Our Stories

The Latest by Oscar Espino-Padron

Senior Attorney

Flaring at a refinery located next to homes in Wilmington, CA.
September 26, 2024

California’s Leadership on Fossil Fuel Pollution Undermined by SB 674 Veto

By Oscar Espino-Padron  /  Community Partnerships Program

Governor Newsom’s veto delivered a blow to pollution accountability in the state

Kids play soccer near the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington, Calif.
September 8, 2022

How Environmental Justice Advocates Dismantled the Oil Industry’s Prized Pollution “Reduction” Program In Los Angeles

By Oscar Espino-Padron & Adrian Martinez  /  California Office & Community Partnerships Program

A disaster of an experiment with pollution trading is coming to an end.

View of the Long Beach skyline from Hilltop Park, in Signal Hill, Long Beach, California.
September 9, 2016

Long Beach Residents Want to Dump Their Current Waste System

By Oscar Espino-Padron  /  California Office

The city of Long Beach, California, is falling behind the rest of the state and the nation in transitioning to a zero-waste future.

January 26, 2016

Comunidad Tiene Pleito Con Junta Local de Agua Sobre Contaminante Rastro

By Oscar Espino-Padron  /  California Office

La ciudad de Brawley ya es una de las comunidades de color más agobiadas en California.

Plans to reopen a beef slaughterhouse in Brawley, Calif., could worsen local water quality.
January 26, 2016

Community Has a Beef with Local Water Board Over Polluting Slaughterhouse

By Oscar Espino-Padron  /  California Office

The largely Latino community of Brawley, California, is already exposed to a lot of pollution, but plans to reopen a beef slaughterhouse could make local water quality even worse.

Oil field pumpjacks in Kern County, California.
December 17, 2015

Central Valley Board Continues to Mix Oil and Water

By Oscar Espino-Padron  /  California Office

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board opted not to stop a corporation from tainting groundwater with fracking waste until 2018.