Save Ohio Parks will be hosting the Rally for Ohio State Parks, Climate, and Democracy on Friday, Oct. 27, starting at noon at the Ohio Statehouse’s West Plaza, on the steps facing High Street in downtown Columbus.
Come and join a coalition of environmental, faith, health, and democracy leaders to tell our state legislators — and the commission that will decide the fate of our beloved state parks, forests, wildlife areas and public lands — that we want to see them protected, not fracked.
Speaker lineup
• David Pepper, Ohio author, attorney, and democracy activist
• Robert Brecha, director of sustainability at University of Dayton
• Catherine Turcer, Ohio director for Common Cause
• Jess Grim, Ohio co-coordinator for Third Act
• Judy Comeau-Hart, director of Faith Communities Together
• Molly Jo Stanley, Ohio Environmental Council
• Joe Blanda, Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Randi Pokladnik, Save Ohio Parks
Music will be performed by singer-songwriter, preschool teacher, and nature advocate Jenny Morgan, and the event emcee will be Central Ohio environmental advocate Cathy Cowan Becker.
Ohio’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission will meet soon to decide whether to approve or deny “nominations” to frack Salt Fork State Park, Wolf Run State Park and Valley Run Zepernick Wildlife Areas.
The commission chair has stated — falsely — that the legislature requires them to approve these nominations. That is untrue. This commission has the power to deny fracking in our state parks and wildlife areas — and they should.
This is not just a problem of the environment. It’s also a spiritual crisis, a health crisis, and a crisis of democracy in Ohio. Only by banding together will our groups be able to send this message loud and clear — just 10 days before an election — that the people of Ohio want our parks and our democracy intact.
Read more and register here: Register today to make sure you receive last-minute updates.
Coming from outside of Columbus? Host or join a carpool: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/hmi5yx
If you haven’t kept up on the fracking issue, know that it’s dirty, dangerous and impairs human health. Fracking destroys plant, animal and insect habitats. Fracking industrializes pristine rural areas, increases noise and truck traffic, and pollutes the air and water. People who live within a mile of a fracking well pad experience increased childhood cancers, asthma, fertility issues and hormone disruption.
Additionally, fracking puts our water supply at risk. Up to 16 million gallons of river, lake and stream water are drained per fracked well, per fracking. (And wells can be fracked multiple times over the 20-year life of a well.) The water is injected with unregulated toxic chemicals and sand to “crack” molecules of natural gas deep underground. That wastewater becomes radioactive and unfit for humans. It’s so dangerous it’s stored in underground injection sites as a toxic waste–effectively taking it out of our usable water supply forever.
We just experienced the hottest summer on record and all around the world, people are experiencing increased drought, floods, hurricanes and disrupted weather patterns.
By 2050, even if climate warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Ohio will lose two of its four seasons and 70 percent of our animals, plants and fish face extinction.
The time for wishful thinking or denial about climate change is over. The time for action is here. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that fossil fuels must stay in the ground. That means no more fracking. We MUST demand our lawmakers transition rapidly to sustainable energy sources and stop all new fracking projects.
Check out our website at to learn more about how fracking affects our Health, Climate, Environment, Communities and Democracy.