11 September
Webinar: Science and policy for energy and infrastructure justice
This Oct. 22 webinar will bring together three current fellows of the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice program.
www.healthandenvironment.org
This Oct. 22 webinar will bring together three current fellows of the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice program.
“Women, in all of their diversity, must be at the center of climate and energy decision-making.”
HOUSTON — Black, Latine and Indigenous women are disproportionately suffering from the fossil fuel industry in North America, according to a new report.
The report, published by Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), analyzed existing research about fossil fuel extraction and related facilities to explore the unequal impacts on women of color in North America. WECAN identified nine regions that appeared most frequently, including the Gulf Coast, to focus additional research. From this, the group highlighted six issues that appeared most often in research associated with the fossil fuel industry: environmental racism, increased caretaking responsibilities, pollution, fertility and reproduction impacts, “man camps” and mental health effects. Impacts were either related to race, income status, gender identity or a combination of these three.
“This is an egregious list, and these [fossil fuel] activities must be stopped,” Osprey Orielle Lake, report author and executive director of WECAN, told EHN.
The report highlights an “indisputable connection” between the fossil fuel industry’s practices and negative impacts to Black, Indigenous, Latine, and low-income women’s health, safety and human rights.
The report points to fossil fuel pollution links to infertility and pregnancy complications, as well as rising temperatures’ links to preterm births, stillbirths, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders and endocrine dysfunction.
For example, in the Eagle Ford Shale region of Texas, flaring was more likely to occur near Latine residents and women living within three miles of the
Eagle Ford shale basin had a 50% higher chance for preterm births than those living farther away, according to a 2020 study. Pennsylvania women living near active fracking sites had 40% and 30% increased risk of experiencing preterm births and high-risk pregnancies, respectively, according to a 2016 study.
The authors also highlighted that air and water pollution, and climate impacts such as extreme heat, often add responsibility for women who are often taking care of children and homes. Women will “continue to be disproportionately responsible for reproductive labor,” for unpaid household tasks like dishes, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of elderly family members and children.
“When water and air become polluted, making elders and children at home sick, and safe food and water supplies hard to obtain, it imposes significant stress and strain on women’s daily lives,” the authors wrote. “For example, mothers are 10 times more likely than fathers to take time off of work to care for sick children, placing women at greater risk of lost wages or being let go.”
Fossil fuel production can also bring about transient work camps, or “man camps” — defined as the temporary residence areas for oil and gas project workers, predominantly young men — which have been linked to increased rates sexual assault and violence against women.
“Extensive research points to the hyper-masculine nature of man camps, which leads to social isolation, lack of self-care, and significant alcohol and drug use, as well as an increase in demand for sex trafficking,” the authors wrote.
Similar to Canada, in the U.S. only 2% of land is designated for Indigenous reservations, but those reservations hold about 20% of the country’s fossil fuel reserves, placing Indigenous women at an increased risk from man camps, amidst an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.
This combination of pollution and physical health effects, increased unpaid caretaking, and the potential for violence leave women more susceptible to mental health effects from fossil fuel production, the authors write, citing numerous studies from Colorado to Pennsylvania that linked oil and gas extraction to depression, anxiety and chronic stress.
These impacts are expected to grow as the fossil fuel industry expands. The International Energy Forum anticipates that liquified natural gas trade, for example, will increase 25% by 2028. Petrochemical facilities looking to meet the growing demand for plastics, which is expected to triple by 2060, are also expected to expand.
The report notes the Gulf Coast is leading in the nation for liquified natural gas production and expansion. At least six facilities were proposed in Texas this year, with half moving forward in construction.
Additionally, the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical and oil refinery presence is the largest in the nation. In 2020, of the top 10 refineries that have cancer-causing benzene levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action levels, six were along Texas’ Gulf Coast and are located within predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities. Since then, the number of refineries above the EPA action level have decreased to six, but the Houston-area Pemex (formally Shell) Deer Park Refinery is exceeding the standard more than any of the other remaining refineries and its annual emissions increased to 17.3 micrograms per cubic meter in 2023 — nearly double the EPA’s action level. Authors of the report note that the percentage of the population that is Latine in Deer Park is nearly double the national average, at 36.8%.
At the same time, climate change is expected to accelerate through the fossil fuel industry’s climate-warming emissions, and roughly 80% of climate refugees are women. This displacement could contribute to further issues finding work, leading to higher risks of physical and sexual violence.
“There is an urgent need to address these crises because the lives of women and their communities are at stake,” Orielle Lake told EHN. “The report calls for a just transition that addresses the needs of communities most impacted and vulnerable to the climate crisis and continued reliance on fossil fuels.”
In addition, the group put out a series of recommendations for banking institutions that finance or in some way monetarily support fossil fuel companies, including: divesting, adhering to human rights recommendations from the United Nations and adhering to commitments from the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Women, in all of their diversity, must be at the center of climate and energy decision-making,” Orielle Lake said.
The Biden administration’s new methane rule was blocked by a federal judge in North Dakota, who ruled that it infringes on state authority in five states.
In short:
Key quote:
“BLM haphazardly adds more stringent flaring restrictions and bureaucratic hoops the states have to jump through.”
— Judge Daniel Traynor
Why this matters:
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and stricter controls on emissions are key to addressing climate change. However, the ruling reflects ongoing tensions between federal and state regulations, particularly in energy-rich regions.
Severe floods in West and Central Africa have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced close to a million, with entire communities submerged and aid falling short.
In short:
Key quote:
“The impact of climate change is what we’re witnessing right now. There’s no way we can prevent major disasters from happening, but there are steps we can take to lessen the effect.”
— Olasunkanmi Okunola, flood risk management scientist
Why this matters:
Floods in West and Central Africa are exacerbated by climate change, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities. Lack of international funding and poor infrastructure compound the region’s struggle to address both immediate and long-term needs.
The Hague has passed the world’s first law prohibiting advertisements promoting fossil fuel products and high-carbon services like aviation and cruise ships.
In short:
Key quote:
“The Hague shows the courage needed to tackle the climate crisis.”
— Femke Sleegers, Reclame Fossielvrij
Why this matters:
Fossil fuel ads promote unsustainable behaviors that conflict with climate policy. Banning these ads can help shift public focus toward sustainable options like public transport, supporting broader environmental goals.
Major oil companies are joining forces with startups and scientists to use oil industry technology to accelerate geothermal energy, which could become a key source of clean, on-demand power.
In short:
Key quote:
“There’s a lot of technical resources in the oil and gas industry that can be systematically applied to the geothermal sector.”
— Tim Latimer, CEO of Fervo Energy
Why this matters:
Geothermal energy could play a vital role in the shift to renewable energy by providing consistent, zero-carbon electricity. Collaboration between the oil industry and clean energy startups could accelerate breakthroughs needed to overcome current technical and financial obstacles.
Related EHN coverage:
A decade after Louisville became the fastest-growing urban heat island in the US, a groundbreaking study shows that planting trees in underserved areas leads to health improvements by lowering inflammation rates among residents.
In short:
Key quote:
“There is nowhere you can put a tree where it doesn’t improve the situation in terms of cooling and air quality.”
— Brian Stone, director of the Urban Climate Lab at Georgia Tech University
Why this matters:
The results are part of a growing body of research that suggests urban trees are more than just a way to beautify a neighborhood. They may be a prescription for better health, especially in marginalized communities facing higher pollution levels and rising temperatures. Read more: Trees, science and the goodness of green space.
The Los Cedros forest in Ecuador’s Andes has become a global symbol of how granting nature legal rights can protect biodiversity from industrial threats like mining.
In short:
Key quote:
“There was no case before this, there was no precedent. It was a case of science winning over extractive industries.”
— Josef DeCoux, conservationist
Why this matters:
This ruling is part of a global movement to give legal rights to nature, offering new tools to protect ecosystems essential to human health and survival, especially in the face of biodiversity loss and climate change. Read more: Could the Ohio River have rights? A movement to grant rights to the environment tests the power of local control.
The discourse on climate resilience must include affordable housing policy solutions.
“Pennsylvania steel communities have lived with dangerous air quality for generations. That needs to end.”
"Environmental justice itself is for the first time in the title of the climate office."
CNX Resources is slated to receive Justice40 dollars for self-monitoring. Health and justice advocates are outraged.
For communities plagued by energy extraction and petrochemical buildout, struggles of environmental justice often fall on deaf ears.
The rules as we understand them are changing before our eyes.