In December 2023, during the Christmas holiday lame duck session – with no public participation — the Ohio General Assembly stuffed a poultry bill with fossil fuel amendments and passed a law requiring fracking of Ohio’s state parks and public lands for gas and oil.

HB 507 also falsely defined fracked gas as a “green energy,” despite climate scientists’ warnings that methane is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Ohio public lands include state parks, forests, wilderness and wildlife areas, public colleges and universities, and Ohio Department of Transportation rights of way.

Save Ohio Parks, the statewide, all-volunteer group concerned about the effects of fracking on human health, the environment, its fresh water, and planet warming, lists in a Candidate Accountability document the legislators who voted yes on H.B. 507 and are running for office in 2024 – 13 for Ohio Senate seats and 35 for Ohio House.

Download the Save Ohio Parks Voting Guide for Park Lovers

“Your vote can hold accountable the politicians running for re-election this year for industrializing pristine lands dedicated in 1949 for the enjoyment and leisure of all Ohioans,” said Cathy Cowan Becker, steering committee member at Save Ohio Parks. “These lands belong to the people of Ohio, not politicians.”

Save Ohio Parks suggests voters should ask candidates in local political forums why they voted to frack our beloved state parks, wildlife areas, and other public lands, then consider voting for their opponents.

“We need leaders who care about Ohioans’ quality of life and the future of our public lands for our children and grandchildren. We need lawmakers who serve the citizens of Ohio, not the oil and gas industry,” Cowan Becker said.

Methane emissions from fracking operations and transportation are a top cause of planet- warming carbon pollution driving the climate crisis. Warmer oceans supercharge storms and make hurricanes like Helene and Milton more frequent and increasingly dangerous.

“Climate change is real, and climate change is here,” Cowan Becker said. “We need to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and simultaneously ramp up clean, renewable energy like wind, solar and geothermal. We’ve already breached 1.5 degrees Celsius warming, and climate scientists now say we’re on a trajectory to an unlivable planet if we do not transition our energy sources away from fossil fuels.”

Cowan Becker said people need to educate themselves on fracking, methane emissions and climate change and urge lawmakers at local, state and federal levels to create energy policy that will allow the survival of the planet and humankind.

###

Save Ohio Parks is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded by Ohio citizens concerned about fracking of our state parks, wildlife areas and other public lands. Donations to Save Ohio Parks are not tax deductible but go entirely to program expenses. Our board members donate their time and efforts as volunteers for this work.