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Those are some real fighting words. And it's clear that Kasich has sold out to the Koch Brothers:The Ohio Legislature and Gov. John Kasich drew national headlines last week when they moved to halt their state's renewable energy mandates — the first such renewable energy roll-back nationally, according to the New York Times. Now, FitzGerald, Kasich's Democratic opponent, is coming out swinging."It's a big deal," FitzGerald declared when he visited Business Insider's office Friday. "The state has made some real strides. Back in 2008, we passed some pretty sweeping renewable energy standards that passed really almost unanimously ... We now have the dubious distinction of the first state in the country that is basically killing off renewable and sustainable energy standards."
FitzGerald, the executive of Cleveland-based Cuyahoga County, connected the legislature's temporary freeze of Ohio's mandates to the political influence of the Koch brothers — billionaires Charles and David Koch, of Koch Industries — and other energy-related special interests.
"We live in a country where it's not just a show of hands, unfortunately; some people have bigger hands than others. There aren't that many people who are against it. If you poll it, you'll see that overwhelmingly people are in favor it. But, look let's just get real here: The Koch brothers aren't. And they spoke out about this ... They've spent money in Ohio before and I think that they will again. And their influence is being felt," said FitzGerald.
FitzGerald directly accused Kasich of only supporting the bill out of the hope that the Kochs would launch an independent expenditure on behalf of the Republican's re-election campaign.
"Look, he's not going to say why he's for it," said FitzGerald, arguing the two-year freeze was on the path to becoming a permanent blow against wind and solar energy in his state. "Why do I think he's for it? It doesn't make any sense ... unless you factor in money." - Business Insider, 6/2/14
Here's a little more info:Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s (R) environmental record took a turn for the worse last week when he approved rolling back the state’s renewable energy standards. The Buckeye State became the nation’s first to go backwards in this area.But it’s not the only trouble area for the Ohio governor as it relates to environmental policy.
We learned in February that Kasich had originally endorsed hydraulic fracturing – better known as “fracking”– on public land, though he reversed course under unusual circumstances. In 2012, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which is responsible for regulating oil and gas drilling in the state, put together a marketing plan to promote fracking on state land. Asked about this, Kasich’s spokesperson said earlier this year that the governor’s office knew nothing about it. There was ample evidence to the contrary.
Team Kasich said the contradictory responses don’t matter since the end result was the same: the Republican governor dropped his fracking plan in August 2012. There’s new evidence that this isn’t true, either.
New emails show that the Kasich administration did not end its consideration of a plan to sell Ohioans on the benefits of fracking in state parks in August 2012 as previously indicated.
Meetings between high-level officials of the governor’s office and Department of Natural Resources continued for months afterward – even though Gov. John Kasich supposedly had already decided against fracking on state-owned lands – according to 1,572 pages of material given to The Dispatch in response to a public records request almost three months ago. - MSNBC, 6/2/14
And look who benefits from Kasich's fracking plan:Craig Butler, at the time Kasich’s top assistant on energy and environmental issues, said in an Aug. 1 email that plans to open state lands to fracking are nearly complete “and it is time to review/develop a plan to implement the strategy.” He asked Natural Resources staffers to gather the agency’s technical, senior, policy and communication staff to meet with the governor’s senior policy, legislative and communication staffers, including the chief of staff.On Aug. 20, Butler – who is now director of the state Environment Protection Agency – told Kasich’s senior policy adviser Wayne Struble, “We r ready technically and legally to roll w leasing a few identified state parcels. But need to talk final strategy to brief 30, the governor, interested parties and media.” The “30” is an apparent reference to the governor’s offices on the 30th floor of the Riffe Center.
In February, a Natural Resources spokeswoman said, “No action or next steps came out of the meeting.”
But that’s not what the newly released records show. While nothing was provided that shows what happened over the next several weeks, the effort obviously stayed active because in mid-November Butler asked to schedule a two-hour meeting after Thanksgiving with the Natural Resources team and top officials of the governor’s office to review the readiness of fracking on state parks, forests and wildlife areas, plus “details of under lake drilling.” It is not clear to what the latter is referring.
The gathering was set for Nov. 27, 2012, but the state provided no information to indicate what happened during or after that meeting. - The Columbus Dispatch, 5/31/14
The Koch's have been fighting back against the EPA's rule aimed at cutting the carbon pollution emitted by the nation’s fleet of existing fossil fuel-fired power plants:Fracking is short for horizontal hydraulic fracturing, and Ohio is the next ground zero for the rapidly expanding natural-gas drilling method, which has enraged environmentalists and provoked controversy across the country. Fracking involves injecting millions of gallons of water and chemicals - some of them toxic - into deep underground wells to break up rock and release natural gas.Common Cause reports that fracking companies spent $2.8 million in political contributions to Ohio parties and candidates since 2001. Republican Gov. John Kasich tops the list and has received $213,519 in campaign contributions from the industry.
Additional analysis of campaign records by Truthout reveals that wealthy executives of companies connected to the natural gas industry, including billionaires William "Bill" Koch and David Koch of Koch brothers fame, funneled an additional $127,268 in personal donations through a political action committee (PAC) to support Kasich's election in 2010.
Earlier this year, Kasich signed a law passed by Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature allowing drilling companies to frack in state parks, a big signal to the industry that Ohio is open for business. - Truth-Out, 11/29/11
And a lot is at stake for Ohio's future:American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Funded by petrochemical billionaires Charles and David Koch, along with various corporate and fossil fuel interests, ALEC is a secretive organization designed to pass conservative legislation in states across the country. The group set its sights on attacking clean energy laws in multiple states but failed in every attempt last year. This year, ALEC identified the coming restrictions on coal-fired power plants as a key area of focus and, according to internal documents obtained by the Guardian earlier this month, they have a new strategy. ALEC’s plan for attacking the regulations involves seeking out friendly state attorneys general and encouraging them to sue the EPA, a move reportedly spearheaded by Nebraska attorney general and ALEC member Jon Bruning, who has already filed a lawsuit against the agency.
ALEC has also “targeted a dozen state legislatures, including Kentucky and Ohio, to prevent certain states from implementing EPA carbon rules,” Reuters reported last week. Ohio has already introduced model legislation. - Think Progress, 5/30/14
http://www.toledoblade.com/...
FitzGerald has great argument against Kasich and if we really want to stick it to the Koch brothers, we need to help FitzGerald win. Click here to donate and get involved with FitzGerlad's campaign:A new federal report, the National Climate Assessment, identifies the extremes of climate disruption in Ohio, the rest of the Midwest, and the country. Despite its low-key tone, the study by expert climate scientists makes clear the threats these accelerating effects pose not only to Ohioans’ health, but also to our economic and environmental well-being and our public infrastructure.The report notes that the Midwest warmed between 1980 and 2010 at three times the rate it did between 1900 and 2010. It concludes that climate conditions jeopardize Ohio’s agriculture, transportation, and forestry industries.
Apologists assert that warmer temperatures will lead to longer growing seasons in Ohio, and that farmers’ crops will consume carbon dioxide. That won’t help much, though, if their crops fail because of prolonged drought.
The report suggests that Ohio has developed enviable wind-power and solar resources, along with sound state standards for clean energy and energy efficiency. But Statehouse politicians are throwing away, rather than exploiting, these advantages.
“Climate change is happening here,” says Neil Waggoner, an organizing representative with the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club. “It’s not going to wait for us to figure out what we’re going to do.
“Every year is getting warmer,” he adds. “We need to have a discussion about the future of this state before these extreme weather events become the norm.” - Toledo Blade, 5/11/14
