logo
Who wants to make Ohio polluted again?

Who wants to make Ohio polluted again?

Yahoo25-04-2025
Lake Erie from Kelley's Island. (Stock photo from Getty Images)
More than 50 years ago, the Ohio Environmental Council was formed by a group of ordinary Ohioans. Their motivation? Making sure events like the Cuyahoga River catching fire never happened again.
Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its state-level counterpart, the Ohio EPA, Ohio's water resources were under serious threat. It was so filled with industrial pollutants, the Cuyahoga River — a body of water — caught fire, not once, but multiple times during the 1960s. During this same time period, Ohio's Great Lake Erie was declared dead.
Our air quality wasn't much better. The air quality in Youngstown, Cleveland, and Steubenville was among the worst in the nation. Industrial waste was dumped on private property, while even more ended up in poorly lined dumpsites, contaminating our soil and leaching into groundwater. Fifty years ago, our national bird, the bald eagle, was on the verge of extinction.
In 1970, Richard Nixon established the U.S. EPA with a mission to clean up pollution, establish environmental standards and regulations, and develop policies for protecting the environment.
Today, we enjoy markedly better air quality than we did fifty years ago. People row and fish in our state's lakes and rivers. We've cleaned up many industrial brownfields and former mine sites. We've adopted highways and raised awareness about the importance of litter prevention. Bald eagles are routinely spotted nesting in counties around the state. The days of private landowners uncovering barrels of toxic sludge in their backyards are long gone.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Or are they?
According to U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, ''President Trump has been very outspoken about his desire for Americans to be able to access clean air and clean water. We want air, land, water to be cleaner, safer, healthier.'
And yet, at the same time, Zeldin has announced a sweeping plan to allow far more heavy metals and toxins into the air from power plants, relax rules prohibiting mercury and arsenic from getting into our drinking water, and make it harder for neighborhoods downwind, or downstream of pollution to do anything about it.
We are old enough to remember an Ohio where bald eagle sightings were rare. Where children weren't allowed to swim in or even touch lake waters. And where smog, haze and air quality alerts were the norm and not the exception. Without the federal government's oversight of polluters, we risk those days returning.
In the absence of federal support, Ohio's state and local government agencies will have to pick up the slack. Do we have the resources to tackle this enormous challenge?
We pay taxes so our government will provide the basic services and protections we need to keep our communities safe, healthy, and livable. Without the US EPA upholding its end of the bargain, it's hard to see how we're going to protect the progress Ohioans fought so hard to make.
Ohioans deserve better than a return to the bad old days of pollution.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Most Americans support legal access to abortions in most cases: Survey
Most Americans support legal access to abortions in most cases: Survey

The Hill

timea minute ago

  • The Hill

Most Americans support legal access to abortions in most cases: Survey

Most Americans still support legal abortions despite a wave of rollbacks following the Supreme Court's decision overturning the federal right to access the procedure over three years ago, a new survey shows. The AP-NORC Research Center poll, published Thursday, revealed that 64 percent of participants said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. About 27 percent of people said the procedure should be illegal in most cases and 9 percent said it should be illegal in all cases. The results were split along party lines. A majority of Democrats, 85 percent, and independents, 67 percent, said they believe abortion should be lawfully permitted in cases of medically terminated pregnancies and use of an abortion pill. On the opposite side, 15 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of independents disagreed, according to the survey. More than half, 58 percent, of Republicans said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while 41 percent of GOP respondents shared an opposite view. The poll also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, regardless of their political party, said abortions should be allowed if the mother's health is at risk due to pregnancy or in the case of rape, incest or potential fetal abnormality. As states reflect on the impact of the 2022 Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health case — which overturned Roe v. Wade — the survey asked in which cases should medical abortions should be approved. Around 70 percent said abortions, which have increased since the landmark ruling, should be allowed in cases of maternal medical emergencies. A small majority, 56 percent, also said mothers should be permitted to travel to obtain an abortion in a different state if it's illegal where they reside. The AP-NORC poll was conducted from July 10-14 featuring 1,437 U.S. adults. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

U.S. trade agreement with Japan includes $550 billion in unanswered questions
U.S. trade agreement with Japan includes $550 billion in unanswered questions

Axios

timea minute ago

  • Axios

U.S. trade agreement with Japan includes $550 billion in unanswered questions

One key element of the U.S.-Japan trade pact raises more questions than answers about the future of the two nations' economic relationship. The big picture: A reported $550 billion investment commitment from Japan would reflect a massive surge in the nation's financial exposure to the United States. But no one in either the Japanese or U.S. government has articulated key details about how it would really work. In U.S. officials' description of the commitments, President Trump would have the discretion to direct the investment funds and the U.S. would receive 90% of the profits. It's unclear what legal entities — on either the Japanese or U.S. side — would be involved, or what would be in it for Japanese companies if they have neither control over the investments nor a financial return. Catch up quick: A White House fact sheet said Trump will direct the funds toward revitalization of the U.S. industrial base, including energy infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding. By the numbers: It's worth emphasizing just how big $550 billion is — nearly 14% of Japan's 2024 GDP. Japan is already the single-largest source of foreign direct investment in the United States, with a cumulative capital of $754 billion deployed as of last year. It's been rising rapidly, too — nearly doubling over the last decade. Reality check: That has been driven by Japanese companies voluntarily making investments on which they expect to earn a handsome return — think of the Toyota manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, which reflects about $10 billion in investment as of early last year. But those kinds of projects don't spin up overnight. The initial groundbreaking on the Toyota plant was in 1986. Japanese FDI in the U.S. increased by about $54 billion in 2024, a huge 7.7% surge, but the contemplated investment fund is more than 10 times that size. Similarly, Japan is the biggest owner of U.S. Treasury securities — with $1.1 trillion as of May. But those purchases are directed by the Japanese government to manage the nation's own currency and reserves, not at the behest of the U.S. president. The Bank of Japan buys U.S. bonds with the full expectation of interest earnings and principal being paid back. What they're saying: "They came to us with the idea of a Japan-U.S. partnership, where they are going to provide equity, credit guarantees and funding for major projects in the U.S.," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday on Bloomberg TV. A White House official tells Axios that "the shape and timeframe here are still TBD, but it's effectively an investment vehicle whose cash the Japanese will put up, and whose investments will be directed by the President into the sectors we have prioritized." The other side: "The vague promises about Japan investing $550 billion in the U.S. and Americans receiving '90% of the profits,' are the kind of fantastical claims better suited for a campaign rally than a serious trade announcement," wrote Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, in a note.

Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction
Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction

Boston Globe

timea minute ago

  • Boston Globe

Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction

'As both a mother and an elected official, I will always stand up for my constituents, particularly women and children,' Haxhiaj told reporters outside court, per footage that MassLive Advertisement Supporters erupted in cheers as the councilor spoke, but police framed her actions differently in an incident report filed with the court. The report said Worcester police on May 8 responded to the area of 36 Eureka St. for a report of a large group 'surrounding federal officers.' Responding city officers learned federal agents had made an arrest and that members of the large group were yelling at them and 'interfering' with their efforts to safely leave the area with the person they'd placed into custody, the report said. The incident report didn't identify the federal agencies involved in the arrest, but Haxhiaj, the report said, was allegedly seen 'pulling the restraints of the arrested as they were being escorted to the transport vehicle.' Advertisement She also allegedly 'continued to obstruct the federal officers as they attempted to leave the area,' the report said. Worcester Police Officer Shauna McGuirk approached Haxhiaj as the councilor held onto the side mirror of the transport vehicle, telling her 'several times' to move away, according to the report. It said Haxhiaj 'ignored several verbal requests' and allegedly pushed the officer away by 'striking P.O. McGuirk in the chest.' A few minutes later as McGuirk was arresting someone else, the report continued, Haxhiaj 'approached P.O. McGuirk from the side and pulled at P.O. McGuirk's arm.' That alleged act of civil disobedience 'interfered with the arrest and caused officers to divert their attention to Haxhiaj and away from the arrest,' the filing said. The Globe Outside court Wednesday, supporters of Haxhiaj cheered when she said she'd entered a plea of not guilty, according to the YouTube footage. 'I am resolute and unapologetic in maintaining my innocence,' Haxhiaj said. 'The overwhelming number of Worcester residents and Americans across the country are opposed to armed, masked men snatching our people off our streets and neighborhoods, terrifying mothers, children, fathers, families, and whole communities.' She said that while it's 'disappointing and disheartening to invest time, effort, and resources fighting these charges, it is absolutely nothing compared to Worcester families living in fear of being torn apart.' Haxhiaj also said she would 'always, now and forever, stand up and stand by our immigrant brothers and sisters, our neighbors, who are facing a horrific regime.' Advertisement Her next court date is scheduled for Sept. 25. Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store