“Even if you’re not in a coastal area, there’s no place on the planet that is not impacted by climate change. And fossil fuels drilling, on land or offshore, contributes to climate change.”
These are the words of Ana Bueno, an environmental journalist with Univision Houston, who was one of the speakers at the special town hall on offshore drilling held on Thursday, July 23, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.
Organized by the Sachamama organization in partnership with Telemundo 42, and with the participation of more than 50 people, the town hall sparked a conversation about the impact of offshore drilling on the environment, coastal communities, and the economy.
An activity with triple negative impact
A study by the Earth Insight initiative revealed that offshore drilling projects threaten marine life and the survival of coastal communities. How many people know about this? How many communities where these projects will take place have information about them?
“The Hispanic and migrant communities are highly marginalized and suffer the most from the impacts of environmental injustice, such as pollution, toxicity, and the risk of environmental disasters,” Roberto Barrios, professor of the Doris Zemurray Stone Chair in Latin American Studies at Louisiana State University (LSU), told Huella Zero. And he emphasized: “It is important that we know what we are exposing ourselves to so that we can then make well-informed decisions about where we are going to live, and how we are going to live.”
The town hall in New Orleans aimed to be an initial forum for discussing offshore drilling and the challenges it presents.
“New Orleans and the Gulf are important to this conversation because they play a very large economic role, not only for the state in particular but for the country as a whole,” Emilia Aguinaga, head of the Climate Justice at Foundation for Louisiana, explained at the event. “97% of offshore oil is produced in the Gulf. In Louisiana alone, we have more than 4,000 offshore platforms and 18% of the nation’s refining capacity,” she added.
Due to these characteristics and already established infrastructure, New Orleans becomes a “perfect” place for the expansion of new oil projects. “It is really an excuse to continue sacrificing our coast, our communities, our family fishing industry. It is something that we are already experiencing,” Aguinaga reported and added: “We are one of the States most affected by climate change. We bailing water while the boat sinks, at the same time, we continue to make holes in it.”
Leticia Casildo, founder of Familias Unidas en Acción, agreed with her: “Industries think in numbers, in money, and we people think about how we are going to survive when the effects of oil exploitation reach our coasts.”
A call to action: participate and get involved
The debate took place on the eve of the 90-day public consultation process on Donald Trump’s plan to expand offshore drilling.
In November 2025, the US president presented a plan to grant new offshore oil concessions in California, the Gulf of Mexico, and areas off Alaska by 2030. The measure sparked concern among environmental and social organizations because the projects will expand into protected areas and critical habitats for endangered species.
Civil society organizations and experts emphasized the importance of ensuring a transparent process, with information and participation from all stakeholders.
“It is very important to always keep the community in mind because the power truly lies with the community,” Aguinaga told Huella Zero, adding: “The government works for us; decisions should be informed by what we consider to be priorities. If we don’t say anything, the government will continue doing what it wants, assuming we agree.”
The Sachamama organization announced that it will continue this initiative in other states. Texas and California will be the next destinations for the town hall-style conversation and debate, with dates yet to be confirmed.
Aguinaga emphasized the importance of the role of journalists and media outlets in reporting on these issues: “A person can only speak with one person at a time, maybe two. But journalists, as part of the media, have the opportunity to share the message with a much larger audience. One person can make a difference, but many of us can make a bigger difference.”
