Seventh in a series
Re “Vice Mayor Explains Why Governor Has Not Budged on Fracking”
As objective parties in the sizzling debate over fracking will acknowledge, the Middle West and earthquakes are as unconventional of a couple as that old favorite from caveman times, ham and water.
Lately, small-change quakes have been rumbling into Ohio, of all places. Both pro- andante-fracking forces have been pressing experts to declare in their favor.
Late last week, a clutch of Ohio geologists declared, over a chorus of boos and cheers, that the quakes appeared traceable to fracking activity.
This observation, however, is like giving the score in the middle of a contest.
Rulings have to pass through many more hands before fracking legally loses favor in Ohio, where Republican Gov. John Kasich, not incidentally, is an early unofficial contender for the 2016 White House race. This suggests he is not going to rule against fracking any time soon.
Meanwhile, back at home, Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells, due to be elevated to mayor on Monday, was talking about Gov. Brown’s clouded stance on fracking, and why City Hall is pressing for an urgent regulation specific to Culver City.
“The governor is looking at the overall economic impact on the state,” she told the newspaper. “The city is looking at the immediate health impact on our community. This case,” she said with an ironic chuckle, “is like the story of the oil executive who sued another oil company because he did not want them fracking directly next to his home.”
The debate hums along.
