SUBHEAD: Tim DeChristopher call for more civil disobedience in climate change fight.
By Brian Merchant on 17 April 2011 for TreeHugger -
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/04/tim-dechristopher-calls-civil-disobedience-climate-fight-video.php)
Image above: Tim DeChristopher at a climate justice demonstration. From (http://woodgatesview.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/bidder-70-the-david-vs-goliath-ordeal-of-tim-dechristopher).
Tim DeChristopher committed one of the most famous acts of climate activism in the nation: by bidding on a parcel of land that oil and gas companies were keen to snap up during a midnight hour auction put on by the Bush administration (and of course, being entirely unable to pay for it), he inspired the fledgling, next generation green movement to fight back. DeChristopher gave the final keynote speech at Powershift, an event that draws 10,000 green activists from across the nation to Washington DC. In his speech, DeChristopher implored the attendees, mostly young students and organizers, to move beyond campus activism and to engage in more direct civil disobedience. Listen to a snippet of his speech above.
DeChristopher is absolutely right: we're going to need to see more direct action from young, engaged people if we hope to see serious progress in arenas like halting mountaintop removal mining, shuttering dirty old coal plants, and making significant inroads towards climate mitigation in general.
And his plan is certainly a bold one -- to send waves of activists to mountaintop removal mines, day after day, in order to shut down their operations and force the government's hand on the issue -- and it very well may appeal to an anxious group of students who are growing frustrated with the inert political climate in Washington. Hell, I'd go. Judging by the thunderous response from the revved up Powershift attendees, a few thousand others would, too.
Video above: Recorded on January 20, 2010 using a Flip Video camcorder. From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLzpHMa-kmo).
See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: One Man's Bid 12/27/08
Ea O Ka Aina: Environmentalist going to prison 3/3/11
By Brian Merchant on 17 April 2011 for TreeHugger -
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/04/tim-dechristopher-calls-civil-disobedience-climate-fight-video.php)
Image above: Tim DeChristopher at a climate justice demonstration. From (http://woodgatesview.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/bidder-70-the-david-vs-goliath-ordeal-of-tim-dechristopher).
Tim DeChristopher committed one of the most famous acts of climate activism in the nation: by bidding on a parcel of land that oil and gas companies were keen to snap up during a midnight hour auction put on by the Bush administration (and of course, being entirely unable to pay for it), he inspired the fledgling, next generation green movement to fight back. DeChristopher gave the final keynote speech at Powershift, an event that draws 10,000 green activists from across the nation to Washington DC. In his speech, DeChristopher implored the attendees, mostly young students and organizers, to move beyond campus activism and to engage in more direct civil disobedience. Listen to a snippet of his speech above.
DeChristopher is absolutely right: we're going to need to see more direct action from young, engaged people if we hope to see serious progress in arenas like halting mountaintop removal mining, shuttering dirty old coal plants, and making significant inroads towards climate mitigation in general.
And his plan is certainly a bold one -- to send waves of activists to mountaintop removal mines, day after day, in order to shut down their operations and force the government's hand on the issue -- and it very well may appeal to an anxious group of students who are growing frustrated with the inert political climate in Washington. Hell, I'd go. Judging by the thunderous response from the revved up Powershift attendees, a few thousand others would, too.
Video above: Recorded on January 20, 2010 using a Flip Video camcorder. From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLzpHMa-kmo).
See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: One Man's Bid 12/27/08
Ea O Ka Aina: Environmentalist going to prison 3/3/11
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