Fracking hits the Heights

A town called Broadview Heights, just south of Cleveland, used to be a privileged, comfortable place to live, with raccoons, deer, and wild turkey peacefully ambling through backyards. But not any more. In 2004, the Ohio legislature passed a law that prevented local authorities from regulating the development of oil and gas wells, and since then more than 70 gas wells have been drilled, in many instances without even notifying the residents living just 600 feet away. Broadway Heights residents are now sharing an experience with the marginalised poor and with the residents of Indian reservations, where people have known for decades what it is like to have no say.

Sleeves are being rolled up. Kari Matsko is the director of a grassroots initiative in Ohio called the People’s Oil and Gas Collaborative, and she is looking for a way to fight back. ‘The more people who are directly affected by fracking, ‘she says, ‘the stronger the resistance becomes.’ But for Broadview Heights, it’s a bit late. Here in Britain, at least we have been warned.