Oil drilling, restrained to only rural areas for way too long, has also crept its way inside the urban areas as well. In its essence, urban oil drilling is still a relatively new concept. It is carried out in order to tackle the ever-growing demand for oil, depleting oil reservoirs existing in current locations.
A research study, undertaken by a data science expert named Isha Chaturvedi, amassed the global reputation of giving a zoomed-in perspective on urban oil drilling. Chaturvedi is a New York University alumnus, dedicated to enriching people’s lives through her striking amalgamations of data science and computer science.
The Critical Urgency of the Study
In a multitude of cases seen across the world, various companies have been able to re-open old wells after decades of inactivity without obtaining new permits or even notifying nearby residents. Curiously, as Chaturvedi explains, even if an oil drilling site exists in a particular urban setting for ages, the residing population remains absolutely unaware of its existence.
Rapid urbanization, coupled with increasing population, is transforming the landscapes of modern cities. Like a game of dominoes, more and more cities are falling into the urban oil drilling category.
The Core of the Pivotal Study
For her investigation, Isha Chaturvedi identified and selected urban oil drilling in four locations spanning the whole world: Los Angeles (California), Houston (Texas) in the United States, London (UK), and Mumbai (India). These cities were chosen based on the definition of the term ‘urban’ and their economic significance to the country. This filtration brought the four cities to one comparable scale. These are also the cities where drilling is contested by social movements.
They were analyzed and compared based on the factors as listed: the location of the oil fields, type of communities residing near the oilfields, their responses, impact on the communities (both health and socio-economic effects), impact on the environment including water, air, and land, the response of the oil industry and the governments to the issues raised due to urban oil drilling.
At the termination of the research, Chaturvedi delivered a case study. Her explorations targeted the comprehensive studies of the oil field locations of each city in great detail – emphasizing the one in LA. She, furthermore, examined their proximity to the nearby residing population.
She also attended some of the Stand Together Against Neighbourhood Drilling (STAND-LA) meetings for the work with her professor to delve deeper into the issue and fathom the anxious points of the people. It set the required context for the development of the project. STAND LA is an environmental justice coalition of community groups seeking to end neighborhood drilling in LA.
A large chunk of the inputs on the impacts of oil drilling activities (on the environment, society, and casualties that occurred due to nearby oil drilling and pipeline breakage) was fetched from news articles and reports. In order to draw strong inferences, relations between maps of oil drillings, oil fields, and population density, and pipelines were intricately scrutinized.
Summoning Stunning Revelations
Chaturvedi’s research in 2015 became an instant breakthrough in the urban oil drilling horizon. She cites urban oil drilling as an environmental justice issue. Elaborating on it, she emphasizes that it hazardously affects the low-income communities and deteriorates their statuses. On the economic front, Isha explored that drilling has affected the land prices, as well, for it forces land fertility degradation. Due to the high population densities in urban cities, oil drilling poses a magnified damage rate in such areas. Consequently, upon her examination, she unraveled the presence of hazardous chemicals in the water and toxins in the air.
Global Praise Entails the Study
Various international organizations and honors plucked out the deserved recognition and admiration for Chaturvedi’s study. These global platforms also bestowed her with an extensive range of resources to stem the necessary support for her future endeavors.
Isha Chaturvedi is a recipient of the Luce Initiative on Asia Studies and the Environment (LIASE) funded grant for the data analysis of oil drilling at urban cities. She weaved and executed her research work at Occidental College, Los Angeles, under the esteemed mentorship of Professor Bhavna Shamasundar, the Department Chair of Public Health, of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI). UEPI at Occidental College is an applied research and advocacy center. The treasured LIASE initiative is by the Henry Luce Foundation. Chaturvedi, then, presented the work at Occidental College Summer Research Conference 2015.
She even received the Hong Kong Government Reaching Out Award for the splendid work she conducted in the field. The Reaching Out Award (ROA) aims to support meritorious students who are nominated by institutions to participate in learning, internship, or service programs, along with national, regional, and international events and competitions held outside Hong Kong.
Perceived and regarded as a breakthrough research work in the urban oil drilling front, Chaturvedi continues to represent people’s stories through her prodigious academic achievements.