1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,080 Speaker 1: So it was around twenty ten. So I was about 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: nine going on ten that I started getting really sick 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: out of nowhere. 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 2: Naielli Gobbo is now nineteen, but she was just a 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 2: kid when she moved with her mom to University Park, 6 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 2: which is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. 7 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: I got spontaneous nose bleeds extremely frequently. They were so 8 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: intense that I couldn't sleep horizontally anymore. I had to 9 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: sleep vertically so I wouldn't choke on my own blood. 10 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 2: She started getting body spasms to the point where she 11 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 2: sometimes couldn't even walk. She started getting heart palpitations, stomach pain, 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 2: and headaches. 13 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: Every day. I had a different doctor's appointment. It was cardiologist, neurologist, 14 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: gastern terrologist, and all these other specialists. And they never 15 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: found what was wrong with me. 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 3: And I you always speak to that. Warsai was like 17 00:00:58,360 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 3: very scared. 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 2: That's art Nayeli's. 19 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 3: Mom, thinking that she has brained tumor or she has 20 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 3: said heart problems. Sometimes I need to run to a 21 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 3: doctor office because her stomach pen is so intense. 22 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 2: And it wasn't just her. She'd hear other people in 23 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,919 Speaker 2: the neighborhood talk about similar things that were happening to them. 24 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 2: One day, Naielli and her sister were walking back home 25 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 2: from yoga when they noticed a foul smell that reminded 26 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 2: them of over ripe, spoiled fruit. 27 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: And we were like, that's weird, Like we've never smelled 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: this before, so we were like whatever. We just shook 29 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: it off and went inside to our apartment and the 30 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: house was empty. 31 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 2: She says, her mom opened the door of their bedroom 32 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 2: and told her to go in. 33 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: And that's when my mom told us there's an oil 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: wall across the street. 35 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 2: Monique had recently come back from a community meeting with 36 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 2: a toxicologist that said that their health problems were being 37 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 2: caused by an oil well, an oil well in the 38 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: middle of a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles. In 39 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 2: one of their next visits to the doctor, Nayeli's mom 40 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 2: decided to bring up this new piece of information. 41 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: My mom told the doctor, oh, you know, we live 42 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: next to an oil well. I don't know if that 43 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: could have anything to do with this, And the doctor 44 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: took off his glasses, he put him on top of 45 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: his head and said, you need to move. 46 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 2: From fuduro media. It's Latino, USA. I'm Maria Inojosa, and 47 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 2: today we take you to Los Angeles, a city that 48 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,679 Speaker 2: sits on the largest urban oil field in the country. 49 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 2: It's where one young Latina and her mom decided to 50 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 2: take on the powerful oil industry producer. Andres Gabairo picks 51 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 2: up the story from here. 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 4: Once you start looking for oil sites in La you 53 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 4: start to notice them all over the place. And so 54 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 4: I just made this left on Topeico Boulevard. In this case, 55 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 4: I'm on the west side of town, and I'm looking 56 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 4: at a bege seven story structure disguised as an office building, 57 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 4: and there's this giant, let's see one, two, three, four, five, 58 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 4: six or seven story building that has no windows and 59 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 4: it just hovers over the neighborhood. And this I've been 60 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 4: told is the packer drill site that is still active. 61 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 4: Inside this windowless building, there are no floors, just open 62 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 4: space for an oil rig. It also has no roof 63 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 4: so that toxins can escape easily, so you can hear 64 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 4: the birds and then sporadically this sort of mechanical noise 65 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 4: coming from behind the big walls. Here. This specific site 66 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 4: has been active since the late sixties and it still 67 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 4: produces thousands of barrels every year. I wonder how many 68 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 4: people who live here actually know what happens inside this building. 69 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 4: About a five minute drive west, closer towards Fancy Beverly 70 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 4: Hills is another the Cardiff Tower drill site in the 71 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 4: Pico Robertson neighborhood. This area became a Jewish enclave after 72 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 4: World War Two, and it said the tower was built 73 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 4: to resemble a synagogue. Its exterior is still well kept, 74 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 4: painted yellow and white, and there are now forty active 75 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 4: wells beneath it. And so I'm right here at the 76 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 4: entrance to this other windowless tower, and there's a sign 77 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 4: from the California Health and Safety Code that reads, Detectable 78 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 4: amounts of chemicals known to the State of California to 79 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 4: cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm may be 80 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 4: found in crude oil and other petroleum products in their vapors. 81 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 4: If you really take the time, you'll even find a 82 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 4: drill site hidden inside the Beverly Hills Mall. You'll find 83 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 4: four islands off the coast of Long Beach, built to 84 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 4: resemble a tropical world of fake waterfalls and palm trees 85 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 4: that cover up more than a thousand oil wells. That 86 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 4: project was courtesy of the same company that helped build Disneyland. 87 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 4: But the reality is that not all the drill sites 88 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 4: in Los Angeles are this esthetically pleasing or guarded by 89 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 4: four walls to redirect toxins away from residences. For example, 90 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 4: the site near where Nayelle lives. She's the nineteen year 91 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 4: old we heard from before, the one with the nosebleeds 92 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 4: and other symptoms. The site is so well hidden that 93 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 4: the family lived across from it for a while without 94 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 4: knowing it was active. I followed Nielli and Monique for 95 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 4: a quick. 96 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 3: Tour, and that beautiful breadbuilding, this one are. 97 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 4: Here, Yes, on that corner from Naielli's building, if you 98 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 4: look less than sixty feet across the street, you'll see 99 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 4: a big concrete wall partially covered by plants. And then 100 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 4: there's a gate with some signs on it. You made 101 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 4: a Lukasaki gate, a yellow gate that says Alinco Energy Inc. 102 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 4: Alenko Energy about the oil production facility about a year 103 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 4: before Naieli moved across the street. They're a smaller oil 104 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 4: company with a few operations in southern California. Naili and 105 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 4: Monique then take me a couple of floors up into 106 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 4: a parking structure where you can get a clear look 107 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 4: at the Alanko site from above. How did you find 108 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 4: this spot by the. 109 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: Way, Oh my mom found it. I don't know. Since 110 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: we're at a high elevation, you get a better view 111 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: of what's really behind this big wall. So there's pipes, tanks, 112 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: all kinds of other weird looking stuff underground. They have 113 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: twenty one well. 114 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 3: So you can see the blue pipes. They are the 115 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 3: escapes for these films and they are wide open to 116 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 3: that community. I always ah how close it is from 117 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 3: a schools, and we have nineties. 118 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 4: Schools right here. Oil rigs in La neighborhoods are nothing new. 119 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 4: The beginning of oil production in Los Angeles goes way 120 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,239 Speaker 4: back to the eighteen seventies when oil was discovered there. 121 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 4: Back then, the city only had a population of about 122 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 4: five thousand. Before would be actors flocked to Los Angeles. 123 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 4: People came here with dreams of striking oil. You may 124 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 4: remember the film There Will Be Blood starring Daniel day 125 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 4: Lewis that took place just north of La Ladies. 126 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 5: And gentlemen, if I say I'm an oil man, you 127 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 5: will agree, I'm a family man. 128 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 4: By the eighteen nineties, LA's population had grown ten. That's 129 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 4: when a man named Edward L. Dohaney sharpened the sixty 130 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 4: foot eucalyptus log, which he then used to drill one 131 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 4: of the city's first wells. That site today is known 132 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 4: as Echo Park. By nineteen thirty, California produced almost a 133 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 4: quarter of the world's oil. LA was basically that eras 134 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 4: Saudi Arabia. If you look at the black and white 135 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 4: photos of Los Angeles Venice Beach, Long Beach back in 136 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 4: the twenties, thirties, and even fifties, he'll be shocked at 137 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 4: the sea of oil rigs that once covered these parts 138 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 4: of the city and its coasts. Now most of the 139 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 4: oil has already been extracted, but many operations are still 140 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 4: going and new drilling permits are still being handed out. 141 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 4: In order to exploit what's left, oil companies have had 142 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 4: to resort to more sophisticated extraction methods, and these methods 143 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 4: release toxins known to cause health issues. In twenty ten, 144 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 4: Alenko Energy, the oil company that had been operating in 145 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 4: Nielli's neighborhood when she and her mom moved in, started 146 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 4: engaging in acidizing, a process similar to fracking in which 147 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 4: acids are used to dissolve rock and then free up 148 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 4: oil deposits that are deep beneath the surface. After they 149 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 4: started acidizing, production for Alanko Energy went up by four 150 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 4: hundred percent, but so did the number of neighbors complaining 151 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 4: about their horrible smells, people with headaches, children with recurring nosebleeds. 152 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 4: That was the same year that Nayelli moved to the 153 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 4: neighborhood across the street from Alinco is Nielli's building, which 154 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 4: is owned by a nonprofit that offers affordable housing to 155 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 4: low income families. Here, her mom actually works for the 156 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 4: nonprofit that community. 157 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: Feel that a lot of people experience in Latino cultures. 158 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 1: If my mom needed a tomato, for example, I know 159 00:09:58,040 --> 00:09:59,719 Speaker 1: I could go tell our next door neighbor and we 160 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:00,439 Speaker 1: get that. 161 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 3: My neighbor who is beautiful, the Eloteo man yelling, the 162 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 3: lady selling tamals kids from a school running. 163 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 4: When he came from Mexico decades ago, like most people 164 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 4: looking for better opportunities, Naieli's dad was an immigrant as well, 165 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,440 Speaker 4: but the relationship eventually became abusive. She decided to leave 166 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 4: and raise Nailli as a single mom. 167 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: My mom had the strength and courage to leave my father. No, 168 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: it was like a really tough call to make. Like 169 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: I've always admired her for that, and she's like, really 170 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: my best friend. 171 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 4: Her mom was the kind of person that would never 172 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 4: accept defeat. So after Naielle got sick and the doctor 173 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 4: told them to move, her reaction was to do the opposite, 174 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 4: to stay and fight. 175 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 3: Because if I moved, another family came and it's getting 176 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 3: sick again. I think that to shut down permanently Alenko 177 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 3: energy is the solution. 178 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: So it all started with door to door knocking, mom saying, hey, 179 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: do you smell this? Do you know what's going on? 180 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 6: Oh? 181 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: It smells Okay, go knock on so and so the door, 182 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: and now go down the block and tell these other 183 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: families to call. 184 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 4: Nailie and her mom started organizing neighbors to call the 185 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 4: Southern California Air Quality Management District, which is a state 186 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,839 Speaker 4: agency in charge of dealing with air related health complaints. 187 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,120 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, we did that, what else can we do? 188 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: It was creating town hall meetings. It was finding out 189 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 1: when we could go to city hall hearings. 190 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 2: All right, vacacy. 191 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 5: Is more than simply voting, but it's holding outlet officials. 192 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 4: Eventually they got the support of the nonprofit that runs 193 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 4: the low income housing unit they lived in, and they 194 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 4: created a campaign called People Not Posos, People Not Wells 195 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 4: to shut down the Allenco site. 196 00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: The GRADRUD campaign in South Los Angeles really started because 197 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: of the moms. The moms wanting to give their children 198 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: the ability to clean air. And something my mom always says, 199 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: which I like to point out, is that when she 200 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: immigrated here for Mexico, she never thought she'd have to 201 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: fight for a right to breathe clean air. 202 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,319 Speaker 4: There are around five thousand active wells in LA County 203 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 4: and more than eight hundred within the LA City limits alone, 204 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 4: and according to studies by advocacy groups, the majority of 205 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 4: these active wells are near low income Black and Latino neighborhoods. 206 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 4: After all, low income families are less likely to have 207 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 4: the resources to put up a fight to get rid 208 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 4: of drilling in their neighborhoods. For many years, there was 209 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 4: little oversight of oil operations in Los Angeles. In fact, 210 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:52,839 Speaker 4: the city's petroleum administrator position was left vacant for decades. 211 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 4: Only a few years ago, partly in response to communities organizing, 212 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 4: did the city finally fill the post, And even for 213 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 4: the regulations that were in place, some seemed only to 214 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,599 Speaker 4: apply to wider, more affluent areas. 215 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: It was heartbreaking knowing that my life didn't matter as 216 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,319 Speaker 1: much as the little girls in Beverly Hills because she's 217 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: not exposed to toxic commissions, but i am. 218 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 4: According to advocates, sites on the West Side were regularly 219 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 4: required to use electric rigs to help reduce diesel emissions 220 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 4: and noise, but in South LA, where Naieli lives, that 221 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 4: rule seemed to not be enforced, and oil operations in 222 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 4: wealthier areas also seemed to have more protections like bigger 223 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 4: or enclosed walls to reduce pollution. 224 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: Yet when it was in the hood per se with 225 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: black and brown people, immigrant people, they didn't care about us. 226 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: It can be allowed, whereas in Beverly Hills there had 227 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: to be silent machines and we never got that. 228 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,079 Speaker 4: Naielli and her mom continued to organize now with a 229 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,319 Speaker 4: group called Stand LA until they finally got the attention 230 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 4: of US Senator Barbara Boxer, who flew down to La 231 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 4: and held a press conference there along with Naielli. And 232 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 4: other activists. She called for Alenko Energy to seize all 233 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 4: operations in the neighborhood. The attention prompted on site inspections 234 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 4: by state and federal agencies. Local papers reported that at 235 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 4: least one EPA official got sick while inspecting the Alenko site, 236 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 4: and in twenty thirteen, finally what Naielli and her mom 237 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 4: started led to a victory for the neighborhood. Aleenko Energy 238 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 4: voluntarily halted its operations with pending investigations by several agencies. 239 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: And it's spent years that they've been temporarily shut down. 240 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 4: They won another victory in twenty fifteen after a lawsuit 241 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 4: led to Alinko having to pay more than one million 242 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 4: dollars in penalties and to revamp their safety monitoring system 243 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 4: before even being able to open again. I reached out 244 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 4: to Alenko for comment, but they didn't return my messages. 245 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 4: Naielli and her mom, along with other advocacy groups, have 246 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 4: now set their sights on a bigger target, closing down 247 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 4: every well in Los Angeles. But the oil industry isn't 248 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 4: going to take that fight. Lying down. 249 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 2: Coming up on Latino USA, we hear from a representative 250 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 2: of the oil industry, and we look into how influential 251 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 2: big oil really is in local politics. Stay with us, 252 00:15:37,200 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 2: not devices. Hey, we're back. When we left off, anti 253 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 2: oil advocates had won in a fight to shut down 254 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 2: oil wells in a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles. 255 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 2: Now we're going to hear why going up against the 256 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 2: oil industry isn't so easy, andres Caballero is going to 257 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 2: pick it up from here. 258 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 4: For Naielli and her mom, shutting down a few oil 259 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 4: wells across the street from where they live is one thing, 260 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 4: but they had a much bigger goal in mind. I 261 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 4: met up with them at a rally at LA City 262 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 4: Hall where more than one hundred people gathered and listened 263 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 4: to Naili speak. 264 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 6: So that's why we're here at city Hall asking our 265 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 6: politicians that work for us, because we put them in 266 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,480 Speaker 6: those states and we can just as easily take them out. 267 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 6: So we are on the south lawn of Los Angeles 268 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 6: City Hall. We are having a rally on behalf of 269 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,879 Speaker 6: Stand Dela so we can tell LA City Council members 270 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 6: to vote yes on the twenty five hundred but health 271 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 6: and Safety buffer zone. 272 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:40,199 Speaker 4: The twenty five hundred foot buffer zone. The idea is 273 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 4: to create a law at either city or state level 274 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 4: that mandates a half mile buffer zone between drill sites 275 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:51,919 Speaker 4: and places like schools, residences, playgrounds, or hospitals. About nine 276 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 4: hundred thousand people in California live within a half mile 277 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 4: of an active oil or gaswell. This is according to 278 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 4: the Environmental Defense Fund. But a challenge to passing a 279 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 4: law like this is that to do so, you have 280 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 4: to go up against the oil industry. And I happen 281 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,399 Speaker 4: to get an opportunity to speak with a representative of 282 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 4: the oil industry myself. 283 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 5: In the LA basin, if you draw half mile radius 284 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 5: circles around all production, you would end all production. 285 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 4: That's Rocket Zerman. He's the CEO of the California Independent 286 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 4: Petroleum Association. When you think of oil companies, you probably 287 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,919 Speaker 4: imagine giant corporations, but many of the companies drilling in 288 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 4: LA are actually small, some even family run operations. Zerman 289 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 4: represents about four hundred of these independent oil and gas producers. 290 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 4: He argues that the buffer zone that Naielle and her 291 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 4: mom want to see is shortsighted. 292 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 5: It would definitely shut down nearly all oil and gas 293 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 5: production in Los Angeles and those lost barrels would simply 294 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 5: have to be imported from foreign countries, primarily Saudi Arabia. Obviously, 295 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,679 Speaker 5: in California, we operate under the strictest environmental rules and 296 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 5: regulations in the world, and if we were to outsource 297 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 5: our oil and import it from the Middle East, we 298 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 5: would simply be trading our strict environmental rules for their 299 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 5: very loose environmental rules, and that would harm the environment. 300 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 4: But then there's a more pressing issue, which is what 301 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 4: got community advocates to mobilize in the first place, the 302 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:32,199 Speaker 4: impact oil drilling is having on people's health. In twenty eighteen, 303 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 4: a report released by the Los Angeles County Department of 304 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 4: Public Health from the oil and gas operations close to 305 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 4: residential neighborhoods is a major risk factor. But Zerman says 306 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 4: that studies like these are not backed by proper scientific research. 307 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 5: Most of the agencies that actually use scientific methods to 308 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,960 Speaker 5: go evaluate our operations find that our operations are safe. 309 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 5: But a lot of these, for instance, will just plot 310 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 5: where people live and then they'll say oil and gas 311 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,640 Speaker 5: may be near, and so whatever problems there are, they'll 312 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 5: attribute it to oil and gas operations and discount the 313 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 5: fact that they're near highways, they're near the port, they're 314 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 5: near all kinds of sources of pollution. 315 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 4: This is an argument you hear from the industry side 316 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 4: a lot, that health complaints are exaggerated or unconfirmed, and 317 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 4: that there's still no actual proof directly linking oil operations 318 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:35,399 Speaker 4: to people's health problems. I reached out to the South 319 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 4: Coast air Quality Management District. That's the state agency that 320 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 4: monitors air quality, which also helped investigate Alenco. They do 321 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 4: say that many health complaints may be related to proximity 322 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 4: to highways and exposure to traffic pollution, but they shared 323 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 4: an interesting piece of data with me that suggests that 324 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 4: an active drill site can make air pollution worse. They 325 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 4: took air quality data before and after Allenko stopped drilling 326 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 4: in Nili's neighborhood, and they found a big improvement in 327 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 4: air quality after they stopped, a nearly forty percent drop 328 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:12,719 Speaker 4: in methane. I asked Zerman how he can say that 329 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 4: oil drilling isn't affecting people's health when sites like Alinko 330 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 4: are being shut down for violations. I mean the fact 331 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,199 Speaker 4: that a Linko Energy, for example, had operations halted, you know, 332 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 4: by a judge was ordered to pay a fine. Is 333 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 4: that an indication of something? 334 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 5: Obviously there are going to be some instances for any 335 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 5: industry where you may have one or two examples of issues. 336 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 5: If you're not compliant with rules and regulations, the city 337 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 5: and the Division Oil and Gas and the water and 338 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,160 Speaker 5: air districts absolutely should take action. 339 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 4: Is there an actual difference in how companies are behaving 340 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 4: or abiding by regulations in wealthy areas compared to less 341 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 4: wealthy ones. 342 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 5: None, whatsoever. We operate in Beverly Hills where there's oil 343 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 5: productions to buy multimillion dollar homes. We produce where the 344 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 5: oil is, so we don't get to choose where our 345 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:12,120 Speaker 5: facilities are located. They're located where the oil is underground, 346 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 5: and historically they were there first and the community built 347 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 5: up around those oil facilities. 348 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,120 Speaker 4: Zerman says that he's concerned that if more regulations are 349 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 4: passed for the industry as a whole, jobs would also 350 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 4: be lost. 351 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 5: Now you have people in Los Angeles that have high 352 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 5: paying jobs that are going to lose their jobs. 353 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 4: Zeerman's organization connected me with the California Resources Corporation, where 354 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,120 Speaker 4: Mada Castro works as a well analyst. 355 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 7: Both of my parents, being born in Mexico, came out here. 356 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 7: My dad had two jobs. My mom worked at a 357 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 7: hotel cleaned houses on the weekends just to make ends meet. 358 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 4: She also thinks that there's a lot of misinformation in 359 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 4: communities linking oil drilling to health hazards, and she's afraid 360 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 4: that if any buffer zone law were passed, her company 361 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 4: would have to shut down. 362 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 7: Because we are so close to so many homes. If 363 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 7: you're in this industry and you see something like that, 364 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 7: you definitely have that in the back of your mind. 365 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:11,880 Speaker 7: Every day you come to ear that I won't have 366 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,360 Speaker 7: a good career to provide for my kids. 367 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 4: This is the type of scenario where the government is 368 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 4: cut up between the interests of communities who say their 369 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 4: health will be better without oil production and those like 370 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 4: Maida whose livelihoods depend on oil production. If the buffer 371 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 4: zone law is passed in La or at a state level, 372 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 4: it would be a major blow for the oil industry. 373 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 4: But one of the reasons it's hard to get bills 374 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 4: like that through the legislature is that the oil industry 375 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 4: has a lot of political muscle. Even in ultra green California. 376 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 4: In twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen, the Western States Petroleum Association, 377 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 4: the industry's main lobby group, spent nearly sixteen million dollars 378 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:12,160 Speaker 4: to persuade legislators to vote for their interests. A year 379 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 4: before that, a group called the Coalition to Restore California's 380 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 4: Middle Class, basically a kind of superpack, spent about two 381 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,880 Speaker 4: million dollars on eight candidates. Six of those candidates were 382 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,679 Speaker 4: Latino and Black Democrats. That same oil coalition poured a 383 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,400 Speaker 4: ton of money into recently elected California Senator Lena Gonzalez. 384 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 4: She's a Latina Democrat and she represents Senate District thirty three, 385 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 4: which includes Long Beach, also partly in Los Angeles County 386 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,880 Speaker 4: and just twenty miles south of Naielli's neighborhood. A big 387 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 4: concentration of active oil wells are in her district. Formerly, 388 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 4: she was on the Long Beach City Council. According to 389 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 4: campaign records, the Oil Coalition spent more than one million 390 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 4: dollars to promote her campaign, more than on any other 391 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 4: candidate at the time, most of it going to billboards 392 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 4: and TV ads. 393 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 7: Without blue collar workers, coffee wouldn't get here. 394 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,159 Speaker 6: Nina Gonzalez respects what blue collar couples do. 395 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 4: I called Senator Gonzalez to see how she felt about 396 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 4: all this. She said she was surprised when she first 397 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,680 Speaker 4: found out that the oil industry was actually supporting her. 398 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 8: I was getting called from a family member, Hey you're 399 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 8: on TV, and hey, I see your billboards, and I 400 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 8: was like so confused. You know, a lot of food. 401 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:31,880 Speaker 9: Were not at me because they were like, you took 402 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 9: money from Chevron and he took money from Balto. 403 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,919 Speaker 4: Senator Gonzalez says she had no choice whether to accept 404 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,159 Speaker 4: the money or not, and that's true. By law, the 405 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 4: money didn't even pass through her hands. The oil companies 406 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 4: can choose to spend it on whoever they like, but 407 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 4: it still raises questions about her relationship with the industry 408 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 4: and the expectations or pressures that might follow. Senator Gonzalez 409 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,199 Speaker 4: again is a Democrat. She has a progressive platform and 410 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,439 Speaker 4: has even been in by some environmental groups. On her 411 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,640 Speaker 4: campaign website, she brings up her record on green issues, 412 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,880 Speaker 4: cleaning up the La River and fighting against styrofoam. 413 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,680 Speaker 9: And what I don't understand is you know why refineries 414 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 9: want to continue to expand pollute our neighborhoods. The state 415 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 9: of California has very tough goals and emission, but yet, 416 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 9: you know, these refineries have so many opportunities to expand, 417 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 9: to continue to operate, and it's still gonna make any 418 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 9: sense to me. So I hope that I will be 419 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 9: able to put my foot down be a strong voice 420 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 9: for my community, especially communities of color. 421 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 4: I asked her, considering her stance on drilling, why she 422 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 4: thought the oil coalition chose to spend their money on 423 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 4: her campaign. 424 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 8: I'm not the oil industry. I have no idea, but 425 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 8: I can only seculate. They pick and they target people 426 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:50,120 Speaker 8: that they know that are going to win. 427 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,720 Speaker 4: In other words, the oil industry bets and puts money 428 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 4: on front runners with the hope that maybe it buys 429 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 4: them some influence down the line. I asked Rock Zeerman, 430 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 4: the head of the California Independent Petroleum Association you heard 431 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 4: from earlier, why he thinks the oil coalition chose to 432 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 4: fund centered Gonzalez's campaign. 433 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 5: Well, the city of Long Beach is an oil company. 434 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 5: A lot of the money that they have in their 435 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 5: budget comes from the oil that has produced there, and 436 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 5: so I think the councilwoman, in her tenure on the 437 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:25,119 Speaker 5: city Council has become acquainted with our operations and the 438 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 5: fact that they're safe, and so I think there was 439 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 5: a confidence there that the councilwoman would come to Sacramento 440 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 5: with the necessary knowledge to make sound decisions. 441 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 4: After relentless lobbying by the oil industry, the bill that 442 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 4: would help create the twenty five hundred foot buffer zone 443 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:49,880 Speaker 4: stalled at the State Assembly. As for Naili and her mom, 444 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,439 Speaker 4: even though they pledged to stay and fight, they eventually 445 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 4: moved out of University Park to another part of. 446 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: La I'm constantly in that neighborhood, and even though I 447 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,440 Speaker 1: don't sleep there anymore, it's always going to be my community. 448 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 4: She's still pushing for the buffer's own law as an activist, 449 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 4: taking part in various campaigns to raise awareness about the 450 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 4: dangers of drilling. Do you think the oil companies are 451 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 4: afraid of you? 452 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:16,720 Speaker 10: They better be. 453 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: I feel like they don't see me as much of 454 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 1: a threat. That's just a little girl who's fighting and 455 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,719 Speaker 1: this and that, like she won't get anywhere. But I 456 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 1: know that isn't true, and they'll just have to find 457 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: that out on their own. I always think of the 458 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: story of David and Goliath, this little boy going against 459 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: a monster, and that little boy is the person who 460 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: won that fight. And that's how this fight is going 461 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: to end. 462 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 4: To It may not be easy, and it may take time, 463 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 4: but Naili believes this fight will end with no little 464 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 4: girls having to risk the consequences of living across the 465 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 4: street from an oil side like she once did. 466 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 2: Our thanks to andres Caaballiro for that story, which aired 467 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 2: originally in June of twenty nineteen, and we have a 468 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 2: couple of updates for you. This passed August. Bill AB 469 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 2: three forty five, the bill that would have helped to 470 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 2: create that twenty five hundred feet buffer zone, narrowly failed 471 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 2: to pass in the California State Senate. California is still 472 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 2: one of the only oil producing states without a safety 473 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 2: buffer zone between oil production and schools, hospitals, and people's homes. 474 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 2: As for Naielli, she was diagnosed with a rare and 475 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 2: aggressive cancer last year. She's now recovering after multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, 476 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 2: and radiation session, and she's already thinking of making a 477 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 2: comeback soon in the fight against big oil. This episode 478 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 2: was reported by andres Caballero and edited by Marlon Bishop. 479 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 2: The Latino USA team includes Miel Masis, Andrea Lopees Crusado, 480 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 2: Julieta Martinelli, Alisa Escarce, Gini Montalgo, Alejandra sarasad Renaldo, Leangos 481 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 2: Junior and Julia Rocha, with help from Marta Martinez and 482 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 2: Raoul Perez. Fact checking for this episode by Amy Tardiff. 483 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 2: Our engineers are Stephanie Lebau, Julia Caruso and Lea Shaw, 484 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 2: with help from Alishiba YouTube. Our digital editor is Luis Luna. 485 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 2: Our theme music was composed by Sane Robinos. If you 486 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 2: like the music you heard on this episode, stop by 487 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 2: Latino Usa dot orgain check out our weekly Spotify playlist. 488 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 2: I'm your host and executive producer Maria ino Josa. Join 489 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 2: us again on our next episode, and in the meantime, 490 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 2: I'll see you on all of our social media. Hi 491 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 2: Los meo Joe. 492 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 10: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 493 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 10: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians, 494 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 10: the New York Women's Foundation, funding women leaders that build 495 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,480 Speaker 10: solutions in their communities, and celebrating thirty years of radical 496 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 10: generosity and funding for Latino USA is Coverage of a 497 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 10: culture of health is made possible in part by a 498 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 10: grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 499 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 2: I'm Maria ro josam and next time on Latino USA. 500 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 2: A portrait of Gabby Rivera. She's a novelist and a 501 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 2: comic book writer, Penny for Marvel's Superhero America. Job is 502 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 2: That's next time on Latino USA.