Well Aware

You’re just a teenager, so even if you worry about climate change, you can’t do much about it. Right?

Wrong, says 18-year-old Mateo De La Rocha.

“No matter how young you are or what resources you have, you can make a positive impact,” he says.

Mateo, who graduated from Panther Creek High School in Cary, North Carolina, last spring, and two friends have founded a group they call the Youth Climate Initiative. They’re trying to convince other teenagers—and anyone else who will listen—that an investment of $25 toward cleaning up abandoned oil wells can achieve the same reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as replacing several gas-powered cars with electric vehicles for one year.

Their group recently raised $11,000 to plug an abandoned well that was leaking gas on an Ohio horse farm. As many as 3.9 million abandoned and aging oil and gas wells—deep holes in the ground drilled by fossil fuel companies—dot the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

When a well is no longer in use, it’s supposed to be closed off with cement in a process called capping or plugging. But many have been left open, often in disrepair, polluting groundwater and leaking toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide into the air. The wells can be extremely dangerous for people nearby.

You’re a teenager worried about climate change. But you think you can’t do much about it. Right?

Wrong, says 18-year-old Mateo De La Rocha.

“No matter how young you are or what resources you have, you can make a positive impact,” he says.

Last spring, Mateo graduated from Panther Creek High School in Cary, North Carolina. He and two friends have founded a group called the Youth Climate Initiative. They’re trying to convince other teenagers and everyone else that cleaning up abandoned oil wells can make a big difference. They say a $25 donation to the cause can achieve the same reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as replacing several gas-powered cars with electric vehicles for one year.

Their group recently raised $11,000 to plug an abandoned well that was leaking gas on an Ohio horse farm. There are as many as 3.9 million abandoned and aging oil and gas wells in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The wells are deep holes in the ground drilled by fossil fuel companies. When a well is no longer in use, it’s supposed to be closed off with cement in a process called capping or plugging. But many have been left open. They are often in disrepair and pollute groundwater. Uncapped wells also leak toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide into the air. The wells can be extremely dangerous for people nearby.

At least 126,000 of these abandoned wells are “orphans,” meaning there’s no longer an owner or company that state regulators can hold responsible for them. And many of the wells leak methane, a greenhouse gas that lingers in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide but traps significantly more heat. That’s why small investments in trapping methane can have such a profound impact, supporters of that approach say.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Biden administration’s signature climate law, allocated $4.7 billion to states, Native American tribes, and federal agencies to plug orphaned wells. But given the sheer number of wells and the enormous geographic area they cover, these federal funds won’t be enough, experts say.

At least 126,000 of these abandoned wells are “orphans.” There is no longer an owner or company that state regulators can hold responsible for them. Many of the wells leak methane, a greenhouse gas that lingers in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide but traps significantly more heat. Small investments in trapping methane can have such a profound impact, supporters of that approach say.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Biden administration’s signature climate law, allocated $4.7 billion for the plugging of orphaned wells. However, experts say these federal funds won’t be enough. There are too many wells spread out across the country.

After realizing what an impact plugging abandoned wells could have on pollution, Mateo invited his friends Sebastian Ng and Lila Gisondi to join him.

“When Mateo approached me about this and I really looked into these methane wells and what we can do about it, it really kind of flipped a switch,” Sebastian, 17, says. Before, he’d felt like there wasn’t anything he could do about climate change, he says, and he would simply joke about the world ending.

After realizing what an impact plugging abandoned wells could have on pollution, Mateo invited his friends Sebastian Ng and Lila Gisondi to join him.

“When Mateo approached me about this and I really looked into these methane wells and what we can do about it, it really kind of flipped a switch,” Sebastian, 17, says. Before, he’d felt like there wasn’t anything he could do about climate change.  He says he would simply joke about the world ending.

For Lila, 18, talking with her friends about these methane-emitting wells brought climate change from the back of her mind to the forefront.

“It was something that I felt like I could actually help with,” she says.

After more research, the trio connected with the Well Done Foundation, a nonprofit that plugs orphaned wells. The organization was founded by Curtis Shuck, a veteran of the oil and gas industry who came across his first abandoned well in 2019.

Since then, his organization has surveyed more than 1,700 abandoned wells nationwide and plugged what it identified as the most problematic ones. The North Carolina teens agreed to sponsor an orphaned oil well on the horse farm in Ohio, near Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

For Lila, 18, talking with her friends about these methane-emitting wells brought climate change from the back of her mind to the forefront.

“It was something that I felt like I could actually help with,” she says.

After more research, the trio connected with the Well Done Foundation, a nonprofit that plugs orphaned wells. The organization was founded by Curtis Shuck, a veteran of the oil and gas industry who found his first abandoned well in 2019.

Since then, his organization has surveyed more than 1,700 abandoned wells nationwide. It has plugged the most problematic ones. The North Carolina teens agreed to sponsor an orphaned oil well on the horse farm in Ohio, near Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

After his time as an Army intelligence analyst in Vietnam, Searcy returned home to Athens, Georgia, in 1970.

“I was angry and confused,” he says.

He enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he joined the antiwar group Vietnam Veterans Against the War and began to speak out publicly about his views.

His father, who had fought the Germans during World War II and been imprisoned, was furious but eventually came to the conclusion that Searcy was right about his opposition to the Vietnam conflict.

After colllege, Searcy worked as a journalist and later as a U.S. Senate staffer. In 1992, he and an Army friend returned to Vietnam “to see what the country looked like in peacetime,” Searcy says.

They spent a month on the road and found a country still suffering, cut off from international aid by an American embargo and struggling in poverty under Communist economic strictures.

“We were amazed at the warm welcome from the Vietnamese people, who seemed to have forgiven us for the terrible pain and suffering we caused in the war,” Searcy has written. “I realized then I wanted to come back and find some way to help the Vietnamese people recover from the tragic war the United States had caused.”

Melissa and Bill Simmons bought the property in 2016. About a year after moving in, they noticed the well was leaking gas near a barn. They could smell gas inside the barn and had to leave the doors open, fearing an explosion.

Melissa Simmons contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which eventually told her about the Well Done Foundation.

They connected at the end of 2021, more than three years after the Simmons family first noticed the leak.

Melissa and Bill Simmons bought the property in 2016. About a year after moving in, they noticed the well was leaking gas near a barn. Fearing an explosion, they had to leave the doors open.

Melissa Simmons contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They told her about the Well Done Foundation.

They connected at the end of 2021, more than three years after the Simmons family first noticed the leak.

After the teens joined the effort, they raised money in small increments over the course of about three months.

The $11,000 the students raised will cover approximately 15 percent of the project’s total cost. Well Done covered the rest through other donations and sponsors. In May, contractors began pouring the cement, and they finished plugging the well in June.

After getting through final exams, sports tournaments, and prom last spring, Mateo, Sebastian, and Lila started to raise money to plug a second orphaned well.

“I knew I didn’t have the resources to do this by myself,” Mateo says, “but I have some very capable friends.”

After the teens joined the effort, they raised money in small amounts over three months.

The $11,000 the students raised will cover approximately 15 percent of the project’s total cost. Well Done covered the rest through other donations and sponsors. In May, contractors began pouring the cement, and they finished plugging the well in June.

After a busy spring of school events, Mateo, Sebastian, and Lila started to raise money to plug a second orphaned well.

“I knew I didn’t have the resources to do this by myself,” Mateo says, “but I have some very capable friends.”

Delger Erdenesanaa was a New York Times reporting fellow covering climate change. With reporting by Lauren Vespoli.

Delger Erdenesanaa was a New York Times reporting fellow covering climate change. With reporting by Lauren Vespoli.