Thanks you Terry!
11
Cool!
You did the right thing... so thank you!
You did the right thing... so thank you!
8
If Bernie Sanders can raise $150 m in 6 months in small donations for his campaign, maybe someone can start the same process for buying up resource leases?
8
How much of the gas, and maybe oil, that the Williams paid for will be sucked out of the ground by the neighboring lease holders?
2
I admire your action, and reasons for taking it, but you may wind up disappointed in the end. The extraction industries in the West have massive power and law on their side, and you may wind up having your lease co-opted, or your fossil fuel "pooled" with a larger company's holdings and taken anyway. I'm not a lawyer, but I know that landowners with mineral rights can have those rights virtually taken away by this process. I hope I'm wrong, and you succeed, and influence others to follow. Good luck!
1
Another bleeding heart Luddite! Oil is the blood of the economy. Without it you would be able to generate reliable and cheap energy, drive your Prius's or have plastic packaging for your grocery store goods. And about your electric cars, you don't get something for nothing. The electricity to charge them has to come from somewhere. Maybe you people who want to live without oil or natural gas, try living like Ted Kaciski in a one room cabin in the woods and with out running water. Running water by the way comes to your house through the courtesy of electricity. How do you think it gets pumped from the ground into your town's hydrosphere? Yes, let's keep oil in the ground here and keep prices sky high and make it expensive for those people who have to commute long distances to get to work. You people live in a dream world and have no idea how the other seven eights live. You would deny others the right to cheap energy so you can feel good. In reality, you are just plain selfish.
13
This woman is a hero! If only more Americans were like her instead of greedily slurping up their cheap oil in their pickup trucks and S.U.V.'s with nary a care about the poisoned air they leave in their wake, and the uninhabitable landscape they bequeath to their grandchildren! "Who cares about the future, when we can have cheap oil now!"
(Of course, we can hardly expect an American public which has ballooned to an average weight of 300 pounds, fattened at the trough from daily **cheap** meals at McDonalds, to delay their gratification in any way or put the needs of others before themselves, can we?)
(Of course, we can hardly expect an American public which has ballooned to an average weight of 300 pounds, fattened at the trough from daily **cheap** meals at McDonalds, to delay their gratification in any way or put the needs of others before themselves, can we?)
6
I'm not sure who gets the last laugh in this story. The fact that the author got the lease so cheaply after it elicited no interest in the auction suggests industry pros saw no potential there. So, feel smug about keeping your "oil" there. The BLM just raked in a few more bucks.
9
This is the best news I've read all day.
8
As one with a long career in oil exploration, I commend you for your decision to take the step of standing up for your convictions.
13
Anyone wishing to make additional contributions to the BLM can do what this author did: purchase the acreage no oil company wanted. I'm sure all contributions will be cheerfully accepted.
4
Three cheers for this demonstration of wisdom and restraint! The future depends on more and more people doing this very same thing. Fossil fuelishness must end!
4
'...The singing became louder and louder until the bidders could no longer hear the auctioneer. The auction stopped. The protesters were told to be quiet. They kept singing. They were asked again...'
What is it about Leftists that makes them believe that only they, and only they, have the right to free speech and, even more astoundingly, that they have the right to disrupt any speech that does not meet their personal standards?
What is it about Leftists that makes them believe that only they, and only they, have the right to free speech and, even more astoundingly, that they have the right to disrupt any speech that does not meet their personal standards?
11
We have a huge but no infinite reserve of fossil fuels. We must leave the fossil fuels in the ground for our grandchildren and their grandchildren and ....At this time, it is not at all clear that in the future there will fuel sources that can universally replace fossil fuels in all their uses. Making believe that will be won't make it so. Who would have thought that we could silverfish the oceans? Nothing about our earth is infinite except the greed of some individuals who will use up what should be kept for generations to come.
4
Edward Abbey in "Desert Solitare" said something to the effect of "Get out of your car and pull up survey stakes wherever you find them."
As someone whose livelihood depends on the conservation of Utah's natural beauty, I can think of no better protest than independently preserving a small piece, even if temporarily.
Unique historical happenstance caused these lands to be preserved in the first place. If I learned one thing in my time here, once they're gone: they're gone. No amount of libertarian prothletizing can convince me these land are better suited for extraction than preservation.
Here in Utah, we are already loving out public lands to death. I'd rather see more rather than less in three generations time.
As someone whose livelihood depends on the conservation of Utah's natural beauty, I can think of no better protest than independently preserving a small piece, even if temporarily.
Unique historical happenstance caused these lands to be preserved in the first place. If I learned one thing in my time here, once they're gone: they're gone. No amount of libertarian prothletizing can convince me these land are better suited for extraction than preservation.
Here in Utah, we are already loving out public lands to death. I'd rather see more rather than less in three generations time.
8
I am trying to find the connection between the Williams' action and climate change. Did their purchase of the land in any way reduce the amount of oil burned in American cars? It did not.
It might be possible that, in some small way, the Williams have shifted America from burning American oil to foreign oil. Not sure how that helps.
But since the world has a huge glut of oil right now, what they have actually done is buy oil rights which would probably never be exercised. They spent $2500 so that they could pat themselves on the back.
If accomplishing nothing at irrational expense to stroke our own egos is our anti-global-warming strategy, then it is time to head for higher ground.
It might be possible that, in some small way, the Williams have shifted America from burning American oil to foreign oil. Not sure how that helps.
But since the world has a huge glut of oil right now, what they have actually done is buy oil rights which would probably never be exercised. They spent $2500 so that they could pat themselves on the back.
If accomplishing nothing at irrational expense to stroke our own egos is our anti-global-warming strategy, then it is time to head for higher ground.
8
Nicely done, thank you!
5
Go, Terry and Brooke. Love from Flagstaff, Arizona.
5
I have some better ideas for you Terry. To keep the fossil fuels in the ground, make sure you never a drive car that runs on fuel, or electricity generated by coal. Make sure you never use lotion, cream, makeup, shampoo, or conditioner made on petroleum based products. You never ride on an airplane or boat. Make sure you never wear any article of clothing that has the word synthetic on it. Make sure you never use an object made of "plastic". Make sure you never use a pc, ipad, or smartphone that contains synthetic materials. That way I will respect you and your actions. Otherwise you remain a hypocrite, who picks an easy battle, to make an easy payment form the NY Times.
13
This kind of black-and-white thinking is not helpful. You are arguing that if you use any petroleum product then you cannot challenge any aspect of the current petroleum industry. It doesn't make a consumer a hypocrite if they wish to change the current wasteful practices of the oil and gas industry. You are the one picking an easy battle, my friend. And you lost it.
13
I thank Terry Tempest Williams. Great activism.
9
Years ago, California attempted a hunting season on mountain lions, and people with hunting licenses could enter a lottery to win one of the 500 permits available. My wife took a firearm safety course in order to purchase a hunting license, entered the lottery and won a permit. She was never going to actually hunt, but thought it might spare a lion. Fish and Game were sued for not following environmental impact laws correctly, and the hunt never happened. Since then, the voters approved a permanent prohibition against a future hunt, so that will never happen again. But sometimes, people can play the game and stop an unnecessary plunder, so I applaud what they have done here. It is too bad such acts are even required.
45
Slacktivism as its best
I assume the author biked to and from the auction and jogged between venues during her last book tour.
I assume the author biked to and from the auction and jogged between venues during her last book tour.
7
What is land?
It sound like to the BLM, land is something that must have resources extracted from it (or perhaps cows grazing on it) in order to be legitimately purchased. Perversely, if you leave the land in its original state, they threaten you with prison.
As for TTW, it is beautiful that she used the free market as the medium of her protest. She legitimately competed with other bidders (who were not interested) an bought legitimate rights to the parcel. Nothing is more authentically American than that.
It sound like to the BLM, land is something that must have resources extracted from it (or perhaps cows grazing on it) in order to be legitimately purchased. Perversely, if you leave the land in its original state, they threaten you with prison.
As for TTW, it is beautiful that she used the free market as the medium of her protest. She legitimately competed with other bidders (who were not interested) an bought legitimate rights to the parcel. Nothing is more authentically American than that.
8
You wasted your money, lady. No oil company intends to drill on your goat pasture.
9
What a grand technique. Oil is such a strategic resource, that by forcing conservation like this should be viewed as the new patriotic duty. Hoarding our oil will only preserve the American way longer. Whoever has a problem with that should be held suspect.
1
1.50 ? That is insane on so many levels.
Thanks for doing that. Hope more people/organizations can.
Thanks for doing that. Hope more people/organizations can.
1
Excellent article. Can we agree that everyone should be free to develop - or not develop - their owned or leased property as they see fit?
1
Where does the money that the BLM makes in these sales go?
6
I'd like to buy a few shares of Tempest Exploration please.
32
A great effort, thank you.
Reading through these comments, it seems information is thin on the ground. Big fossil, the Kochs, Exxon, and others have doubled down on disinformation, and ordinary people just like cheap energy, without connecting the obvious downside, the increasing dangers of climate change, the toxic waste (mercury, radioactive, water supply - both pollution and shortage), and other costs on host communities.
For example, the claim about wind power and birds is simply wrong. The newest windmills are easily avoided by birds, and in fact the toxic byproducts of fossil extraction are terrible for birds, even if you discount climate change/global warming from heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
Our government should not be in the business of providing cheap leases to wealthy industries that are damaging our habitable earth. A lot of money went into these easy pickings (looting I sometimes call it).
The return on lobbying is about 100:1 in direct and indirect subsidies; nice work if you can get it.
Reading through these comments, it seems information is thin on the ground. Big fossil, the Kochs, Exxon, and others have doubled down on disinformation, and ordinary people just like cheap energy, without connecting the obvious downside, the increasing dangers of climate change, the toxic waste (mercury, radioactive, water supply - both pollution and shortage), and other costs on host communities.
For example, the claim about wind power and birds is simply wrong. The newest windmills are easily avoided by birds, and in fact the toxic byproducts of fossil extraction are terrible for birds, even if you discount climate change/global warming from heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
Our government should not be in the business of providing cheap leases to wealthy industries that are damaging our habitable earth. A lot of money went into these easy pickings (looting I sometimes call it).
The return on lobbying is about 100:1 in direct and indirect subsidies; nice work if you can get it.
35
Our government should not be in the business of subsidizing businesses with our tax dollars that are destroying the environment! I mean really!
4
Brilliant! I've always admired TTW -- and now even more so.
15
Great idea! Explore requirements for maintaining lease, including drilling. Might be cheaper than re-leasing. Look at grazing rights too. If can't stop drilling, can be very onerous about it AND be paid by exploration company. Funding other leasing opportunities.
5
A free kilowatt per square yard or meter is falling everywhere here in New Mexico as I write this. Oil is seductive to us because it is cheap and energy dense, but at what cost? One day, when the oil runs out, we will realize that we can't eat old oil rigs. It is time for balance and a plan for the future. AND maybe we ought to save some in the ground now for unforeseen emergencies next century.
21
Conversion efficiency greatly reduce the usability of that 1 kw/m^2. The Ivan-pah thermal solar plant located just south of the Nevada - California border for example calculates to around 30 W/m^2 - not particularity efficient. Photo voltaic efficiency are of the order of 20% so that 1k is dropped to .2 k.
While the suns energy is free, converting that energy to something useful is not. I suspect that with solar cells for example when everything is accounted for in their manufacture the energy required to make them is greater than energy they will produce during their lifetimes.
While the suns energy is free, converting that energy to something useful is not. I suspect that with solar cells for example when everything is accounted for in their manufacture the energy required to make them is greater than energy they will produce during their lifetimes.
2
I applaud the Williams' dedication and their essential donation of $2500 to keeping the lands in question drilling free.
I hope to be able to see them post again in, say, nine years, when their lease is likely to be worth at least ten times what they just paid for it.
I hope to be able to see them post again in, say, nine years, when their lease is likely to be worth at least ten times what they just paid for it.
8
very laudable protest in spite of the futility of it. The paradox with any "bridge" technology working is that as soon as you lower demand the price of fossil fuel goes down and consumption goes up. Check out the surge in sales of the biggest cars and trucks. I'm left to conclude that there is no answer and humans will somehow have to adapt to a world with higher carbon levels in the atmosphere. We may or we may not (I suspect we will) but it will be very painful and very very slow. How we end up will not be very pleasant either. I wonder, if we're still around 1000 years from now, how those people will look back on the approximately 300 year "oil era" . I suspect they will ask why we couldn't get it right.
12
Except that the consequences will be increasingly obvious in a few decades, not in centuries. We are already seeing this, but at the level needed to make people who don't want to know pay attention, I'd give it 20 years of so.
8
The issue is not our difficulty in adapting to a high CO2 world and the climate change it bring, it's the rest of the natural world that will be damaged for generations to come.
What may confound some is that the sale of electric cars is rising despite the lower cost of gasoline. Let see what happens thursday nite when Tesla starts taking reservations for the new Model 3.
A very large amount of people waste their time and resources driving back and forth to inane jobs that shouldn't exist and eventually won't exist. Sooner the better for the environment and our life purpose concept.
3
Well written. Thanks to you and Brooke for taking this stand and showing more policy types the error of our ways in the management of public lands.
21
I like it! And I wonder about the angry comments. Do they not know about climate change?
15
Yes, I know the climate changes. It just changed from winter to spring here in Iowa.
3
Duh. This reinforces my belief that both the intelligence and wit of the climate change deniers are leaden.
3
Joe, time to re-enroll in Elementary School and start from the beginning. It's never too late to start your education.
3
Suppose Tempest Exploration (or something similar) uses GoFundMe (for example) to raise an investment for the specific purpose of bidding for oil and gas leases that drilling companies do express interest in with the goal of keeping the oil in the ground? I'd contribute, many others probably would as well. A fund could be created to make a more visible impact.
Among the possible side effects: even if the drillers win the leases, they'd have to bid more than they otherwise would, making the investments less attractive. It's possible that when the leases run out in a decade, we'll all have come to our senses and keeping fossil fuels in the ground will be national policy.
Among the possible side effects: even if the drillers win the leases, they'd have to bid more than they otherwise would, making the investments less attractive. It's possible that when the leases run out in a decade, we'll all have come to our senses and keeping fossil fuels in the ground will be national policy.
45
Well, bully for you Ms. Tempest Williams. You've given away $1,680 and you (and others like you) are proud of your extreme environmental conscienceness in driving up the cost of fossil fuel. How many Americans would like to SAVE that amount each year by paying a little less to heat their homes or drive their cars? How many would like to EARN that amount each month by mining coal or fracing for natural gas? Congratulations on degrading the economic lives of millions in the name of an unproven theory.
5
"Driving up the cost of fossil fuel"? Hardly. Iran is back in the oil market. Russia's pumping compulsively. So are the Saudis. The Bakken has collapsed from oversupply. Rigs all over the United States are idle because the world is flooded with oil, so no, the cost of fossil fuel hasn't been driven up by a penny on the barrel by this decision. No one's heating bill has been affected. Your economic life hasn't been degraded, let alone the lives of millions.
You might not like the self-righteousness of environmentalists who go green, but the business decision they're making is the same one that the rapacious energy capitalists are making, regardless of the motive: it's just not worth it right now to extract what isn't needed. If you want to improve your economic life, try insulating your house. Look into solar incentives. Wean yourself from fuel you send up the chimney. And stop playing the victim.
You might not like the self-righteousness of environmentalists who go green, but the business decision they're making is the same one that the rapacious energy capitalists are making, regardless of the motive: it's just not worth it right now to extract what isn't needed. If you want to improve your economic life, try insulating your house. Look into solar incentives. Wean yourself from fuel you send up the chimney. And stop playing the victim.
8
Can certainly understand your concern about jobs. The protecting of our environment in the long term is more important then the loss of jobs developed because of fossil fuels harm to our well being and the health of our planet. What we need are jobs that provide a worthy income and do not harm our planet. Perhaps like the jobs that have shifted out of our country. I am more concerned that Nabisco is closing a plant in Illinois leaving 500 employees without an employer. Carrier Air Conditioning is closing a plant eliminating 1,500 jobs. In both instances the plants are relocating to Mexico. If you have concerns about jobs start with your members of Congress. We need jobs and we need to protect our planet.
21
Well, bully for you C Smith. $1680 doesn't buy much when the world is on fire.
13
The economic violence perpetrated upon energy workers by these "progressive" environmental is anything but moral. Wealthy "environmentalists" who can just through money away have helped to destroy entire communities, the economic violence is severe - and has contributed to the rise of Trump.
7
"Economic violence perpetrated upon energy workers"? Wow, that really reaches new heights of ridiculous hyperbole. Which extremist right-wing talk show taught you this term, "economic violence," so nice you used it twice?
26
Exactly how has the author destroyed a community, committed economic violence, or contributed to the rise of Trump? She merely paid the asked purchase price for a piece of property. Other than the federal treasury and her private pocketbook, no one was affected in any way. However, the land where her development privilege is located will be preserved during that ten years for all of us and for nature.
27
Jacobi, Unfortunately you accuse the wrong people. The economic hardship for the US American people is created by companies who outsource labor, who replace positions with temp workers, who give 'crumbs' to waitresses and truckers for temporary fracking jobs - all while destroying your land, your health, your roads. Then they make you use your own tax money (not their profits) to fix it all.
I know this does not help you put bread on the table, and we urgently need a program like the New Deal to hire people like you to fix our infrastructure and build out 21.century fossil-free energy capacity.
I feel for you but we cannot continue our suicidal and outdated energy path. It may kill you and your children as well.
I know this does not help you put bread on the table, and we urgently need a program like the New Deal to hire people like you to fix our infrastructure and build out 21.century fossil-free energy capacity.
I feel for you but we cannot continue our suicidal and outdated energy path. It may kill you and your children as well.
16
P.T. Barnum comes to mind.
4
Acting to stop the supply of fossil fuels is a meaningless gesture, both in reality and symbolically. Slightly less fossil fuel production in the US will be offset by importing the equivalent from elsewhere in the world.
For any given level of demand for fossil fuels, the world will act to produce the supply to meet that demand. The production of fossil fuels will only drop if the demand for them drops.
Therefore, if you acted to do your part in reducing the world’s DEMAND for, rather than SUPPLY of, fossil fuels it would be a meaningful gesture. The only sacrifice from you that I would be impressed with would be to arrange to get your energy needs--for power, transportation, heating--from renewables.
The important point is that the $2,500 you spent on buying up drilling leases was an act completely devoid of beneficial effect on our use of fossil fuels. However, it possibly has been well worth it to you because it got you the notoriety of having a piece published in the NY Times and the accolades of commenters who don’t realize the emptiness of your action. Instead, it would have been laudable of you simply to have used the same $2,500 to purchase, say, solar panels without any self-serving publicity.
For any given level of demand for fossil fuels, the world will act to produce the supply to meet that demand. The production of fossil fuels will only drop if the demand for them drops.
Therefore, if you acted to do your part in reducing the world’s DEMAND for, rather than SUPPLY of, fossil fuels it would be a meaningful gesture. The only sacrifice from you that I would be impressed with would be to arrange to get your energy needs--for power, transportation, heating--from renewables.
The important point is that the $2,500 you spent on buying up drilling leases was an act completely devoid of beneficial effect on our use of fossil fuels. However, it possibly has been well worth it to you because it got you the notoriety of having a piece published in the NY Times and the accolades of commenters who don’t realize the emptiness of your action. Instead, it would have been laudable of you simply to have used the same $2,500 to purchase, say, solar panels without any self-serving publicity.
12
Wow! Hope you're having a better day than when you wrote this.
You have no idea what her financial status is or what else she does to limit her carbon footprint and try to conserve the planet for future generations of all species. That's not what she chose to write about.
All she did was share a glimpse of a process that is not well known, expose the two-faced and bullying actions of our federal government with regard to climate change, and let us know about a movement intended to limit the further degradation of our national lands in the name of oil and gas profits.
She never said this will solve the global dependence on fossil fuels, but every little bit helps if we're going to look past short-term profits and have a sustainable planet.
You have no idea what her financial status is or what else she does to limit her carbon footprint and try to conserve the planet for future generations of all species. That's not what she chose to write about.
All she did was share a glimpse of a process that is not well known, expose the two-faced and bullying actions of our federal government with regard to climate change, and let us know about a movement intended to limit the further degradation of our national lands in the name of oil and gas profits.
She never said this will solve the global dependence on fossil fuels, but every little bit helps if we're going to look past short-term profits and have a sustainable planet.
13
Maybe she lives off the grid as well.
3
C’mon, the essence of her piece was not about protecting the environmental value of the surface of the land but doing things to stop the harmful effects of using fossil fuels by trying to stop the extraction of those fuels. She wrote: "Out here in the Utah desert, we are hoping to tap into the energy that is powering the movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
You wrote: "She never said this will solve the global dependence on fossil fuels but every bit helps..." "Dependence" means the demand or use of something, not supplying something. Her effort to curtail supply has no impact our dependence on fossil fuels. If she spent her money on curtailing her fossil fuel dependence she would be doing something positive instead of the empty gesture of attempting to curtail supply.
Her piece is fishing for praise for something of no consequence to our fossil fuel utilization. The people who actually deserve praise are the millions who are anonymously paying a premium to curtail their fossil fuel dependence through things like buying solar panels, buying hybrid or plug-in cars, installing extra home insulation, etc.
You wrote: "She never said this will solve the global dependence on fossil fuels but every bit helps..." "Dependence" means the demand or use of something, not supplying something. Her effort to curtail supply has no impact our dependence on fossil fuels. If she spent her money on curtailing her fossil fuel dependence she would be doing something positive instead of the empty gesture of attempting to curtail supply.
Her piece is fishing for praise for something of no consequence to our fossil fuel utilization. The people who actually deserve praise are the millions who are anonymously paying a premium to curtail their fossil fuel dependence through things like buying solar panels, buying hybrid or plug-in cars, installing extra home insulation, etc.
1
I am not going to condemn the Williams', I would like instead to expand on a comment she made at the very end of her article, about finding a responsible way to use our carbon based fuels.
I don't think any thinking person can doubt that we need to get off of carbon based fuels if we want to save our planet. There are two technologies that might make this possible: Fission & Fusion. Fission is the process of a traditional Nuclear Power Plant. As most know there are severe problems with this technology. Fusion uses Hydrogen as a fuel and does not produce the long lived nuclear waste that a conventional nuclear power plant does. Fusion however, is as much as 30 years away from commercial development.
We need an environmentally responsible bridge technology to get us from now until when fusion power is available. We have about 200 years of fossil fuel available with in our own borders. If we could find a responsible way to use this, we would not have to be involved with the crazies in the Middle East to power our country. At a minimum this would save us $ Trillion, and thousands of US deaths, as well as another probable terrorist attack on the US.
I would propose a high priority research program for the responsible use of our fossil fuels as well as a program to commercialize fusion power as rapidly as possible. We owe this to our children and the planet to do nothing less.
I don't think any thinking person can doubt that we need to get off of carbon based fuels if we want to save our planet. There are two technologies that might make this possible: Fission & Fusion. Fission is the process of a traditional Nuclear Power Plant. As most know there are severe problems with this technology. Fusion uses Hydrogen as a fuel and does not produce the long lived nuclear waste that a conventional nuclear power plant does. Fusion however, is as much as 30 years away from commercial development.
We need an environmentally responsible bridge technology to get us from now until when fusion power is available. We have about 200 years of fossil fuel available with in our own borders. If we could find a responsible way to use this, we would not have to be involved with the crazies in the Middle East to power our country. At a minimum this would save us $ Trillion, and thousands of US deaths, as well as another probable terrorist attack on the US.
I would propose a high priority research program for the responsible use of our fossil fuels as well as a program to commercialize fusion power as rapidly as possible. We owe this to our children and the planet to do nothing less.
5
The Japanese proved the impracticalities of nuclear power. Now we are all paying for their failure. Of course, they are suffering the most themselves.
1
No, the Fukushima disaster showed us how we have to improve. You can't give up after a setback.
3
Fusion experiments are costly and inconclusive. They rely on a level of investment, cooperation, and perfection that is not possible in our modern world.
It is sad but true that the cleaner forms of nuclear energy are not being developed (perfect recycling of the fuel, I'm told, is not possible) while older generation 2 nuclear is being grandfathered beyond its safe use by date. And the UK, adding insult to injury, is hiring the Chinese to build old tech nuclear: cheap is dear.
It is sad but true that the cleaner forms of nuclear energy are not being developed (perfect recycling of the fuel, I'm told, is not possible) while older generation 2 nuclear is being grandfathered beyond its safe use by date. And the UK, adding insult to injury, is hiring the Chinese to build old tech nuclear: cheap is dear.
3
Wonderfully subversive! Imagine many tiny parcels being bought, making it impossible for a large energy company to buy a large enough area to drill.
On the other hand, if we all vote for Bernie, we may not need such actions (of course the state government has to be with Bernie as well.
KEEP IT IN THE GROUND!
On the other hand, if we all vote for Bernie, we may not need such actions (of course the state government has to be with Bernie as well.
KEEP IT IN THE GROUND!
14
If we all vote for Bernie, everything will be free free free for everyone!!!!
3
It is amazing and horrible that energy companies can lease ANY of our land.
15
A little more wisdom and a lot less learning would do you a world of good.
Please research 'mineral rights,' 'federally owned land', 'oil and gas leases,' 'US electrical generation by fuel source,' you will see that particularly in the instance of this article, the auction was held by the US government. I would suggest that the proper object of your wrath is Mr. Obama.
If you don't want energy companies to lease federal land, reduce your demand. Of course it won't take long in the cold and dark to come to a proper appreciation of said energy companies role in keeping you alive.
Please research 'mineral rights,' 'federally owned land', 'oil and gas leases,' 'US electrical generation by fuel source,' you will see that particularly in the instance of this article, the auction was held by the US government. I would suggest that the proper object of your wrath is Mr. Obama.
If you don't want energy companies to lease federal land, reduce your demand. Of course it won't take long in the cold and dark to come to a proper appreciation of said energy companies role in keeping you alive.
9
We don't have to shut off the lights. We could raise our thermostats at home and at work. We could take the stairs instead of elevators. We could walk to the grocery store if we only need to buy a jar of peanut butter. We can buy the dry bagged beans instead of the processed and canned ones. We can reduce our dietary consumption of meat. We can recycle, we can use solar power. Its not an all or nothing. There are lots of ways that we as individuals can try to reduce our footprint.
7
Does the law stipulate what equipment you must use to excavate the oil/gas? To comply with the law, how about every day you go out and dig a hole, a shovelful a day. If no energy reserves are uncovered, well you've wasted your good money and have to just sit on that worthless land until the lease expires.
5
This was my thought exactly. Does the law stipulate to what length the lessee must go to attempt to recover oil or gas? Since the laws that dictate that land leased by the government for resource extraction are archaic, it follows that archaic methods to attempt to locate and extract these resources should be permissible.
4
Nice work!
8
The entirety of Castle Valley was used by the Fremont and artifacts of their occupations can be found everywhere there, probably right under the foundations of Tempest-Williams home. But she has hers, and "conservation" in this case clearly has a fairly recent cut-off date.
This isn't a criticism, it is an observation of human nature.
This isn't a criticism, it is an observation of human nature.
2
Right, and as soon as they are offered $1million for their lease by some awful oil and gas company, they'll sell it and buy the biggest diesel powered pickup available in Utah, some snowmobiles, and then maybe pay off their credit card debt..........
Puleeeeeeze spare us the sermon from the mount by a convenient environmentalist.
Puleeeeeeze spare us the sermon from the mount by a convenient environmentalist.
6
I understand your logic, because money talks for so many people. Still, I can't help but feel sad to know you've never met anyone with the integrity of Ms. Williams. She's not alone in her determination. There are many of us, and we are rising strong. A symbolic action like this one only further fuels the movement. I'm grateful for Ms. Williams and this article. Thank you NY Times for publishing
29
Meanwhile you up on your righteous high horse are doing SO MUCH, for the environment right? Please give me a break.
11
Not everyone is as cynical as you. The Lax Kw’alaams First Nation in British Columbia, Canada just turned down $1.15 billion (Cdn) cash, because they know the future is in jeopardy. Some people have integrity.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2016/mar/20/by-rejecti...
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2016/mar/20/by-rejecti...
13
The writer acquired the rights to a parcel that no actual commercial exploration company wanted. In other words, they took nothing of commercial value. The only value of the acquisition was to keep the author out of prison. That is a good outcome, but does nothing else to impact the oil and gas market.
4
The author wasn't going to prison. Pay attention. She did not bid with no intention of buying. I am sure others did not bid either. Not everyone at an auction is required to bid.
9
Intent?!? Money was raised to pay the leases that Tim DeChristopher purchased trying to save the place he loves. He was imprisioned to impress the activist community with the power of the government over our lives. All they did was elevate him to hero status. Just as federal marshalls showed up with ak47s on a family maple syrup farm in upstate Pa. to keep us from saving those trees and that family business. Private profit now has eminent domain power thanks to corrupt judges! Wake up or the America that is a shining beacon will continue to fade from view.
3
It strikes me as anti-free market to declare that land can only be leased for the extraction of fossil fuels. If corporations need laws to keep the price of leasing land low so that oil and gas can be extracted profitably, it seems to me that Adam Smith would tell us that the market is not bearing the cost. This amounts to billions of dollars of corporate welfare annually. To top it off, the product pollutes our air, land, and water and changing our climate, with the costs of effects being socialized to the public as well.
37
While exporting it abroad to maximize private profit. If that isn't corrupt I'm not sure what is!
2
How did you resist titling this article 'Tempest in a Teapot Dome?'
6
What if the price of extraction is greater than the amount of money you'd get for the oil or gas, would you still be forced to drill? I believe rig count and domestic production is declining because they are losing money. http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/#tabs-summary-2Maybe the oil/gas industry should applaud your decision by not producing and furthering the glut.
6
If I'm not mistaken, all it takes to keep the lease going is to take any kind of action toward reaching the purpose of the lease, i.e. energy companies can start a road - and since those who threaten wilderness in the west like to call a cow path a road, you might want to start a path into that spectacular wilderness for your purposes. It just might allow you to keep the lease in 10 years. It may also continue to protect a wilderness that people, from all over the world, come to enjoy.
7
Nothing like tooting your own horn. You must be so proud. I'll give you credit where credit is due. You sure figured out how to snooker those evil doers. 10 years is not very long and you really are only delaying the inevitable Mrs. Anderson.
1
and clearly you're doing so much to help the environment right here. way to go bruh
10
As the auction closed, we were told that if we wished to lease parcels that had not been sold, we could go to the B.L.M. office and purchase them “over the counter” at a discounted price. Call it a fire sale.
======================
Um, the reason that the parcels you leased weren't sold at auction and you got them at a discount is because the REAL energy companies have looked at the geology there and know there is no oil or gas present to develop. Otherwise they would have bid on it.
You've completely wasted your money because there is no fossil fuel on your leases to "keep in the ground."
But maybe the couple of thousand dollars was worth it to you for this furious act of virtue-signaling.
======================
Um, the reason that the parcels you leased weren't sold at auction and you got them at a discount is because the REAL energy companies have looked at the geology there and know there is no oil or gas present to develop. Otherwise they would have bid on it.
You've completely wasted your money because there is no fossil fuel on your leases to "keep in the ground."
But maybe the couple of thousand dollars was worth it to you for this furious act of virtue-signaling.
10
In most oil and gas producing western states the mineral rights trump the surface rights. The land is laid out in "spacing units", typically 2 sections. If an energy company has mineral interests anywhere in your spacing unit they can use the laws of eminent domain to extract your minerals.
5
Bravo! Those who belittle your effort never explain how they plan to avoid the devastation of climate change. Don't believe in it? Imagine how ironclad the evidence must be to get 195 countries, many of which are at war with each other, to agree on it, as they recently did in Paris! Denial is over. Where it persists, any thinking person knows it is bought and paid for.
11
Fantastic, I love it! Bravo for doing the right thing.
5
Terry, Good for you. One action at a time, followed by an informative Op-ed action. Action by action. I look forward to your forthcoming book.
6
A noble but futile gesture. As in "There Will Be Blood," your neighbors will drink your milkshake.
6
Sad, feeble fatalism like this won't reverse any of the free market victories being won every day by green energy. You'll be a customer soon enough.
1
On October 4, 2012 we put a 4.35 kW photovoltaic system on our roof, and as of this time we have produced 25,161 kWh of power for us and what we don't use, back into the system, despite our Republican Governor Martinez vetoing the extension of the solar rebate for homeowners (right after she received $20,000 from the Koch Brothers). We are looking into doing the same thing in NW New Mexico, where the BLM is considering offering leases for drilling near Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, which is also one of the best astronomical dark sky places on earth, which will be destroyed by lights from drilling operations even if they are 20 miles away.
Good for you, and thanks from my children and grandchildren.
Good for you, and thanks from my children and grandchildren.
19
It's unconscionable how cheap these lands are. Perhaps those thanking you, including myself, and who have some ready cash can do as you did and also become a stockholder in your drilling company. Then at the end of the 10-year period, drilling can "begin" (but not continue) in the least objectionable parcel.
4
Put your car on its end and aim it straight up and drive it at 60 miles per hour.
How long till you leave the atmosphere?
1 hour.
That's right, the earth's atmosphere is about 60 miles deep.
If the earth was the size of a basketball the atmosphere would be the depth of a piece of plastic wrap snugged around it.
Only a few hundred years ago - not even a blink in geologic time - every drop of oil was in the ground.
Praise be Terry Tempest Williiams - you and your husband Brooke.
Let me know when the next auction comes up.
How long till you leave the atmosphere?
1 hour.
That's right, the earth's atmosphere is about 60 miles deep.
If the earth was the size of a basketball the atmosphere would be the depth of a piece of plastic wrap snugged around it.
Only a few hundred years ago - not even a blink in geologic time - every drop of oil was in the ground.
Praise be Terry Tempest Williiams - you and your husband Brooke.
Let me know when the next auction comes up.
18
Only a few hundred years ago - not even a blink in geologic time - every drop of oil was in the ground.
====================
That's not true at all.
There are natural seeps where petroleum comes out on the ground surface all over the world. I am most familiar with this phenomenon in California. The prehistoric Indians there used this asphaltum as a sealant for canoe seams, and to waterproof baskets and as a cement in making other artifacts. They did this for thousands of years.
====================
That's not true at all.
There are natural seeps where petroleum comes out on the ground surface all over the world. I am most familiar with this phenomenon in California. The prehistoric Indians there used this asphaltum as a sealant for canoe seams, and to waterproof baskets and as a cement in making other artifacts. They did this for thousands of years.
6
Thank you for both your actions and for writing about this. I, too, would gladly lease land to preserve it. Perhaps this is the beginning of a movement??!
5
As would I and lots of others!
1
Thank you Terry Tempest Williams for your action and this powerful op ed. As scientist James Hansen revealed this week, we are currently in a climate emergency, with sea level rise in multiple meters likely to happen over mere decades, not centuries. Yet our federal government is selling leases to release more fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere for $1.50 per acre. This is a travesty, selling our future on the cheap for short term profits. Is this the climate legacy Obama wants to leave to us and future generations? Hillary Clinton has echoed Obama's "all of the above" strategy, pushing fossil fuel development along with renewables. This is digging the hole we are in faster than filling it up. Bernie Sanders is the only presidential candidate who has identified climate change as our most serious security threat, opposed the Keystone pipeline from inception, pledged to ban fracking and called for a tax on carbon. We cannot allow oil companies to put short term profits ahead of our long term survival.
5
(Not Mark) I'm so glad you are pursuing your activism as you see fit, but it really is just virtue signalling. I'd be more impressed if people who believed like yourselves worked to go off the grid and use solar or wind in your everyday lives. Also, give up the appliances that are made with a majority of plastics. You can still buy clothes (fabric woven on looms and sewn with machines), but honestly, it's such a feeble protest.
3
I'm glad Ms. Williams feels good. In the real world, however, the fact that no oil and gas company was interested in her acreage implies a very low probability of producible hydrocarbons. If she really wants to have an impact on future production she should get in there and bid against the O&G companies on a lease they want. Otherwise she is just making a contribution to the federal treasury with no impact on oil/gas production. As a taxpayer and energy consumer I must admit I appreciate both results.
22
That's not really true. Had the auction been held in 2013, I'm sure she would have a lot of competition. But with oil companies cutting their exploration budgets to near 0 with a glut of oil, a lot of good leases are going unbought
5
Dear energy consumer and tax payer,
You no doubt take offense to the robbery of the tax coffers by corporate welfare... No?
You no doubt take offense to the robbery of the tax coffers by corporate welfare... No?
1
Whether the land has a billion gallons of oil underneath or not a drop is irrelevant. That no one will drill in those acres for 10 years is the reality, and the point.
1
Great story. Now the protestors had no business in actually interfering with the auction. Multiple warnings were excessive in my view. Having to be an energy company is also unacceptable in my view. If you are a citizen, will pay what is required what you do with these rights should be up to you. Now those that don't want development should put their money where their desires are, that is great. Otherwise they should not interfere with others rights by singing etc.
2
IF there is oil under this parcel that no producer wanted, someone can plop down next to you, drill directionally (i.e., horizontally), and drink your milkshake.
7
not quite. they cant drill into your lease, horizontally or otherwise. They can however extract oil from your lease indirectly trough formation attributes.
4
I would not know why we couldn't look for the key access property in an area, or the most promising, and take them off the market for a while. It is a free country after all, and being out maneuvered is part of capitalism.
I think a group funded project is called for.
I think a group funded project is called for.
6
On a credit card no less! Bless you for your courage, forbearance and resourcefulness- all of those heroic qualities I once taught in 9th grade English class. On behalf of my grandchildren, thank you.
6
Bless you.
4
Thank you! Success has always been achieved with steps that grow incrementally; none of which are noticeable until the eventual climax (e.g., the Civil Rights Movement). I liken it to answering my four year old daughter's questions, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" The answer is repeatedly "no" and then suddenly the answer is "yes!" We're not there yet on environmental realism, but I can only hope that after many more of these single moment acts, that someday I'll be able to answer my daughter, "yes, we ARE here!"
51
Ms. Williams,
The only way to keep hydrocarbons in the ground is to make them unnecessary which will reduce their value as is currently the case. That said they are not the problem. People are the problem, too many people are the problem.
As long as the number of people increase without reason all of the reductions and savings in the amount of CO2 released will be consumed by this increase.
The only way to keep hydrocarbons in the ground is to make them unnecessary which will reduce their value as is currently the case. That said they are not the problem. People are the problem, too many people are the problem.
As long as the number of people increase without reason all of the reductions and savings in the amount of CO2 released will be consumed by this increase.
12
Sadly, this is true and will remain true until we come to grips with the fact that we all are the problem. A fine, symbolic gesture by Ms Williams. But only a gesture that will not solve the real problem of over population. Look at any major issue confronting the earth and its inhabitants and it all boils down to that one inescapable and apparently unutterable fact.
3
If you use the land for wind or solar, does that conform to the law?
2
No, the lease is for surface drilling only no building allowed.
that would be a surface lease. Its doubtful these leases have surface rights except for accessing a drill sight.
I own a surface drilling right. That is exactly what they purchased.
1
This is a great idea. These lands belong to the citizens of America, but are being administered in a way that does not necessarily benefit us. Suppose we set up a fund for buying these leases, and just hold them? I would be glad to contribute, and I'm sure others would, too. I'll keep an eye on this, to see if someone who knows more about leasing than I do sets this up.
9
In point of fact the land belongs to the people of Utah.
The Constitution forbids ownership of lands by the federal government except for very limited purposes.
The Constitution forbids ownership of lands by the federal government except for very limited purposes.
4
Thank you! I have been suggesting this as a better alternative to the fossil fuel divestment movement. There's only one way to guarantee that fossil fuels stay in the ground and that's if you own the land.
My recommendation: environmental groups should set up a corporation whose bylaws say that its explicit purpose is to buy the mineral rights of fossil fuels but to not develop them. This corporation would rely entirely on donations to fund the effort. And with the prices of oil, natural gas, and coal falling, a lot of mineral rights are available for much cheaper than they were ten or even five years ago.
Who's with me?
My recommendation: environmental groups should set up a corporation whose bylaws say that its explicit purpose is to buy the mineral rights of fossil fuels but to not develop them. This corporation would rely entirely on donations to fund the effort. And with the prices of oil, natural gas, and coal falling, a lot of mineral rights are available for much cheaper than they were ten or even five years ago.
Who's with me?
7
Proud to say that in my former role as Sierra Club President, I presented the Sierra Club's highest honor -- the John Muir Award -- to Terry Tempest Williams in 2014. We are now locked in a long twilight struggle against the ignorance and greed hindering action to save a planet from climate crisis. Im' glad people like Williams and her husband are at the forefront of that struggle to keep carbon in the ground.
13
Acting to stop the SUPPLY of fossil fuels is a meaningless gesture, both in reality and symbolically. Slightly less fossil fuel production in the US will be offset by importing the equivalent from elsewhere in the world.
Now you acting to reduce our country's DEMAND for fossil fuels would be a meaningful gesture. The only sacrifice from you that I would be impressed with would be to arrange to get all your energy needs--for power, transportation, climate control--from renewables.
Now you acting to reduce our country's DEMAND for fossil fuels would be a meaningful gesture. The only sacrifice from you that I would be impressed with would be to arrange to get all your energy needs--for power, transportation, climate control--from renewables.
7
Thank you.
86
We can buy our way out of this problem if it only costs $2,000. Let's attack that governmental waste also. If we do want drilling - make em pay for it!
11
Well Gee the reason that it is cheap is that there is a lot possibility of commercial oil or gas under these lands. Surely you know this, but perhaps living in Paris you don't. And here the oil companies do pay a lot for it and many times there is not commercial finds. If you want no oil and gas drilling please use none either directly or indirectly. Good luck with that!!!
2
Good on you. This is a fine example of when-the-people-lead,-the-leaders-will-follow.
38
yeah, whats going to follow are lotsa of folks showing up at these auctions driving diesel dually pickups to acquire leases on the cheap.
Saul Alinsky would be proud of you. If you post a how-to comment in the Comments section explaining how to bid on leases, I'd be inclined to do the same, especially if it can be done on line. I'd be happy to pay a couple of thousand dollars to prevent exploration for ten years in my beloved Adirondacks, so I'd be willing to do the same for leases elsewhere.
59
What can I say, a shrewd bargain to support a wise plan. Have you thought of Kickstart?
28
Could your company sell to another company with the same intentions? If you did this near the end of your ten-year limit, the two companies could pass the ownership back and forth indefinitely. Sell for half what you paid, and after that sell it back and forth for a dollar.
Thank you for doing what you've already done, in any case.
Thank you for doing what you've already done, in any case.
80
In terms of making an impact on climate change it would probably be more effective to invest the same amount into renewable energy. But in terms of drawing attention to the absurdity of what is going on - you are legally obliged to drill for oil on public lands - this gesture and this article are highly effective. So thank you both for your "coyote" activism!
71
Perhaps individuals who lease these public acres can also utilize them for small wind turbines until they are ready to "begin" drilling. Large companies are starting to monopolize this growing alt enery source with enormous wind farms, snapping up large tracts of land, even to the point of suing Native American tribes in states like OK to get access to theirs. As humorous as it sounds, the era of "Big Air" is coming unless individuals can get in on it early.
1
Defining "drilling". If I go out there with an auger, drill down a couple of feet, stop and say "Nope, no oil there", fill the hole an dig another one a foot away, have I met my obligation?
1
Perhaps individuals who lease these public acres can also utilize them for small wind turbines until they are ready to "begin" drilling.
===================
No, they would have to get different permits unrelated to oil/gas exploration and would have to go through an environmental analysis under NEPA.
===================
No, they would have to get different permits unrelated to oil/gas exploration and would have to go through an environmental analysis under NEPA.
1
Let let me know if your "energy" company is looking for additional shareholders. What a great idea!
36
This is beautiful. It is a similar to what the Nature Conservancy does when it buys land to hold in perpetuity for conservation purposes. Although it may be a small step by itself, were a movement to catch on it would be a way for similar thinking people to put their cash where their heart is. As a group, it could have a significant impact, just as the Nature Conservancy's efforts do.
51
LOL!
With slant drilling and steam pressure displacement, "your" oil will soon be pumped from the ground by your neighbors.
I am glad you are patting yourself on the back for your stance for the ecology. I am even happier for your neighbors, they invested wisely and are reaping the benefits of your short sighted actions.
You haven't stopped or changed the course of history one iota but you have thrown your money down the rabbit hole making your statement.
With slant drilling and steam pressure displacement, "your" oil will soon be pumped from the ground by your neighbors.
I am glad you are patting yourself on the back for your stance for the ecology. I am even happier for your neighbors, they invested wisely and are reaping the benefits of your short sighted actions.
You haven't stopped or changed the course of history one iota but you have thrown your money down the rabbit hole making your statement.
9
isn't slant drilling into someone else's leasehold an without expressed easement illegal? I'm,sure the ACLU or another group could produce case law on that.
1
If what you suggest is done it would be totally illegal. You can and have been able to use directional drilling for decades it allows the rig to be in one area and the oil in another, not to steal your property.
Yes, and I wish I had known so I could have bid on an adjoining parcel! I for one like electricity, air travel, heating my home, etc.
1
Dear Ms. Williams - I am a tremendous fan of your books and have every single one. Thank you doing this. Is there a fund we that support you can contribute to so that you might purchase more land. To Mr. Klokeid from CA who has been so quick to diminish Ms. Williams efforts (try reading her books). We each do as much as possible to protect the planet that you are rapidly swallowing up with your vehicle. If you have grandchildren, perhaps they will one day wonder what you did to support or pollute the world they were born into.
25
"After 10 years, we will lose our lease if we haven’t drilled." Could Mr. & Mrs. Williams set up a minimally-invasive, purely notional 'drilling' rig that satisfies the letter of this requirement, without actually extracting any fossil fuels or marring the landscape?
More expansively: Why should only energy companies be allowed to bid on these parcels? Why the favored insider treatment? All citizens should have equal access to the bidding process. If energy extraction is truly the best and highest-value use of these lands, then a free, fair, open and transparent auction process should reveal that.
The favored treatment for energy companies is the scandal in this story.
More expansively: Why should only energy companies be allowed to bid on these parcels? Why the favored insider treatment? All citizens should have equal access to the bidding process. If energy extraction is truly the best and highest-value use of these lands, then a free, fair, open and transparent auction process should reveal that.
The favored treatment for energy companies is the scandal in this story.
166
Correct, and the owners of those energy companies-gazillionaires, Kochs among others, want to cut taxes so they don't have to pay for "welfare" for the poor, but they have lobbied for this (oil)wel-fare for the rich.
12
As to why the rules of the auction are rigged the way they are, I would suggest that the oil companies lobbied our wonderful Congress for that!
5
you have to produce as well.
Bravo, Terry Tempest Williams and spouse. A lot can change in ten years. Brilliant work.
34
Short and to a good point, Stuart.
1
Can this lease be donated to the Nature Conservancy, or a similar land con serving organization? If so, then perhaps many more of of can contribute to the form of wilderness conservation.
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
15
But, is there any actual oil in the ground you are leasing?
5
All I can say is well done for you ma'm! In the same issue of the NYT are all these stories of more earthquakes being felt in Oklahoma and Texas. Plenty of sun out there in Utah - perhaps some of it could be harnessed? Solving this world problem is going to take a lot of effort from all of us, and I salute your efforts!
140
I imagine, like our Republican governor in New Mexico (300+ days of sunshine) that the Republican governor or Utah would (of already has) vetoed any pro-renewable legislation.
4
Feeble attempt at stopping the inevitable. Oil prices are low with much to go around thanks to good old American ingenuity. We are exporting the stuff we have so much. But you pat yourself on the back roping (temporarily) a small area so you can feel good about yourself.
Pouring moral imagination doesn't work in my vehicle, gasoline does.
Pouring moral imagination doesn't work in my vehicle, gasoline does.
14
Well, that's your vehicle. The price of electric vehicles, charged at solar power stations, is going down to where most people, including you, will be able to switch away from fume- spewing vehicles.
54
You remind me a lot of some people in Germany who, when forests were dying because of acid rain, hollered, "My car will roll on with or without forests." All right, in a country as vast as yours, with minimal public transportation outside of large cities - and unreliable even then - a car is absolutely necessary, but need that car be a huge one, an ego-booster for show-offs? Then at least try to find one which uses as little gas as possible and pollutes as little as possible, too (Yeah, I know, VW really messed all of us, both Americans an Euiropeans).
But, and this detail is crucial: if we burn all of our oil now, what will we do later, when we desperately need it for plastics, and not throw-away bags, either, for medicine? That stuff is far too valuable to be wasted.
But, and this detail is crucial: if we burn all of our oil now, what will we do later, when we desperately need it for plastics, and not throw-away bags, either, for medicine? That stuff is far too valuable to be wasted.
24
Klokeid, that was clever of you to getb the Saudi's to pump so much and reduce the price!
1
whats to stop you from solar
panels or wind on the land?
panels or wind on the land?
34
Great idea! Hey, energy is energy. Does that special deal for energy companies apply to solar and wind too? If so, you can just keep going, and others will join you.
The lease is for drilling only, no building or development allowed.
2
A new, and legal, form of activism. Lets hope it catches on ( Are you listening, 350.org? ). Oh yes, and I'll put my money where my mouth is. Just let me know where and how I can buy in.
113
That activism reminds me a lot of what the nature conservancy groups I am in are doing: buying up ecologically valuable land to keep it safe from development; I'm retired now, but have begun teaching again to have more money for donations to said projects.
Sure, a commenter calls such actions a "tempest in a teapot," but if you have enough tempests in enough teapots, it will make a difference. Continue that kind of activism, form networks of like-minded people, inform organisations like the National Wildlife Federation and all those others you have in your country, write articles ... Don't let your wonderful American landscapes and ecosystems be ruined. The Utah desert: just go out into the desert in the early morning when the sun is coming up and smell the air - all redolent with the smells of sand, plants, residual moisture. Nicer than that of petrol.
Sure, a commenter calls such actions a "tempest in a teapot," but if you have enough tempests in enough teapots, it will make a difference. Continue that kind of activism, form networks of like-minded people, inform organisations like the National Wildlife Federation and all those others you have in your country, write articles ... Don't let your wonderful American landscapes and ecosystems be ruined. The Utah desert: just go out into the desert in the early morning when the sun is coming up and smell the air - all redolent with the smells of sand, plants, residual moisture. Nicer than that of petrol.
111
Irony alert.
This ex-New Yorker recalls seeing near-countless numbers of gasoline-powered trucks delivering -- seven days a week -- copies of daily newspapers to retailers in the five boroughs.
This ex-New Yorker recalls seeing near-countless numbers of gasoline-powered trucks delivering -- seven days a week -- copies of daily newspapers to retailers in the five boroughs.
Sounds like a tempest in a tea pot.
2
As in the "teapot dome scandal" of the last century I presume?
3
Be it ever so Humble, there's no lease like Dome.
2
Soooo close! You coulda led with "Tempest in a Teapot Dome!"
1