Tired of Wells That Threaten Residents’ Health, a Small California Town Takes on the Oil Industry

For years, residents of Arvin, California—most of whom are low-income and Latino—have been fighting to keep oil and gas development out of their neighborhoods. Now they’re taking their fight statewide, where more than two million Californians live within a quarter mile of operational oil and gas wells, which release a toxic mix of air pollutants.