Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground

Facts by Issue Frame

+ Equity and Environmental Justice

• Due to the proximity of oil and gas wells to low-income neighborhoods in many regions, fossil fuel extraction disproportionately harms communities of color, particularly Black and Latinx. In Texas, fracking wastewater wells overwhelmingly harm Latinx communities.

• Oil and gas pipelines frequently cut through Indigenous ancestral lands and violate long-standing treaties between tribal nations and the U.S. government. They can destroy previously untouched natural environments and contaminate drinking water and agricultural groundwater (such as rice paddies) for Indigenous communities.
  • Example: Line 3 in Minnesota. The oil company Enbridge is currently constructing a pipeline (known as Line 3) from Alberta tar sands through Minnesota to Wisconsin. The pipeline has received support from the Biden administration despite cutting through the untouched wetlands territory of the Anishinaabe people, including a rice watershed central to their food system. It is estimated that upon completion, Line 3 would contribute more to climate change than the entire economy of Minnesota. The Stop Line 3 movement represents organized opposition to the pipeline and has forced Indigenous communities and their allies to the front lines.

• The impacts of the fossil fuel economy are disproportionately felt by communities of color, and half of those within 3 miles of a Superfund site are people of color.

• A recent EPA study on four vulnerable groups found that racial minorities will suffer disproportionately from the effects on climate change. Specifically, Black Americans are 40% more likely to live in areas with increased climate change-related mortality rates. The numbers for other racial groups all show increased likelihood to live in those areas over non-POC Americans: Hispanic/Latino at 43%, American Indians at 48%, and Asian Americans at 23%.

• Low-income Americans and those with no high school diploma are 25% more likely to live in areas with high projected labor loss due to climate change, according to the EPA.

+ Public Health

• Nearly 17.6 million Americans already live within one mile of an active oil or gas well, with thousands more located near major pipelines. Oil and gas extraction sites leak methane and over 60 other hazardous pollutants, including known carcinogens. A number of studies have linked proximity to oil and gas operations with respiratory disease, cancer, birth defects, sleep deprivation, mental health issues, and premature death.

• Health externalities from fossil fuel use comprise 350,000 preventable deaths each year.

• Health effects of climate change can be caused by air and water pollution that directly result from the burning of fossil fuels, but climate change also alters environmental determinants of health, such as extreme heat, corroded infrastructure, proliferation of disease, famine, drought, and natural disasters.

+ Rapid Decarbonization

• The International Energy Agency has stated that new fossil exploration must stop imminently if we are to avoid catastrophic global warming. The U.S. already has the daunting task of phasing out 900,000+ operational oil and gas wells in the U.S.—we can’t afford additional drilling and pipelines.

• A new report on the so-called "production gap" demonstrates that governments around the world are on track to more than double the amount of new fossil fuel production than would be sustainable to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

• Most new fossil projects draw oil from tar sands and gas from shale, which are incredibly high-emissions processes. Tar sands extraction can be up to 4x as carbon-intensive as conventional oil, while the potent methane emissions derived from shale are often overlooked.

• New drilling severely disrupts ecosystems, particularly in the Arctic. Both onshore and offshore fossil extraction projects lead to the displacement and death of wildlife and destruction of habitats, and they often leave lasting environmental damage.

+ Jobs

• Jobs in oil and gas drilling can be lucrative, but are also extremely hazardous to health and safety. Moreover, jobs in fossil energy extraction are unstable. This will only become truer as clean energy increasingly delivers better return on investment than fossil fuels, leading to abandoned fossil energy extraction sites and infrastructure as funding dries up.

• Oil prices in particular are volatile, and fluctuations in the global oil market can unexpectedly cost a worker their job.

• Clean energy jobs pay less than dangerous work on oil rigs, but they currently pay 25% above the median wage, higher than many other fossil fuel jobs. Importantly, clean energy jobs are more stable—and unlike fossil fuels, their industry is experiencing explosive growth.

• Jobs in the fossil fuel industry can pay well, but that’s because they pose extreme risks to health and safety for workers who spend hours on end in coal mines and on oil rigs. Clean energy jobs are safer and healthier for our workers.

• Fossil fuel jobs tend to be centralized in just a few states, whereas clean energy jobs can happen in every state. A movement towards a clean economy will expand job opportunities.

• Low-income Americans and those with no high school diploma are 25% more likely to live in areas with high projected labor loss due to climate change, according to the EPA.

• With no action on climate change, extreme heat will force U.S. outdoor workers to collectively lose $55.4 billion in earnings per year.

+ International Affairs & National Security

• New analysis in the National Intelligence Assessment on climate and the Pentagon's Defense Climate Risk Assessment detect increased risk to U.S. national security due to climate change. The reports highlight heightened risk of migration crises, unstable infrastructure around U.S. military assets, and new risk of conflict over depleted resources.

• The U.S. military spends at least $81 billion per year defending global oil supplies. This puts American troops at risk and takes resources away from other critical national security objectives.

• In order to demonstrate credibility abroad, particularly at U.N. climate conferences such as COP26, the U.S. must begin aligning its domestic policy with its commitments under the Paris Agreement.

+ Impacts on Urban & Rural Communities

From the Global Change National Climate Assessment :

• "Climate change and its impacts threaten the well-being of urban residents in all U.S. regions. Essential infrastructure systems such as water, energy supply, and transportation will increasingly be compromised by interrelated climate change impacts. The nation’s economy, security, and culture all depend on the resilience of urban infrastructure systems."

• "Approximately 245 million people live in U.S. urban areas, a number expected to grow to 364 million by 2050."

• "Many major U.S. metropolitan areas, for example, are located on or near the coast and face higher exposure to particular climate impacts like sea level rise and storm surge, and thus may face complex and costly adaptation demands."

• "The urban elderly are particularly sensitive to heat waves. They are often physically frail, have limited financial resources, and live in relative isolation in their apartments. They may not have adequate cooling (or heating), or may be unable to temporarily relocate to cooling stations. "

• Meanwhile, "rural communities are highly dependent upon natural resources for their livelihoods and social structures. Climate change related impacts are currently affecting rural communities. These impacts will progressively increase over this century and will shift the locations where rural economic activities (like agriculture, forestry, and recreation) can thrive."

• "Physical isolation, limited economic diversity, and higher poverty rates, combined with an aging population, increase the vulnerability of rural communities. Systems of fundamental importance to rural populations are already stressed by remoteness and limited access."