Alliance for Ohio’s Future Plans Public Demonstration Against Fracking on Ohio’s Public Land
Alliance for Ohio’s Future will hold a public demonstration on Wednesday, June 14th at 1pm at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to protest HB 49, a state budget bill that contains Amendment HC 2241, which strips the governor of the power to appoint members to the 4-member Oil and Gas Leasing Commission, and gives these appointment powers to the speaker of the house and president of the senate.      

All 58 state representatives who voted in favor of the bill received contributions to their 2016 races from the fossil fuel industry, adding up to a combined $1.18 million.  

Since 2011 Governor Kasich has declined to appoint anyone to the Oil and Gas Commission and in doing so has protected Ohio’s public land from fracking. If the new budget bill passes, fracking in state parks is likely to be on the horizon.

“The young people of Ohio want a future with fewer fossil fuels, not more.” says Caitlyn McDaniel, board member of Buckeye Environmental Network and Alliance for Ohio member. Speakers at the rally will include Ohio Sierra Club Director Jen Miller and citizen activists. ~ Becca Pollard

Get Rid of Rover - Ohio’s own Keystone and Dakota Access Pipeline

Energy Transfer Partners' new Rover Pipeline has already spilled millions of gallons of drilling fluids into Ohio's wetlands. Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners is the same operator behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

According to regulatory filings obtained by Sierra Club Ohio, on April 13, two million gallons of drilling fluids spilled into a wetland adjacent to the Tuscarawas River in Stark County. The next day, another 50,000 gallons of drilling fluids released into a wetland in Richland County in Mifflin Township. The spills occurred as part of an operation associated with the pipeline's installation.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Rover Pipeline's construction in February. The 713-mile pipeline will carry fracked gas across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan and Canada, and crosses three major rivers, the Maumee, Sandusky and Portage, all of which feed into Lake Erie. The pipeline is designed to transport 3.25 billion cubic feet of domestically produced natural gas per day.

Construction of the $4.2 billion project only began in March and completion of the Rover Pipeline is planned for November 2017. Energy Transfer spokeswoman Alexis Daniel told Bloomberg that the spills will not change the project's in-service date. “Once the incidents were noted, we immediately began containment and mitigation and will continue until the issues are completely resolved,” she said.

Environmental groups are fighting to stop the pipeline's construction. “Construction began just a few weeks ago, yet Energy Transfer has already spilled more than two million gallons of drilling fluids in two separate disasters, confirming our worst fears about this dangerous pipeline before it has even gone into operation,” said Jen Miller, director of the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club.

“We've always said that it's never a question of whether a pipeline accident will occur, but rather a question of when. These disasters prove that the fossil fuel industry is unable to even put a pipeline into use before it spills dangerous chemicals into our precious waterways and recreation areas.

“Construction on the Rover Pipeline must be stopped immediately, as an investigation into Energy Transfer's total failure to adequately protect our wetlands and communities is conducted.” ~ Lorraine Chow, Ecowatch Journal

How you can help save our environment
 

Clothes the Loop
Don’t know what to do with old holey socks or clothes with rips and stains? An estimated 12 million tons of textile waste went into landfills in 2012, nearly 70 pounds per person. Each of us could have reused or recycled 95 percent of our clothes. Textile recycling has a major impact on reducing greenhouse gases.

Two retail Northface Stores in central Ohio allow you to bring in your old clothes and shoes for recycling and reuse. Bring in unwanted items in any condition. Drop your clothes in the bin, get rewards towards new Northface products and all proceeds from Clothes the Loop go to The Conservation Alliance to protect wild places for their habitat and recreational value. Your holey socks may end up re-used into insulation, carpet padding or stuffing for a new toy.
 

Drop-off locations:

The Northface Columbus, Easton, 4025 Gramercy Street, Columbus, Ohio 43219, (614) 337-1147
The Northface Tanger Outlets, 400 S. Wilson Rd. Space 600, Sunbury, OH 43074, (614) 965-3675

Prescription Drug Drop-Offs
Drugs that are flushed pollute lakes, rivers, streams and our drinking water, harming fish, wildlife and  people. There are permanent drug drop-off boxes at the following locations:

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, 375 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43215
Whitehall Division of Police, 365 S. Yearling Rd., Whitehall, Ohio 43213
Worthington Division of Police, 6555 Worthington-Galena Rd., Worthington, Ohio 432085

Westerville Division of Police, 29 S. State St. Westerville, Ohio 43081

Look for one near you at: http://rxdrugdropbox.org/map-search