CLIMATE CHANGE
“Act of Conscience” Could Earn 10-Year Prison Term
By Cléo Fatoorehchi
NEW YORK, Mar 24, 2011 (IPS) – A college student who derailed a federal auction of oil and gas leases to protest drilling near national parks in the western U.S. state of Utah, as well as the larger issue of reliance on fossil fuels, has reignited debate over the legitimacy of civil disobedience in addressing profound global problems like climate change.
In December 2008, the twilight of the George W. Bush administration, Tim DeChristopher attended the auction, held by the Bureau of Land Management, and bid 1.8 million dollars on parcels he never intended to actually buy. BLM agents caught on to the ruse fairly quickly, and DeChristopher was detained and then charged with making a false statement to the government and violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform………….
The Free 