Utah Student Paddles Oil and Gas Speculators
Here’s a cheery bit of civil disobedience to get you in the holiday mood. Last Friday, Tim DeChristopher, a student at the University of Utah, sat in on an oil and gas drilling rights auction hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Despite having no funds to pay for any of these large tracts of land, DeChristoper cast winning bids on “22,500 acres of land around Arches and Canyonlands [National Parks].” In effect he has managed to prevent drilling on these parcels at least until Obama’s inauguration, at which point environmentalists hope to see a significant shift in national energy policy priorities.
In addition, DeChristopher managed to articially drive up the sale price on several other lots. While the winning bidders on those parcels have been permitted to withdraw, many will not do so for fear that the parcels will not return to market after the presidential transition.
DeChristoper may now be facing federal charges related to his $1.8 million in winning bids, but says he’s willing to go to jail to protect this land from drilling.
Good luck, Tim!