Current:Home > MarketsThe Carbon Cost of California’s Most Prolific Oil Fields-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
The Carbon Cost of California’s Most Prolific Oil Fields
View Date:2024-12-24 08:27:17
On the list of top U.S. states for oil production, California ranks seventh, which is undoubtedly a surprise to many who focus on the state’s green and progressive environmental laws. Thanks to those laws, the California Air Resources Board collects data not only on the amount of oil extracted from every oil field in the state, but on how much energy is required to get each barrel of crude out of the ground.
This interactive map uses 2019 data to show where the oil fields are located, and how much is extracted, as rising columns. To depict the oil’s intensity, or the energy needed to extract it, the map uses colors. The Air Resources Board has just released preliminary data for 2020, but because the pandemic drastically curtailed transportation, it’s not representative of a normal year.
Burning oil and other fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide stays in Earth’s atmosphere for hundreds of years and acts like a blanket, trapping heat that would have radiated out into space.
Cars and trucks on California’s highways are huge emitters of carbon dioxide. But every gallon of gasoline refined from oil extracted in the state has its own carbon footprint, even before it’s burned, as this map helps explain. That’s due to the energy-intensive process needed to thin out what tends to be thick crude and bring it to the surface. It’s also interesting to note how much of California’s oil extraction is taking place in highly populated parts of the state.
Most of the oil refined in California actually comes from Alaska and abroad. The carbon intensity of that oil varies a lot, too, just like the oil from California. More on that soon.
veryGood! (671)
Related
- Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe save Alabama football season, as LSU's Brian Kelly goes splat
- The Federal Reserve is pausing rate hikes for the first time in 15 months. Here's the financial impact.
- Here's why China's population dropped for the first time in decades
- The FDA proposes new targets to limit lead in baby food
- Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
- Dakota Access Prone to Spills, Should Be Rerouted, Says Pipeline Safety Expert
- Nick Cannon Confesses He Mixed Up Mother’s Day Cards for His 12 Kids’ Moms
- Anne Heche Laid to Rest 9 Months After Fatal Car Crash
- Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder
- With telehealth abortion, doctors have to learn to trust and empower patients
Ranking
- Judith Jamison, a dancer both eloquent and elegant, led Ailey troupe to success over two decades
- FDA approves Alzheimer's drug that appears to modestly slow disease
- 24-Hour Flash Deal: Save 42% On This Attachment That Turns Your KitchenAid Mixer Into an Ice Cream Maker
- Greenland’s Ice Melt Is in ‘Overdrive,’ With No Sign of Slowing
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- CBS News poll analysis: GOP primary voters still see Trump as best shot against Biden
- Treat Williams, star of Everwood and Hair, dead at 71 after motorcycle crash in Vermont: An actor's actor
- FDA moves to ease restrictions on blood donations for men who have sex with men
Recommendation
-
2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
-
Trump Moves to Limit Environmental Reviews, Erase Climate Change from NEPA Considerations
-
‘Reskinning’ Gives World’s Old Urban Buildings Energy-Saving Facelifts
-
What kind of perfectionist are you? Take this 7-question quiz to find out
-
Amazon's 'Cross' almost gets James Patterson detective right: Review
-
Florida police officer relieved of duty after dispute with deputy over speeding
-
First U.S. Offshore Wind Turbine Factory Opens in Virginia, But Has No Customers Yet
-
Sunnylife’s Long Weekend Must-Haves Make Any Day a Day at the Beach