Big Names and Big Numbers Protest Fracking in Ohio

By Lauren Michelle Kinsey On June 18, 2012 · 3 Comments

Channel Ten is saying there were thousands of us protesting Fracking in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday. I’ve never been any good at estimating crowd size, so I’ll take their word for it. In my blog post about it on Wednesday I estimated that there would be hundreds of us. Look at that. I’m conservative.

Leaders in the fight against fracking came to Columbus from all over the state and from all over the country. On Saturday I had one on one interviews with both Bill McKibben and Josh Fox. On Sunday I documented the protest and spoke with some leaders on camera. Here’s a video I put together from those events…

So, hey. I have an idea. Why don’t we quit subsidizing the dirty energy industry and giving them free license to pollute our air, water and soil? How about we also charge them for dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? What if we chose to invest in a transition to renewable energy? Why not choose good jobs that don’t kill us and an economy that is built to last? Fossil fuels are subsidized 12 times as much as renewable energy. Let’s turn that around and see what happens.

Does fracking increase the risk of earthquakes? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might trigger earthquakes when there are viable alternatives?”

Does fracking pollute the groundwater? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might pollute the groundwater when there are viable alternatives?”

Does fracking pollute the air? Some say yes, some say there are ways to minimize the pollution. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might increase ozone levels and increase our health risks when there are viable alternatives?”

Does fracking accelerate climate change? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might exacerbate a serious threat to our wellbeing, our economy and the survival of our species?”

Does fracking lead to economic booms and busts that degrade communities? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might destabilize our economy when there’s a way to build an economy that’s built to last?”

Does fracking pollute our government by giving people an incentive to dump dirty money on our politicians in an effort to buy special favors for the industry? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might exacerbate corruption of our democracy, when there are viable alternatives?”

Does fracking concentrate money and power in the hands of just a few people? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why mess around with energy extraction that might concentrate wealth, when renewable energy generation spreads the wealth around?”

Does cooperating with fracking in Ohio slow down our transition to renewable energy? Some say yes, some say no. I say, “Why take that risk? Why not do everything in our power to speed up the transition to renewable energy when the risks of not doing so are incredibly high and the rewards for doing so are beautifully abundant?”

The green economy is the new big opportunity. Let’s not allow Ohio to get left behind in the high risk economy of days gone by. No to fracking. Yes to renewables. No to recklessness. Yes to a prosperous and healthy Ohio!