One Man's Bid ($1.7 Million) To Save A Scenic Utah Landscape

Visions of the Rewilding Renaissance Grief & Praise
#1

The Bush administration has only two days left, but right up to the end, it’s been taking actions that have environmentalists fuming. One of those actions had been a plan - enacted in the waning months of the administration - for the Bureau of Land Management to auction off oil & gas drilling leases in Utah on spectacular scenery near national parks and ancient rock art panels. But environmentalist Tim DeChristopher had an unorthodox plan to disrupt those auctions…

Tim, a student at the University of Utah, in an act of civil disobediance, bid $1.7 Million (that he doesn’t have), on the oil & gas leases for 22,000 acres and won, tieing up the land until G. Dubya Bush’s trail of environmental devastation comes to a screeching halt in 2 more days… Good Ridance to Bad Rubbish!!!

Read more…

http://www.bidder70.org/

#2

I heard about this story yesterday, and spent ten minutes laughing my ass off.

#3

That’s fucking brilliant! Yet so simple…

I never thought about that possibility. Awesome, though.

“Public land” here in Alberta is not open for sale, sadly.
The way they use the word “public” is pretty twisted. Basically keeping the land out of peoples hands in the name of it being ‘public’ and ‘for everyone’, but allowing logging and drilling companies to pillage and rape as they see fit. The revenue is of benefit to “the public”, so it’s all good, apparently.

Anyplace designated for logging and drilling (anyplace not protected parkland), practically belongs to the companies, even if they are only ‘using’ ‘public land’.
Agriculture and other ‘demonstrated needs’ can buy public land in some cases, I think.

#4

[quote=“kveldulf, post:3, topic:1295”]That’s fucking brilliant! Yet so simple…

I never thought about that possibility. Awesome, though.[/quote]

From the Fed’s and oil companies perspective he is a criminal who defrauded them of 100’s of million$$ in oil revenues, and will be prosecuted by the Mighty Arm of “American Justice” for fraud and any another charge they drum up against him, and he will most likely be thrown in prison, to scare off any “copy cats” & protect society from his anti-social threats.

From our perspective his act of non-violent, civil disobediance was a brilliiant, heroic, selfless act of defiance against federally sanctioned degradation of magnificent, beautiful landscapes and natural wonders.

Who said “Non-violence never solved anything”?

Here’s a video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4731351n

#5

I have attributed that quote to C. Montgomery Burns, who some of you might better know as Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. :stuck_out_tongue:

#6

[quote=“kveldulf, post:3, topic:1295”]That’s fucking brilliant! Yet so simple…

I never thought about that possibility. Awesome, though.[/quote]

I second that. Sweet! ;D ;D ;D

#7

;D I wondered who that C.M. Burns fellow was (not remembering good old Monty Burns) So I looked up Quotes from C.M Burns and found this treasure chest of capitolist wisdom… here are a few gems…

“What good is money if it can’t inspire terror in your fellow man?”

“What act of unmitigated evil should the Republican Party undertake this week?”

(to Marge at the gaspump)
“You there - I want you to fill my horseless carridge with pure petrolium distillate. And simonize my tires, posthaste!”

“Damn it, Smithers, this isn’t rocket science, it’s brain surgery!”

“Oh, so mother nature needs a favor? Well, maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts and floods and poison monkeys!”

“You know Smithers, ‘I told you so’ has a brother, his name is ‘SHUT THE HELL UP!’”

“Since the beginning of time, Man has yearned to destroy the sun.”

(as the nuclear power plant is melting down)
Smithers: “I love you, sir.”
Mr. Burns: “Well, thank you for making my last moments on Earth socially akward!”

(on the subject of siphoning power off from the orphanage)
“Who are they going to complain to? Their parents?”

“I prefer the personal touch you only get with hired goons.”

Inspector: “This plant violates every labor law in the book. We found a missing Brazilian soccer team working in your reactor core!”
Burns: “That plane crashed on my property!”

More C.M. Burns Quotes
http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-275988.html

#8

Excellent…