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Protesters Tell BLM to Stop Auctioning Wyoming Public Lands for Fracking
Protesters Tell BLM to Stop Auctioning Wyoming Public Lands for Fracking
Obama Administration Called on to ‘Keep it in the Ground’
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663 jnichols@wildearthguardians.org
Additional Contacts:
Connie Wilbert, Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, (307) 742-0056
Peter Dakota Molof, Rainforest Action Network, (971) 295-0887
Images from today’s protest are available for mediause here.
Cheyenne, WY-Protestors with signs andbanners staged a climate rally today outside of the Bureau of LandManagement’s oil and gas lease sale in Cheyenne, urging President Obama to“Keep it in the Ground.” The BLM’s “climate auction,” as protestersdubbed it, allowed industry to bid on more than 100,000 acres of publicly ownedoil and gas in Wyoming, opening the door for millions ofmetric tons of carbon pollution.
The rally is part of a rapidly growing nationalmovement calling on President Obama to define his climate legacy by halting newfederal fossil fuel leases on public lands and oceans – a step that would keepup to 450 billion tons of potential carbon pollution- safely in theground. Similar “Keep it in the Ground” protests are planned for upcomingauctions in Montana, Colorado, and Utah, and have already taken place in manyother states. Since November, protested lease sales have been postponedin Utah, Colorado, Montana and Washington, D.C.
“If we really want to effectively tackle the climatecrisis, President Obama needs to halt all new fossil fuel leasing on federalpublic lands and oceans,” said Connie Wilbert, Director of Sierra ClubWyoming Chapter. “The growing national movement to “keep dirtyfossil fuels in the ground” clearly shows the public’s opposition to continuingto sell off federal coal, oil shale, natural gas, crude oil and tar sands onfederal lands and oceans.”
Today’s climate auction in Cheyenne comes even as groupshave formally appealed the lease sale and called for its cancellation.Both WildEarth Guardians andthe Center for Biological Diversity filedappeals of the auction. The Bureau of Land Management has yet to respond.
“Climate action starts right here in Cheyenne, Wyoming andit starts with the Obama Administration putting the brakes on auctioning offour public lands for fracking,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’Climate and Energy Program Director. “For our climate and our future,it’s time to rein in oil and gas drilling and keep our fossil fuels in theground.”
The climate auction in Cheyenne comes even as industry hasdeclined precipitously in Wyoming. Last week, the state’s largest natural gasproducer filed for bankruptcy. According to the Bureauof Land Management, less than 40% of all 10.1million acres of federal oil and gas leases are actuallyin production.
“Dirty energy companies profit off our shared heritage andleave toxic messes for the state to clean up. Companies like Anadarko andEncana make millions off of taxpayers, degrading thousands of acres, creatinghealth problems for residents, and spewing massive climate change pollutioninto the air,” said Peter Dakota Molof, organizer at Rainforest Action Network. “Nomore corporate giveaways. No more health impacts on communities. PresidentObama, end fossil fuel leases today.”
Groups participating in today’s rally included the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter,Rainforest Action Network, WildEarth Guardians, and others.
Statements fromIndividuals and Groups
“President Obama has the power to keep these fossil fuelsin the ground today, without congressional interference. From Wyoming to NewOrleans to Houston and beyond, communities across the country are mobilizing tobreak free from fossil fuels and keep coal, oil and gas in the ground.Together, we will speed up the just transition to the 100% renewable energyeconomy necessary to protect our communities and our climate.”
– Jason Kowalski, US Policy Director, 350.org, jason@350.org, 202-670-5345
“Scientists are telling us we need to keep themajority of fossil fuels in the ground to avoid catastrophic climatedisruption. We are calling on President Obama to make sure the U.S. does itsfair share to keep fossil fuels in the ground by ending new leasing on ourpublic lands and waters.”
– Valerie Love, Clean Energy Campaigner, Center forBiological Diversity, vlove@biologicaldiversity.org, 510-274-9713
“President Obama cannot claim climate leadershipwhile continuing to lease fossil fuels. Our public lands should not be treatedas energy sacrifice zones to the greed of Fossil Fuel Empires. To truly definehis climate legacy, President Obama must stop all new lease sales of publicfossil fuels and keep them in the ground.”
– Marissa Knodel, Climate Campaigner at Friends of theEarth, MKnodel@foe.org, (202) 222-0729
Background:
Some 67 million acres of U.S. public lands are alreadyleased to dirty fossil fuel industries, an area 55 times larger than GrandCanyon National Park, and containing up to 43 billion tons of potentialgreenhouse gas pollution. Nearly one quarter of all U.S. climate pollutionalready comes from burning fossil fuels from public lands. Remaining federaloil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industrycontain up to 450 billion additional tons of potential greenhouse gaspollution.
In September, more than 400 organizations called onPresident Obama to end federal fossil fuel leasing. In November, SenatorsMerkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (D-Vt.) and others introduced legislation to end newfederal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases.Last month, the Obama administration placed a moratorium on federal coalleasing while the Department of the Interior studies its impacts on taxpayersand the planet. Since November 2015, in response to protests, the BLM haspostponed oil and gas leasing auctions in Utah, Montana, Wyoming andWashington, D.C.
Download Grounded: The President’s Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect PublicLands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legalauthorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases).
Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal FossilFuels (thisreport quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions ofremaining federal fossil fuels).
Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet.
Download Public Lands, Private Profits (thisreport details the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuelextraction on public lands).
Download WildEarth Guardians’ formal petition callingon the Department of the Interior to study for the first time ever the climateimpacts of the federal oil and gas leasing program and to place a moratorium onnew leasing until completed that study is completed.