Since the project has already been approved and started construction on October 15, 2020, it may be hard to stop construction now. However, there are several actions we ask that the university take before going further with this project.
- The Ohio State University should release a more comprehensive environmental study about the plant that takes into account emissions at the point of extraction and health effects for the immediate campus area, not Franklin County as a whole.
- The university should create a concrete plan and timeline showing how we will get our campuses to carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy use that is made available and readily accessible to all members of the university community.
- If the plant is built, provided that there is a clear path to 100% renewable energy use later, the university should invest in carbon offsets and carbon capture and storage technology to reduce the impact of emissions further.
- The university should increase investment in renewable energy sources, research into better renewable energy technology, and into the communities harmed by fracking. This should include investments of time, money, resources, and faculty expertise.
- The university should revise its sustainability goals to be more in-line with current predictions and risks of the impending climate crisis. Specifically, we ask that the university works to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 rather than 2050, and they work towards using 100% renewable energy as soon as possible.
- The university should consider the environmental injustices associated with fracking and the fossil fuel industry that disproportionately harm poor, Black, Indigenous, and other POC communities as well as the possible negative health outcomes of these injustices.
- The university should issue a public apology to faculty, staff, and student leaders who voiced concerns about the plant and were largely ignored, dismissed, given false information, and talked down to by Ohio State representatives.
- The university should halt construction until all demands are met in order to preserve the community’s confidence in The Ohio State University as a reputable and transparent institution.
We will not be silent until these demands are met.