BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—As the whir of pumpjacks broke the silence at the Poso Creek Oil Field near Bakersfield in Kern County, the crisp morning air was unmistakably clean and fresh as crews monitored the equipment that measures any possible emissions.
In 2019, Kern County ranked first among California’s oil-producing counties and seventh overall in the nation, with 76 active oil fields producing 119 million barrels of oil and 129 billion cubic feet of gas, according to a lawsuit that the county Board of Supervisors filed in 2021 against Gov. Gavin Newsom.
