Activists rally to prevent fracking under Ohio’s Salt Fork State Park 

Activists are fighting against a new law that requires state agencies to consider proposals to drill for oil and gas under Ohio’s public lands, writes Julie Grant in the Allegheny Front.


In a nutshell:

The law, signed by Governor DeWine in January, requires agencies to lease state lands for oil and natural gas production. The move has sparked outrage among environmentalists who argue that public consent was not obtained and that continued fossil fuel exploitation will have dire consequences for humanity.

Key quote:

“Make no mistake, the decision has been made without the consent of the public to whom these lands belong and against the desperate warnings of scientists that our continued exploitation of fossil fuels will send the human race to its grave,” said Aaron Dunbar, of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.

The big picture:

Fracking, a method of extracting oil and natural gas from deep underground, continues to raise serious concerns about its health and ecological impacts. The process involves injecting vast amounts of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to fracture rocks and release the fossil fuels trapped within. This extraction technique has been linked to various health issues, including respiratory problems and contaminated drinking water sources near fracking sites. The release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, during fracking operations contributes significantly to climate change, exacerbating global warming and its associated ecological disruptions. As activists rally against the proposed fracking in Ohio's state parks, the debate over the potential dangers of this practice remains a crucial issue in environmental discourse.

Read more at the Allegheny Front.

For more information about how fracking chemicals harm human health in Kristina Marusic's excellent series: Fractured: The body burden of living near fracking.

A private water well with pipes pointing into the ground

Saudi-owned corporate farms are draining Arizona’s desert dry

Arizona’s lax water laws let corporate farms pump unlimited groundwater to grow alfalfa for cattle overseas, even as local families spend their savings drilling new wells.
brown field near mountain under blue sky during daytime

Trump administration’s revised approval process threatens to scuttle giant NV solar complex

The Trump administration cancelled its review of a massive joint solar project in Nevada that would have added up to be one of the largest continuous solar farms in the world – at least as it was envisioned. 
A kenyan woman cooking food in a large silver pot in the outdoors

Searching for links between a changing climate and mental health in Kenya

New research shows rising anxiety and suicidal thoughts among women in Kenya as climate change worsens their economic and emotional burdens.

two person on mountain with snowy mountains in the background

How the autumn climbing season turned deadly in the Himalayas

As climate change extends South Asia’s monsoon season into autumn, hikers in the Himalayas are facing increasingly extreme weather.

A farm field on a sunny day with farm workers bending down to pick food

Opinion: California farmworkers face dual threats from extreme heat, pesticide exposure

As California’s summers grow hotter, farmworkers are enduring the twin dangers of extreme heat and pesticide exposure—conditions that current regulations fail to address in combination.

Water coming from a kitchen faucet

It’s brown and burns your eyes. In small-town Texas, clean water is elusive

Plagued by climate-driven weather extremes, communities that need help improving water quality are being left behind.
Green moss and snow cover a vast permafrost landscape.

Researchers are reanimating 40,000-year-old microbes

Their findings have major implications for the Arctic as its summers both grow warmer and longer.

From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.