Letter to the Editor in The Blade:
On Jan. 28, the citizens of Toledo will find out exactly how meaningful their vote was when a judge rules on Drewes Farm Partnership LLC. vs. City of Toledo.
We cannot ignore that 61 percent of voters supported the Lake Erie Bill of Rights in the special election in February. We cannot forget that Senior U.S. District Judge James Carr acknowledged (“Judge: what is Ohio actually doing to help reduce Lake Erie’s algae burden?” Sept. 24) that he was frustrated by the lack of evidence to prove that what the state is doing now will actually work. We cannot forget that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce wrote the language for the state budget bill to remove the ability of citizens to defend their ecosystems.
But the biggest thing that we cannot forget is that this is bigger than Toledo. Australia, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, and dozens of communities across the country are taking action. The Lake Erie Bill of Rights and Toledo landed in the national spotlight for a global Rights of Nature movement. We cannot ignore that. Will the next court that rules?