The Los Angeles area has over 20,000 active, idle or abandoned oil wells. The city and county have voted to ban new ones after studies showed health problems in residents living nearby.
Oil pumps can be found near homes across the Los Angeles area.
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Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and research shows how people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
A recent poll showed seven out of ten South Australian voters are against drilling in the Great Australian Bight.
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