But faced with the ecological aims of the authorities, the septuagenarian is rather to evaluate the time he has left before closing shop: "12 to 14 years", the way things are going. Because of increasingly restrictive regulations for granting drilling permits, "our city has almost closed, it's almost a ghost town."

Carbon neutrality in 2045, end of drilling on the same date, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030... The political program of the "Golden State", pioneer of the environmental struggle in the United States, is already well filled.

So when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in mid-September that the state was suing five of the world's largest oil companies, Taft residents took it as another publicity stunt.

A two-hour drive north of Los Angeles, Taft is surrounded by thousands of oil wells in the middle of the desert. With its black gold museum overlooked by a wooden drilling tower, the small town carries as a standard the tradition of Kern County, where 70% of the oil produced in California comes from.

Oil wells as far as the eye can see, near the city of Taft, California, September 21, 2023 © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

"Save the wells"

Here, regardless of whether justice determines whether the giants of the sector have deliberately concealed the harmfulness of fossil fuels for the planet, we want to preserve jobs above all. "Save the wells," implored a sign posted in the bar on Main Street.

Taft Mayor David Noerr poses in front of an old oil pump in the city's museum dedicated to black © gold Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

"Climate change doesn't worry me, we'll deal with it," Mickey Stoner, a 75-year-old retiree, told AFP. But "without oil, this city will die," fears the former waitress.

"Oil is the soul of this city and Kern County," said Taft Mayor David Noerr.

The tax revenues generated by the industry "fund schools, law enforcement, programs for veterans or young athletes," lists the Republican councillor.

Like New Mexico, which provides free access to its universities thanks to oil revenues, or Wyoming, the largest American coal producer, the region symbolizes the challenges posed by the energy transition in the United States.

Conduits winding along an oil field near the city of Taft, California, September 21, 2023 © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Cutting oil production by 90 percent in California by 2045 would cause Kern County to lose up to $27 million in property taxes annually and eliminate thousands of jobs, according to a recent study by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Difficult conversion

"If we don't create programs so that workers can retrain ... the transition will be very difficult," says Ranjit Deshmukh, one of the study's researchers.

Solar panels abutter an oil tank near Taft, California, September 21, 2023 © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

California has just introduced such a measure. And in Kern County, the upheaval is already here. The region is the state's largest producer of renewable electricity: around Taft, some oil wells are lined with photovoltaic panels.

But solar and wind benefit from a property tax exemption, damaging local finances. And these facilities require far less maintenance than oil fields.

"These green jobs bring economic benefits to residents intermittently, such as the energy they produce," sighs the mayor.

Against the governor's tide, the county is fighting in court to authorize thousands of new drillings because demand for oil remains high and the "Golden State" imports 59% of its black gold from abroad.

"If we have to use oil, let's use ours first," says producer Fred Holmes.

A wish that is not shared by all.

"Climate is important," says Bianca Hiler.

Abandoned businesses on the main street of the city of Taft, California, September 21, 2023 © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

In the restaurant where she works, the waitress has been witnessing Taft's slow decay since the 80s. At 57, this young grandmother would like the region, undermined by pollution from the agricultural and oil sectors, to offer a more desirable future.

"The air quality is horrible all the time," she says. "My grandson has asthma, he can't even breathe."

© 2023 AFP