Gulf Coast and Permian Basin
Preventing Two Ticking Carbon Bombs
Hundreds of miles separate the Permian Basin from the Gulf Coast, but they are closely connected when it comes to oil and gas infrastructure and colossal fossil fuel supplies that represent two of the biggest carbon bombs on earth. Both the Permian and Gulf produce, transport, and process oil and gas, and are connected through pipeline networks and coastal ports that send fossil fuels to be burned around the world. The massive fossil fuel buildout plans threaten the health, homelands, and livelihoods of predominantly Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities who are already among those most impacted by hurricanes, flooding, and other extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Much of the United States’ planned expansion is tied to oil and gas fracking and LNG, centered in the Permian Basin and along the US Gulf Coast. The Permian is also contributing to a surge in plastic processing and manufacturing along the Gulf Coast; communities already suffering the devastating health and environmental impacts of petrochemical plants are facing the growth of both new and existing facilities, raising their already unacceptably high cumulative toxic burdens.
Equation Campaign supports campaign ecosystems in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico, including Indigenous communities and descendants of enslaved people fighting to protect their ancestral lands, as well as lawyers, finance campaigners, and media experts who are seeking to end the dominance of the industry in the region.
Site Fight Spotlight: Protecting Sacred and Ancestral Land from Industrial Expansion
Over the last year, our grantee partners have proven that communities who are funded to win do just that. The Descendants Project won a landmark lawsuit to protect the ancestral lands of a historic Black community in Cancer Alley. The ruling has the potential to prevent any industrial activity that could threaten or “penetrate” similar historic lands in a Louisiana parish targeted for massive fossil fuel and petrochemical projects.
