Ohio… HUGE Victory for Lake Erie!… Gov. John Kasich Signs Executive Order Banning Oil

fishing-Lake-Erie-sunset

In a surprising but welcome victory for the environment, the
Republican Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, signed an executive order this
past Wednesday banning oil and gas companies from drilling in or under
Lake Erie! ~ Stephen D Foster

The order is another layer of protection for the huge body of water
that is part of the Great Lakes system. Federal law already prohibits
drilling in or under Lake Erie, but the Ohio Environmental Council notes
that the executive order is important because there is no telling which
party could be in control after the November elections.

According to the Columbus Dispatch ,

“Kasich signed the order in Port Clinton, where he
attended the Fish Ohio Day luncheon and earlier in the day cast a line
in the water with anglers. His order prohibits the Department of Natural
Resources from “issuing any permit, license or lease allowing” drilling
in or under Lake Erie.”

Kasich’s decision should be praised by everyone who loves the
environment and seeks to protect it. His decision certainly runs counter
to the Republican theory that we have unlimited amounts of oil and gas
and that we should drill anywhere and everywhere to find it.

It’s hard
to believe that any Republican these days would care to keep this
nation’s freshwater pristine and untouched by the oil and gas companies
who irresponsibly ignore safety regulations and use chemicals that
poison water supplies.

After all, is there any Republican who isn’t
bought and paid for by that industry? The order of course could be just a
business decision to protect Ohio’s billion dollar sport fishing
industry, which would most certainly disappear if the fish population
were to perish because of pollution.

Nevertheless, a Republican Governor has done something good for the
environment for once and he should get credit for that. But even as we
give Kasich praise, we should be aware that Kasich has refused to sign a
bill that would ban fracking across the entire state of Ohio, except
for in or under Lake Erie.

The problem is that fracking chemicals are
poisonous to water supplies and can easily end up in rivers and streams,
some of which empty into Lake Erie. So it is pointless to ban drilling
in and under Lake Erie and not pass a statewide ban on fracking that
could poison the lake anyway.

That’s why Kasich’s decision seems to be more about business than it
is about the environment and safety of our water and food supplies.

The
fact is, Americans can’t live without water, and seeing as how a great
portion of our food supply comes from the water, Republicans must think
about the critical resources we could lose by allowing the oil and gas
industry to drill wherever they please for a small amount of gas or oil
still left in the ground.

It’s a risk no state or country can afford to
take. If Kasich truly cares about the fish and freshwater provided by
Lake Erie, he should grow a spine and stand against his party and the
oil industry and sign the ban on fracking.

That action alone could turn
Kasich into a champion for the environment and would be perhaps the one
good thing he’s done for Ohio.

 

Stephen D Foster, Jr – July 14, 2012 – posted at AddictingInfo

*****

Contact Ohio Governor John Kasich… Take a few minutes to thank and commend Govenor Kasich for taking a huge step by signing an executive order protecting the waters of Lake Erie! Ask him to do it one more time by banning oil and gas drilling in Ohio to truely protect Lake Erie.

Govenor Kasich has endorsed Mitt Romney… If you will not be voting for Romney, let him know your stand on his Romney endorsement and what a Romney presidency will mean for the future of our people and country.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett needs to step up to the plate and join Governor Kasich (born in Pittsburgh, PA) by signing an executive order to ban gas and oil drilling in Lake Erie as well as statewide in Pennsylvania.

Who is Governor John R. Kasich? Also see HERE

Also see…

Ohio Gov. John Kasich Signs Bill July 1st Allowing Concealed Guns In Bars

Being an avid fishing person, I thank you Governor Kasich!

SadInAmerica

 

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