Ohio citizen action
Encyclopedia
Ohio Citizen Action is Ohio
’s largest environmental
organization
. The organization focuses on environmental health
, and also tracks political corruption
in the state.
, the organization also has organizing offices in Columbus
and Cincinnati
. The organization recruits members and conducts campaigns with a statewide door-to-door canvass and a telephone canvas staff in Cleveland. Sandy Buchanan of Cleveland has been its Executive Director since 1993; the current Board President is attorney Ellis Jacobs of Dayton. It is the largest canvass-based state organization in the nation.
, natural gas prices, grocery store price-fixing, nuclear power plant
construction, health insurance
, and victims rights. Since 1994, Ohio Citizen Action has tracked political corruption in the state, based on exhaustive analyses of campaign contributions to Ohio candidates. The organization helped the State of Ohio establish a comprehensive public database of campaign contributions.
The organization used to have canvassing operations in Toledo and Akron, Ohio, however closed down those offices when canvassers were unable to make their nightly fundraising quotas consistently enough.
, regional canvassing, direct negotiations with the company, and other techniques to cause major polluters to prevent pollution, according to Sandy Buchanan, “far beyond what federal or state regulations would require.”
So far, such campaigns have involved AK Steel, Middletown
; Brush Wellman, Elmore; Columbus Steel Drum, Gahanna; DuPont
, Washington, WV; Envirosafe Landfill, Oregon; Eramet, Marietta; FirstEnergy, Northern Ohio; General Environmental Management, Cleveland
; Georgia-Pacific, Columbus; Lanxess Plastics, Addyston; Mittal Steel, Cleveland; Perma-Fix, Dayton; PMC Specialties, Cincinnati
; River Valley Schools, Marion; Rohm and Haas, Reading; Shelly Asphalt, Westerville; Stark County landfills; Sunoco Refinery, Oregon; Universal Purifying Technologies, Columbus
; U.S. Coking Group, Oregon; Valleycrest Landfill, Dayton
; and Waste Technologies Industries hazardous waste incinerator, East Liverpool.
Ohio Citizen Action has published a Good Neighbor Campaign Handbook (Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, 2006), describing how such campaigns are organized.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
’s largest environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
. The organization focuses on environmental health
Environmental health
Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
, and also tracks political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
in the state.
Overview
Based in ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, the organization also has organizing offices in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. The organization recruits members and conducts campaigns with a statewide door-to-door canvass and a telephone canvas staff in Cleveland. Sandy Buchanan of Cleveland has been its Executive Director since 1993; the current Board President is attorney Ellis Jacobs of Dayton. It is the largest canvass-based state organization in the nation.
Origins
The organization was founded in 1975 as the Ohio Public Interest Campaign, a coalition of unions, churches, and community organizations, working to pass legislation to protect employees and communities from the damage done by plant closings. Before the organization focused on environmental health, it was involved with a range of issues including tax abatements, community reinvestment, municipal electric powerElectric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
, natural gas prices, grocery store price-fixing, nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
construction, health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
, and victims rights. Since 1994, Ohio Citizen Action has tracked political corruption in the state, based on exhaustive analyses of campaign contributions to Ohio candidates. The organization helped the State of Ohio establish a comprehensive public database of campaign contributions.
The organization used to have canvassing operations in Toledo and Akron, Ohio, however closed down those offices when canvassers were unable to make their nightly fundraising quotas consistently enough.
Good Neighbor Campaigns
Beginning in the 1980s, the organization has increasingly focused on environmental health issues, including local toxic chemical right-to-know ordinances, landfills, hazardous waste dumps, groundwater and wellfield protection, incinerators, and pesticides. Since 1997, Ohio Citizen Action has concentrated on what it calls “good neighbor campaigns” with polluting companies. These campaigns combine community organizingCommunity organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
, regional canvassing, direct negotiations with the company, and other techniques to cause major polluters to prevent pollution, according to Sandy Buchanan, “far beyond what federal or state regulations would require.”
So far, such campaigns have involved AK Steel, Middletown
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
; Brush Wellman, Elmore; Columbus Steel Drum, Gahanna; DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, Washington, WV; Envirosafe Landfill, Oregon; Eramet, Marietta; FirstEnergy, Northern Ohio; General Environmental Management, Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
; Georgia-Pacific, Columbus; Lanxess Plastics, Addyston; Mittal Steel, Cleveland; Perma-Fix, Dayton; PMC Specialties, Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
; River Valley Schools, Marion; Rohm and Haas, Reading; Shelly Asphalt, Westerville; Stark County landfills; Sunoco Refinery, Oregon; Universal Purifying Technologies, Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
; U.S. Coking Group, Oregon; Valleycrest Landfill, Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
; and Waste Technologies Industries hazardous waste incinerator, East Liverpool.
Ohio Citizen Action has published a Good Neighbor Campaign Handbook (Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, 2006), describing how such campaigns are organized.
See also
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- BiodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Earth ScienceEarth scienceEarth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- NatureNatureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
- RecyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
- Conservation MovementConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....