A bill being rushed through the Ohio Legislature during the lame duck session could cause residential and small business electric bills to skyrocket. Senate Bill 320 and House Bill 554 will reduce cost effective energy efficiency targets, and allow special rate exemptions for big corporations, resulting in untold rate increases.
Two anti-clean energy bills are moving through the Statehouse
Our 20 Favorite Photos of Ohio's National Parks on the 100th Birthday of the NPS
The Oberlin Project: Locals leading the way
I ’m Max Schaefer, the OEC Action Fund’s newest staff member and the organization’s first field staff living in the great city of Lorain--right on the coast of Lake Erie. I am not a policy expert, my background is in politics and community engagement. But I don’t think you need to have background in environmental studies to realize that Oberlin, Ohio is a green city that puts the environment and sustainability at its forefront. Who is the catalyst behind this movement? The Oberlin Project.
Setting The Record Straight
The environment takes center stage at DNC
What You Will and Won’t Hear Tonight at the DNC
Tonight at the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton will formally accept the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for President of the United States. During her speech and those before her, there are several important things we can expect to hear and, importantly, several things we will not. Below are OEC Action Fund Director Aryeh Alex’s predictions.
7 things you should know about the Dem Platform
Yesterday at the DNC, delegates finalized what is being touted as one of the most progressive platforms in the party’s history. While Republicans took a wrong turn from their party’s traditional conservation values this election year, the Democratic Platform embraces environmental protection at full force — making strides to address climate change, “one of the biggest threats of our generation.”
Here are 6 environmental issues highlighted in the Democratic Platform you should know about:
RNC Enshrines Industrial Farming
The 2016 Republican National Convention Platform approved on the convention’s first day features a section called “Abundant Harvest” that laudes our country’s model of industrial-scale farming, including the huge amount of agricultural exports enshrined in trade deals. Absent is any recognition of all the resulting environmental harm caused by this corporate model of food production evident in huge swaths of toxic algae right now in Florida, years past in Lake Erie, and present in so many of America’s rivers and lakes.
The Donald could learn a thing or two from Governor Kasich
This week all eyes are on Cleveland, Ohio as the city hosts the RNC and the Republican Party formalizes its nomination of Donald Trump for President. Right now, Cleveland is full of visitors from across the country, more reporters than what you’ll see at the Super Bowl, American flags, funny hats, and signs about the coming apocalypse (not joking). But there’s one thing you won’t see inside the convention hall - an appearance from Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Is Trump “building a wall” to block clean energy progress?
Turning back the clock will not work for America
The theme of today’s Republican National Convention is Make America Work. The speakers scheduled for the evening include a who’s who list of career politicians who have bent over backwards for big polluters and sought at every opportunity to obstruct progress. OEC Action Fund Director, Aryeh Alex issued the following statement in response to today’s theme.
6 things anyone who cares about the environment should know about the Republican Platform
Yesterday, Republicans finalized their platform at the RNC. Unfortunately, the platform does not include environmental protection as a core value, and in many ways represents a major step away from the traditional conservation values of the the Republican Party.
Here are the 5 things the platform says about the environment that you should know:
You can’t make America safe again without addressing these three major issues
Republicans need to champion, not stifle innovation
Portman Named to Dirty Dozen List and LCV Launches Field Effort in Ohio Senate Race
4 things to know about the presidential candidates’ views on climate change
Gov. Kasich on Lake Erie: This is a top priority
In a recent one-on-one interview with a Toledo news station, Gov. Kasich emphasized his strong support of solutions to tackle the long term health of Lake Erie.
"This is a high priority. In fact, I even had to veto legislation on water takes from the lake that every single republican in the legislature voted for and I vetoed it because I thought it endangered the lake. We also made a real breakthrough when we said the farmers are not going to put manure on frozen ground, which causes runoff which causes the algae bloom. We're on top of it and we're going to continue to do it. As president I think it's a cooperative effort between states and the federal government when it comes to natural resources.
"It's a partnership but in the state of Ohio, we've spent a billion dollars on the lake and the lake is getting better. The problem is the sins of the past are starting to catch up with us. It's like being a smoker. Once you quit, the lungs don't clear up right away. The same is true with the lake."
Kasich is right about the sins of the past catching up with us. Without smart, immediate solutions to protect the Lake, millions of Ohioans are at risk of losing safe drinking water, small tourism and travel businesses will struggle, and families will miss out on beautiful summers on the beach.
We agree the Lake must be a high priority and look forward to working with Kasich to do even more for our Great Lake.
Tweet @JohnKasich
Gov. John Kasich declares support of renewables and energy efficiency on national stage
Ohio Gov. and republican presidential candidate John Kasich has made several bold statements on the campaign trail about clean energy.
At a recent New Hampshire town hall forum, Kasich said he wanted to see a wind turbine outside of every statehouse in the United States.
During yesterday's debate, Kasich responded to Senator Marco Rubio's typical "jobs vs. the environment," argument by saying what most reasonable people know: you can protect the environment and benefit the economy at the same time.
"Now, it doesn't mean because you pursue a policy of being sensitive to the environment, because we don't know how much humans actually contribute. But it is important we develop renewables. Battery technology can unleash an entirely different world.
So the fact is that you can have a strong environmental policy at the same time that you have strong economic growth and they are not inconsistent with one another."
Tweet to let Kasich know you agree!
OEC Action Fund Announces Scores from LCV’s 2015 National Environmental Scorecard
Read the full scorecard in English here
Lea la tarjeta nacional de evaluaciones completa en Español aquí
The Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund today unveiled scores for the Ohio Congressional delegation as part of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) 2015 National Environmental Scorecard. The Scorecard includes the most votes ever scored and reveals the most anti-environmental Congress in our history. This is in direct contrast to President Obama who led the way on combating climate change and protecting our environment. The full Scorecard is available in both English and Spanish at scorecard.lcv.org
“Once again, too many members of Congress were complicit in extreme attacks on both bedrock environmental laws and more recent progress to protect our air, water, public lands and wildlife,” said Aryeh Alex, Director of the OEC Action Fund. “Despite last year being the hottest year on record, this Congress failed to take action on climate change and instead, put polluters’ agenda ahead of the health of Ohioans."
Disappointed in @robportman’s 8% on @LCVoters environmental scorecard. https://t.co/OkSiUEKYRe
— OEC Action Fund (@OECActionFund) February 24, 2016
The 2015 Scorecard includes votes cast during the first session of the 114th Congress. Both chambers seemingly left no environmental issue untouched in 2015, with assaults on the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Antiquities Act. It includes 35 House votes, which ties the record for the most votes scored in the House for the fourth time in five years, and 25 votes in the Senate, the second highest number ever included.
Thank you @SenSherrodBrown for showing leadership on #ClimateChange getting a 96% on the @LCVoters scorecard https://t.co/OkSiUEKYRe
— OEC Action Fund (@OECActionFund) February 24, 2016
The good news is that the Scorecard also includes many votes led by environmental allies who stood up for climate change science, clean energy, public lands, and wildlife protections, among other issues. Thanks to President Obama and environmental champions in Congress virtually all of the legislative attacks on the environment and public health were defeated.
In Ohio, four House members and one Senator earned a score of 80 percent or greater on the 2015 Scorecard, while eleven House members and one Senator earned an abysmal score of 10 percent or less.
“The 2015 Scorecard shows that the radical leadership in the House and Senate wasted no time pursuing big polluters’ agenda last year, and their environmental assault is well underway in 2016,” said League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski. “Fortunately, we have a growing force of environmental allies, including the president, as well as many in Congress, who are working tirelessly to combat climate change, transition to a clean energy economy and safeguard our air, water, lands and wildlife.”