Despite California’s image as a “green” and “progressive” leader, there has been a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling in the state under Governor Jerry Brown. The state’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources approved 21,397 new wells between Jan. 1, 2011 and April 14, 2018, according to a new analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). The total number of wells includes the hundreds of offshore wells approved under the Brown administration.

“Of the 16,554 of those wells with available geographic information, 76 percent are located in communities with above-average poverty rates for California, while 67 percent are located in communities of color,” said CBD in a press release. Thousands of wells operate dangerously close to homes and schools in vulnerable communities.

On August 7, 35 California youth held a sit-in at Governor Jerry Brown’s office at the state capitol in Sacramento, demanding that he freeze new fossil fuel drilling and develop a plan to phase out oil and gas extraction. Six of them were arrested that night.

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