Source: Nature
July 12, 2024 Story by: Editor
Background and Aim
The presence of active and inactive oil and gas wells in neighborhoods contributes significantly to ongoing pollution. Historical practices, such as the racially discriminatory neighborhood security maps created by the U.S. federal Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s, may have exacerbated these environmental exposure disparities. This study aims to determine if neighborhoods that received worse HOLC grades are more exposed to oil and gas wells compared to those with better grades.
Methods
The study assessed exposure to oil and gas wells in HOLC-graded neighborhoods across 33 U.S. cities in 13 states where urban oil and gas drilling occurred. For 17 cities with available 1940 census data, the researchers used propensity score restriction and matching. This method compared well exposure in neighborhoods with similar sociodemographic characteristics from 1940 but different HOLC grades.
Results
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| Source: Nature |
The findings revealed stark disparities:
Redlined Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods graded D (redlined) had a mean of 12.2 ± 27.2 wells per square kilometer, almost double the density found in neighborhoods graded A, which had 6.8 ± 8.9 wells per square kilometer.
Propensity Score Analysis: In the restricted and matched analyses, redlined neighborhoods had, on average, 2.0 (1.3, 2.7) more wells than comparable neighborhoods with better HOLC grades.
Key Terms
Oil and Gas: Refers to the wells drilled for petroleum and natural gas.
Environmental Justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Structural Racism: Systemic discrimination embedded in policies and practices that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
Health Disparities: Differences in health outcomes and their determinants between different segments of the population.
Additional Insights from Recent Research
Further supporting evidence from recent studies highlights the long-lasting impacts of redlining on environmental health. According to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, neighborhoods with worse HOLC grades have higher levels of air pollution and associated health problems, such as asthma and cardiovascular diseases (Nardone et al., 2020). Another research article in Science Advances found that these neighborhoods also have less access to green spaces and are more prone to urban heat island effects, exacerbating health risks (Hoffman et al., 2020).
Policy Implications
The evidence suggests a pressing need for comprehensive environmental justice policies that:
Address Historical Injustices: Implement corrective measures for historically marginalized communities disproportionately affected by pollution.
Improve Environmental Quality: Increase investments in green infrastructure and pollution control in affected neighborhoods.
Ensure Equitable Development: Promote policies that ensure fair and equitable development practices, preventing future disparities.
Conclusions
The study concludes that structural racism embedded in U.S. federal policy, such as HOLC’s redlining maps, is linked to the disproportionate placement of oil and gas wells in marginalized neighborhoods. This reinforces the need for policies that address these historical injustices and mitigate ongoing environmental and health disparities. Source: EHP Publishing
