January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
As you may have already heard, on December 19th I chose to disrupt the BLM oil and gas auction through an act of civil disobedience by bidding against participating oil & gas companies. I ended up "winning" the leases for 22,500 acres of beautiful land near Moab. You can find more details at www.bidder70.org.
The tremendous support I've received in response to my action was unexpected and utterly inspiring. Hundreds of people have contributed over $10,000 to my legal defense and to the $45,000 bond obligation for the leases. And countless others have expressed their solidarity and support for the long American tradition of meaningful civil disobedience.
In addition to the moving effect on me, this support has also opened up the real possibility of paying off the leases which I "won". The initial payment on this, required to secure the land, is around $45,000. After a good deal of struggling over this choice, I have decided to raise the money to secure the leases. With much advice from my legal team, it has become clear to me that making the down payment on the leases is the best way to protect the land until we can restore open, transparent and democratic procedures for determining the fate of valuable public lands.
It is still unclear how the new administration will deal with this inappropriate auction and the disruption I caused to it, but I can only hope the President Obama follows through on his promise for a transparent government. Until then I will make sure that no drilling or development happens on this land, and for that I need your help. This is an opportunity for all of us to make a clear statement of how much we care for our land, our climate and participatory democracy.
Please donate to help protect these 22,500 acres of wilderness (and reduce the chance of prison for me). Together we can protect this land and show that we are all willing to make the sacrifices necessary for a livable future.
Please forward this email on to as many people as you can and continue to spread the word of the need for critical action. Thank you for being a part of protecting the future for all of us.
Sincerely,
Tim DeChristopher
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Delete This Article
Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Remove This Article
January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
As you may have already heard, on December 19th I chose to disrupt the BLM oil and gas auction through an act of civil disobedience by bidding against participating oil & gas companies. I ended up "winning" the leases for 22,500 acres of beautiful land near Moab. You can find more details at www.bidder70.org.
The tremendous support I've received in response to my action was unexpected and utterly inspiring. Hundreds of people have contributed over $10,000 to my legal defense and to the $45,000 bond obligation for the leases. And countless others have expressed their solidarity and support for the long American tradition of meaningful civil disobedience.
In addition to the moving effect on me, this support has also opened up the real possibility of paying off the leases which I "won". The initial payment on this, required to secure the land, is around $45,000. After a good deal of struggling over this choice, I have decided to raise the money to secure the leases. With much advice from my legal team, it has become clear to me that making the down payment on the leases is the best way to protect the land until we can restore open, transparent and democratic procedures for determining the fate of valuable public lands.
It is still unclear how the new administration will deal with this inappropriate auction and the disruption I caused to it, but I can only hope the President Obama follows through on his promise for a transparent government. Until then I will make sure that no drilling or development happens on this land, and for that I need your help. This is an opportunity for all of us to make a clear statement of how much we care for our land, our climate and participatory democracy.
Please donate to help protect these 22,500 acres of wilderness (and reduce the chance of prison for me). Together we can protect this land and show that we are all willing to make the sacrifices necessary for a livable future.
Please forward this email on to as many people as you can and continue to spread the word of the need for critical action. Thank you for being a part of protecting the future for all of us.
Sincerely,
Tim DeChristopher
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Delete This Article
Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Remove This Article
Site Options
Tim Speaks
17 Comments
Add CommentKenneth Roberts wrote:
Good luck with the fight. I'm glad to see someone fight back. The BLM has lost track of it's purpose and just needs a stong reminder. Most folks are on your side.
Michele Doyle wrote:
Hey Tim: Good work! I am behind you 100%. I couldn't give too much, but gave what I could. You are doing a wonderful job! It's a great idea and we just have to make it for 14 more days until we get a real president! Hang in there and know that there are a lot of people supporting you! Michele Doyle
Candy Jones wrote:
Hey Tim! You might look into setting-up a not-for-profit which could take donations and help you administer this undertaking. What a mess Bush has caused. I agree with Michele that thankfully we are looking at a short time to a real president!! Hopefully this'll be resolved then, but a non-profit might be the ticket to help! Put the land in the name of the non-profit and be ready to accept donations that people would be more comfortable making to an organization than an individual...... I'll help you if I can! Kydnac
Lisa Wines wrote:
I LOVE this idea, and I think it needs to be a model for more of the same kind of Bushruptive activity. We saw how much money can be raised online from regular schmoes like you and me. Let's all own that land, and be guaranteed it will be safe, since our government won't or can't guarantee that. i gave a teeny weenie little bit of money, but I blogged and twittered the doo-doo out of this story. I wish you the best and will watch and wait to see what else I can do to help.
Ivan Kirigin wrote:
I heard about this from a friend who thought I could help. I make tipjoy, a micropayments donation engine. Check out these twitter tools we have: http://tipjoy.com/twittertools Basically, from the widget people can tweet a payment, and post a link back to the post with the widget. It gets pretty viral because everyone can see the donation. Let me know if you have any questions: ivan@tipjoy.com I'm not sure how easy it will be to put it on a ManyOne site. Hopefully their platform is a lot like other site builders or blogging tools, and you can get the code on here.
Donna O'Leary wrote:
Saw this article on a news site and had to learn more about it. After researching it a bit, this is the email I sent to family and friends with the the following subject line: "would you give this guy $? I did ... Green David vs Goliath" I summarized the story, importance of the donations, forwarding the word and gave them more links to research it further ... I hope every one of them send Tim some $$! This is the best investment I have made in a while, Go Tim!
Fred Lonberg-Holm wrote:
Hi Tim, Was very moved by your action. Have made a small donation but also set up a fan group on facebook to spread the word. So far about 100 folks have joined. Hopefully you don't mind. Drop me a note if you want to have it administered by someone of your choosing. Peace! Fred Lonberg-Holm
Bruce Allen wrote:
Hi Tim, You are an inspiration to many of us. I just sent a contribution and hope you can reach your goal. I will be encouraging my friends and associates to contribute as well. Amandla! Bruce Allen
O Arbor wrote:
You are ONE incredible human being! You TOTALLY made my day! All the best to you ~ O Mitakuye Oyasin
Steven KImball wrote:
Your welcome, Tim. Let's see if we can get you over $45,000 in the next 24 hours. All the best, JohnnyRook Blogging for the future at Climaticide Chronicles.
DJ Robinson wrote:
Next time I'm at the Delicate Arch I'll look out on the wide expanse and call it the DeChristopher Panorama. Well played.
David Applegate wrote:
Inspiring action! Have you gotten help from land conservancy groups like The Nature Conservancy?
Cliff Lyon (Author) wrote:
Runnin' With The Devil Soundboard! http://www.thetyser.com
Steven KImball wrote:
Tim, You need to update the fundraising information on your site. People who have contributed want to know if you (and they) were successful. Thanks! Steven aka JohnnyRook
davide de masi wrote:
Ciao sono italiano sei straordinario,we are with you.
Cliff Lyon (Author) wrote:
CIAO. Non sono italiano pero abitavo in Italia tanti anni fa.
Samantha White wrote:
From the UK... Hi to all across the water :o) I read about Tims action here in The Sunday Times last weekend - brilliant! Its really inspiring to hear about someone having the guts to actually DO something. I'm not working at the moment but figured I could afford $10. Though i have never been to America, and most likely never will, like all of us I have seen this stunning wilderness on countless movies. And I am really happy to have been able to contribute just a little to preserving it and raising the profile of these very important issues. Tim has "bloodied the nose" of the Bush admin in the last round. Go Tim! from Samantha, Kingston upon Hull, UK.