Environmental advocates and Ohioans converged in Columbus on Monday to call out the environmental havoc that extending lease terms to frack Ohio’s state parks and public lands will cause Ohio’s air, water, soils, biodiversity—and future generations.

Save Ohio Parks; Freshwater Accountability Project; Buckeye Environmental Network; and Third Act Ohio were among environmental groups speaking to Oil and Gas Land Management Commissioners directly for the first time allowed them in three years about the myriad of dangers that await the state as it expands natural gas fracking under Ohio’s state parks and public lands.

They had a lot to say.

Topics included:

There is a widening gap today between global possibilities and global realities.

The possibilities are enormous, for―thanks to a variety of factors, ranging from increases in knowledge to advances in economic productivity―it’s finally feasible for all of humanity to lead decent and fulfilling lives.

No longer is poverty necessary, for the enormous global economy can produce adequate food, goods, and services for all the world’s people.

Human health and longevity can be improved substantially, thanks to breakthroughs in science and medicine.

Education, communications, transportation, and culture have made huge strides toward enriching human existence and could finally be made available to all.

Meanwhile, the rise of the United Nations and of international law holds the promise of moving beyond the violent, bloodstained past and securing peace, human rights, and justice on the international level.

And yet, current realities fall far short of these possibilities.