This Earth Day, Jane Fonda is Shining a Light on the Big Oil Showdown in California—and Why All of Us Should Care

Nalleli Cobo was 20 years old when I first met her. I was being shown around cities south of Los Angeles, where there are active oil rigs close to homes, schools, playgrounds and people are seriously ill from the pollution. 

An oil well had been drilled 30 feet from Nalleli’s apartment building when she was nine years old. She began to have nosebleeds so severe she had to sleep sitting up so she wouldn’t drown in her own blood. She developed severe asthma that affects her to this day, along with stomach cramps, nausea, excruciating headaches and body spasms that made it hard for her to walk. 

At 19, Nalleli was diagnosed with a rare type of extremely aggressive cancer, which required doctors to remove her entire reproductive system, followed by devastating rounds of chemotherapy. 

Nalleli dreamed of being a dancer. That is no longer a possibility for her because of her weakened body.

I wish I could tell you that this scenario is unusual, but the harsh reality is that there are 2.7 million Californians and millions more in frontline communities all across the country living dangerously close to toxic oil wells—just like Nalleli did. In fact, one out of five deaths globally every year are due to exposure to fossil fuel pollution. Big Oil calls these communities “sacrifice zones” which shows how little they think about the people who live there.

It is unconscionable that we let this happen. 

In California, one of the biggest battles for the health and safety of our communities will be on the ballot this November. Big Oil is trying to overturn a law that provides basic protections against toxic oil wells in our neighborhoods. This flagrant attack on democracy and people’s health is funded by oil companies. They call it “Stop the Energy Shutdown” and if they are successful, it could have devastating consequences, not just in California, but around the country. The oil industry is already trying similar strategies in Colorado and Pennsylvania. 

How We Got Here

For generations, millions of Californians have faced harmful threats in their own backyards in the form of oil wells. Oil companies made record profits while drilling for oil in California for over 100 years without reasonable safety regulations in place to prevent toxic air and water pollution in surrounding neighborhoods. Research shows that living near an oil well increases the risk of asthma, birth defects, high risk pregnancies, respiratory illnesses, and cancer. 

That’s why, in 2022, community leaders, doctors, nurses, and many others convinced legislators and Governor Gavin Newsom to pass a law (SB1137) to protect neighborhoods by requiring oil companies to strengthen the health and safety standards of their existing oil and gas wells. The legislation aimed to sharply reduce toxic pollution within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, day care centers, parks, healthcare facilities, and businesses. The law also prohibits the same mistake by banning new oil drilling within the same buffer zone. 

But now—and it’s really unthinkable that they would do this—Big Oil companies are trying to overturn this law through a ballot measure campaign. They’ve already spent more than $50 million on deceptive signature-gathering efforts and false advertising.  

As oil and gas reserves are dwindling and more people are opting for electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar panels, oil companies are desperately striving to tap what fossil fuels remain—even if it means putting children, families and entire communities at risk. 

What I’m Doing—and What You Can Do, Too

We know the oil companies will stop at nothing to protect their record profits. But we must stop them from deceiving California voters in November. If they succeed, who knows which state will be next? That’s why

I’m working with Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California to KEEP THE LAW to protect our communities. We must show the rest of the country that it can be done.

If you live in California like I do, please join me in rejecting Big Oil’s shameless referendum and vote to KEEP THE LAW requiring oil companies to make their drilling less toxic. You can join the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California HERE. 

If you don’t live in California, you can still play a role in making sure all of us have safe air to breathe and clean water to drink. When you vote, make sure the candidate you’re supporting isn’t funded by the fossil fuel industry and that they will work for the good of people, not to enrich heartless corporations. 

Do some digging and find out if there is a frontline community near you that is being harmed by a big, polluting industry and see how you can help.

Let’s show Big Oil they can’t use their ill-gotten gains to run deceptive campaigns to overturn our laws. 

Let’s make sure we live in a world where kids like Nalleli can grow up and fulfill their dreams instead of suffering the consequences of living near an oil well drilled by companies that only care about their profits.

As a young teenager, Nalleli organized her community and got the oil well shut down. If she can do it, together we can, too.