stalled at the State Assembly. As for Naili and her mom, 461 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 5: even though they pledged to stay and fight, they eventually 462 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 5: moved out of University Park to another part of la. 463 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 3: I'm constantly in that neighborhood, and even though I don't 464 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 3: sleep there anymore, It's always going to be my community. 465 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 5: She's still pushing for the buffer zone law as an activist, 466 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 5: taking part in various campaigns to raise awareness about the 467 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 5: dangers of drilling. Do you think the oil companies are 468 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 5: afraid of you? 469 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 3: They better be, know. I feel like they don't see 470 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 3: me as much of a threat. That it's just a 471 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 3: little girl who's fighting and this and that, like she 472 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 3: won't get anywhere. But I know that isn't true, and 473 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 3: they'll just have to find that out on their own. 474 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 3: I always think of the story of David and Goliath, 475 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 3: this little boy going against a monster, and that little 476 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 3: boy is the person who won that fight. And that's 477 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 3: how this fight is going to end to. 478 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 5: It may not be easy, and it may take time, 479 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 5: but NAILI believes this fight will end with no little 480 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 5: girls having to risk the consequences of living across the 481 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 5: street from an oil site like she once did. 482 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,320 Speaker 1: Our thanks to Andres Caballiro for that story, which aired 483 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: originally in June of twenty nineteen, and we have a 484 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 1: couple of updates for you. In twenty twenty, the bill 485 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: that would have helped to create the twenty five hundred 486 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: foot long buffer zone, Bill AB three forty five, narrowly 487 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: failed to pass in the California State Senate. California is 488 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: still one of the only oil producing states without a 489 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: safety buffer zone between oil production and schools, hospitals, and 490 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: people's homes. As for Nielli, since we spoke with her 491 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: for this story, she was diagnosed with a rare and 492 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: aggressive cancer and she has successfully beat it. This year, 493 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: she won the Goldman Environmental Prize for Environmental Justice for 494 00:30:40,720 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: her continued activism against big oil. This episode was reported 495 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: by Andres Caballero and edited by Marlon Bishop, who is 496 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: mixed by Stephanie Lebau. Fact checking this week by Amy Tardif. 497 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: The Latino USA team also includes Victoria Strada, Renaldo Leanos Junior, 498 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: Andrea Lopez Grusado, Lori mar Marquez, Marta Martinez, Pnile Ramirez, 499 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 1: Mike Sargentnur Saudi, and Nancy Trujillo. Our senior engineer is 500 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: Julia Caruso. Additional engineering support by gabriel Lebiez and JJ Carubin. 501 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: Our marketing manager is Luis Luna. Our theme music was 502 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: composed by Sea Rubinos. I'm your host and executive producer 503 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: Marienno Josa. Join us again on our next episode. In 504 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: the meantime, look for us on your social media and 505 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 1: as always, remember not te bayes pastalla proxima Joe. 506 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 3: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment. 507 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 5: Building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians. 508 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 5: The Annie Casey Foundation. 509 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:04,960 Speaker 3: Creates a brighter future for the nation's children by strengthening families, 510 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:11,200 Speaker 3: building greater economic opportunity, and transforming communities. And funding for 511 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 3: Latino USA's coverage of a culture of health is made 512 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 3: possible in part by a grant from the Robert Wood 513 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 3: Johnson Foundation.