Beverly Hills is one of California’s most illustrious epicenters of platinum spooned affluence. It’s also the first city in California to ban fracking, a controversial oil-drilling practice that’s been a topic of debate for quite some time.

On May 6, 2014, Beverly Hills City Council members voted unanimously to prohibit fracking and related techniques. Their historic decision may be the igniting spark that triggers similar behavior for other cities to do the same – and hasten calls for an overall California fracking ban.

Why Fracking is Bad for You

There are a million jokes to be had regarding the irony that Beverly Hills intends to ban fracking despite their love of luxurious toxic cosmetic injections, but I’ll spare them for now. Why? Because I think Beverly Hills is pretty progressive for their stance against fracking. California as a whole would benefit from a statewide fracking ban due to their extreme susceptibility to negative side effects of fracking, like earthquakes.

So what’s fracking? Fracking is described as “the process of blasting water, chemicals and sand into the earth to break up rocks to free oil and natural gas,” according to Reuters Newswire. Fracking’s notorious reputation is due to several documented freaky side effects that are related to “fracked” water. (Fracked is a word, right?)

Frackwater – yes, another term I coined just now – has flammable properties. You can actually search “flammable water” on YouTube right now and you’ll find various videos of water being lit on fire – all as a result of fracking activity in the area. Critics are quick to shoot down the link between fracking and flammable water, but documentaries like Gasland demonstrate feasibility.

Furthermore, the Gasland documentary also shows fracking’s impact on human health and the environment. Numerous studies display the danger of fracking activity as it relates to hormonal disorders – and let’s not forget studies linking increased numbers of newborns experiencing health defects born in areas where fracking has occurred.

Beverly Hills Fracking Ban: Smart Move or Selfishness?

Justin Gammill summed fracking up in a witty statement labeling it as dangerous as a “6 year-old with a can of gas and a box of matches.” His declaration is incredibly understandable in nearly any circumstance, but it’s even more so for the state of California.

First of all, fracking contaminates the water supply. Considering the fact that California’s currently experiencing extreme drought, I’d think the state should move to minimize the level of contamination any of its water gets. Dire levels have persevered through California’s reservoirs and rivers and show no signs of stopping. Therefore, to say every drop of water counts in California would be an understatement. Fracking contaminates precious water reserves the state has, creating unsafe tap water for Californians. Furthermore, California is seismically active and examinations have linked fracking activities to earthquakes.

On the other hand, maybe a move to ban fracking in Beverly Hills isn’t to inspire a statewide fracking ban throughout California, but to prohibit such activity for purely selfish reasons.

“The Los Angeles Basin is one of the most important oil-producing areas in the United States,” said John Kemp in his Reuters post, Fracking Lessons from Beverly Hills. According to statistics, Kemp affirms California produced 197 million barrels of oil from “onshore” drilling. Beverly Hills has 95 wells “producing from two pools.” These include 19 wells on “the campus of the famous Beverly Hills High School,” whose fund collects hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from royalties.

Beverly Hills High School students have protested, complained and even sued Venoco for its drilling, stating allegations of responsibility for air, water and soil pollution, as well as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But their cases were thrown out when the “judge ruled claimants had failed to prove any medical link between their illnesses and alleged emissions.”

Overall, Kemp argues, despite seismic sensitivity of the area, the long-term duration of Beverly Hills’ fracking demonstrates it is possible to frack and drill in urbanized areas if done sensitively. However, it doesn’t seem the city wants to consider this. At the end of the day, it’s just a risk they no longer choose to take.

“As oil and gas production move into more sensitive areas, the biggest problems are not engineering and safety but dispelling misunderstandings, dealing with environmental and legal challenges, and persuading local communities that oil and gas producers can be good neighbors.”

One can’t help but wonder if the fine people of Beverly Hills aren’t motivated for environmental reasons, so much as the desire for peace and quiet.

“Of course the rich don’t want fracking in their backyard. But I bet you lots of these mofos living in [Beverly Hills] have investments in companies that frack in the other 99 percent’s backyard,” a blog commenter under the pseudonym StumptheChump said on RT.

Commenter Tessa commented on the same site, “Wow, who would have thought that the rich would be able to exclude themselves from something undesirable? Money talks.”