Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Protesters Tell Feds to ‘Keep It in the Ground’ at New Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Hundreds call for bold climate leadership at “climate auction”
Contact: Rebecca Sobel (505) 216-6826 rsobel@wildearthguardians.org

Additional Contacts:

Mariel Nanasi, New Energy Economy,(505) 989-7262, mariel@seedsbeneaththesnow.com
Maria Jose Alcazar, Earth Care,(505) 204-0664, mariajose@earthcarenm.org
Taylor McKinnon, Center forBiological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org

SantaFe, NM – More than 200 people rallied with signs and large banners for acolorful climate rally today outside of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)oil and gas lease sale in Santa Fe, New Mexico, urging President Obama to “Keepit in the Ground.”

TheBLM’s “climate auction,” as protesters dubbed it, allowed industry to bid onoil and gas leases for 2,300 acres of publicly owned land in Kansas andOklahoma. The group, united under the rallying cry, “not here, not there, notanywhere”, cited similar threats of oil and gas development to Chaco Canyon,the Santa Fe National Forest, and Sandoval County, and called on the ObamaAdministration to expand its climate leadership by ending the public leasingprogram and establishing immediate comprehensive methane safeguards for all oiland gas infrastructure.

“Youngpeople in New Mexico are standing up with local allies and communities acrossthe country to say NO to fossil fuel extraction on public lands,” said CastilleAguilar, a youth organizer with Earth Care in Santa Fe. “We demand the federalgovernment listen to the public and protect our planet and our futures fromcatastrophic climate change by leaving all remaining oil, gas, and coalreserves in the ground. Affordable renewable energy alternatives are not onlyavailable today, they offer our generation the opportunity for good paying jobsand the prospect of a future to look forward to.”

Acknowledgingthat public interest outweighed those of the oil and gas industry, BLMofficials prepared an overflow room three times the size of the room allottedto those interested in bidding on oil and gas leases. The public was invited towitness the live auction through a livestream video of the events taking placein the room next door. Protestors chose to stay outside the auction, demandingspace to voice public concern for the need to “Keep it in the Ground.”

Theprotest takes place just two days before President Obama is scheduled to signthe international climate agreement set in Paris last year.

“ThePresident says he’s committed to averting climate catastrophe, but across New Mexicothe BLM is still singing drill, baby, drill,” said Rebecca Sobel, SeniorClimate and Energy Campaigner at WildEarth Guardians. “The West is rising todemand our leaders keep our public lands in the public interest; today’sdemonstration proves we’re not willing to stand idly while our climate isauctioned off for short term oil and gas industry profit.”

Federaloil and gas leasing contributes significantly to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.Existing federal U.S. oil and gas leases will release 20 billion tons ofgreenhouse gas pollution; oil and gas containing up to 89 billion tons — theequivalent pollution of driving 1.8 billion cars for a decade — have yet to beleased to industry. Some federal leases are given to oil companies for aslittle as $2.00 per acre.

“Ourcommunity, like communities across the country are standing up to reject thenotion that we must auction off our public lands for pennies to the oil and gasindustry,” said Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director for New Energy Economy. “Wecannot subject our public lands to exploitation for a boom and bust economythat brings short term gains to private fossil fuel corporations while robbingthe public of our health, our environment, our economic stability, and ourchildren’s future.”

OnMonday, groups delivered a letter toPresident Obama and BLM State Director Amy Lueders calling for the auction tobe cancelled. The agency authorized the sale despite widespread concern aboutits direct link to global climate change. Administrative challenges to theauction by the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and others reduced its size from 36,000to 2,300 acres.

“Each federal fossil fuel auction steps uscloser to climate catastrophe,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for BiologicalDiversity. “President Obama should align his energy policies to his climategoals by ending new fossil fuel leasing on public lands and oceans. Hecan do that now, without Congress, and keep 450 billion tons from the globalpool of potential greenhouse gas pollution.”

The rally is part of a rapidly growing national movement calling onPresident Obama to halt new federal fossil fuel leases on public lands andwaters – a step that would keep up to 450 billion tons of potential carbonpollution, equivalent to the pollution of 118,000 power plants- safely inthe ground. Similar “Keep it in the Ground” protests are planned forupcoming auctions in Cheyenne Wyoming, Billings Montana, and Lakewood,Colorado. Since November protested lease sales have been postponed inUtah, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.

Groups participating in today’srally included: 350.org, 350 New Mexico, The Campaign to End Sacrifice Zones,Center for Biological Diversity, Earth Care, Environment New Mexico, DinéCitizens Against Ruining our Environment, Food and Water Watch, Frack Free NewMexico, Friends of the Earth, The Global Warming Express, Idle No More FourCorners, Indigenous Life Ways, Interfaith Worker Justice, MulticulturalAlliance for a Safe Environment, New Energy Economy, New Mexico InterfaithPower and Light, Osceola Energy, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club,Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, Tewa Women United, United Native Americans,WildEarth Guardians, and Wise Fool New Mexico.

Additional Statements fromIndividuals and Groups Participating in the Rally:

“We have an addiction and it is killing us. The health effectsof oil and gas exploration are devastating and their magnitude is enormous onthe individual, local and global scale. Since last year, over 50 pipelineaccidents have caused injuries, deaths and long-term health effects fromexposure to petro-chemicals including chronic lung, immune and neurologicaldisease and cancer. Fracking risks contaminating drinking water inhundreds of communities. The worst greenhouse-gas disaster in US history inCalifornia this year caused illnesses in the community and contributed to aclimate crisis creating world-wide drought, hunger and refugees fromhuman-influenced natural disasters.

So I’d like to write a prescription for the BLM and the ObamaAdministration, the only cure for the terrible addiction to fossil fuels thatis risking our health and our future. Rx: Keep It In The Ground.”

– Wendy Johnson, local Santa Fe family physician and publichealth expert, 505-982-4425, wjohnson@lfmctr.org

“All you grownups keep talking about climate change and yourgrandchildren. What about MY grandchildren? Don’t kids get to have dreams fortheir grandchildren, too? What I say about ending fossil fuel use is – Weare either doing this, or we are not. There is no in-between.I call on the grownups to Do This.”

– Marina, 11 yrs old, The Global Warming Express, 505-660-2157, genie@theglobalwarmingexpress.org

“We live inan amazing moment of moral truth as we face climate change. As Pope Francislaid out in Laudato Si: On Care of Our Common Home, we must meet the challenge totransition from fossil fuels if we truly love our brothers and sisters. In theprocess we must address worker well-being and create a hopeful and livable homefor future generations, the economically vulnerable and all creation. People of faith support the new EPA and BLM methane pollution rules asone step on the way to transitioning from fossil fuel. We must move toward justsolutions into a future with energy efficiency and renewable energy. Withinthis transition we must have respect for everyone and root ourselves in an“integral ecology” leading to justice and life for everyone in New Mexico andon the planet.”

– Sr. Joan Brown,osf, Executive Director, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, 505-264-9966, joanbrown@nm-ipl.org

“The science is clear: we must turn the pageon fossil fuels, stop sacrificing our communities, and stop destabilizing theclimate. Putting an end to leasing of publicly owned fossil fuels is the surestway to keep this coal, oil and natural gas safely in the ground. The fossilfuel industry, and the big banks that own the fossil fuel industry’s billions indebt, are raking in the profits at all of our expense. We will not stopfighting for what is right. We will make sure publicly owned fossil fuels stayin the ground, unburned, and see that people benefit from a rapid and justtransition to 100% clean, renewable energy.”

– Eleanor Bravo, SouthwestOrganizer, Food & Water Watch, 505-730-8474, Ebravo@fwwatch.org

“We’re already experiencing dangerous consequences ofclimate change — from drought, to superstorms, to rising seas — and scientistsare clear that to avoid even more catastrophic impacts, we must transition to100 percent clean, renewable energy. We simply can’t continue to drill, mineand burn more fossil fuels while global warming passes the point of no return.”

– Sanders Moore, Director, Environment New Mexico/EnvironmentNew Mexico Research & Policy Center, 505-254-4819, sanders@environmentnewmexico.org

“Fossil fuelcompanies have made millions off public land leases while wrecking theenvironment, harming people’s health, violating Indigenous rights, and passingoff massive clean up costs to taxpayers. It’s time for President Obama and theBLM to heed the people’s call to keep it in the ground, end the corporate giveaway,and cancel these lands ales forever.”

– Ruth Breech,Senior Campaigner from Rainforest Action Network, 415-238-1766,ruth@ran.org

“President Obama has the power to keep these fossil fuels inthe ground with the stroke of a pen. From Santa Fe to New Orleans to Alaska andbeyond, people across the country are calling on the Obama administration toprotect our communities and our climate, and keep fossil fuels in theground.”

– Jason Kowalski, 350.org US PolicyDirector, 202-670-5345, jason@350.org

Background:

Some 67 millionacres of U.S. public lands are already leased to dirty fossil fuel industries,an area 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park, and containing up to43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Nearly one quarter ofall U.S. climate pollution already comes from burning fossil fuels from publiclands. Remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have notbeen leased to industry contain up to 450 billion additional tons of potentialgreenhouse gas pollution.

In September, morethan 400 organizations called on President Obama to end federal fossil fuelleasing. In November, Senators Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (D-Vt.) and othersintroduced legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancelnon-producing federal fossil fuel leases. Last month, the Obama administrationplaced a moratorium on federal coal leasing while the Department of theInterior studies its impacts on taxpayers and the planet. Since November 2015,in response to protests, the BLM has postponed oil and gas leasing auctions inUtah, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.

Download the September “Keep It in the Ground” letter toPresident Obama.

Download Grounded: The President’s Power toFight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned FossilFuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities withwhich a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases).

Download The Potential GreenhouseGas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (thisreport quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions ofremaining federal fossil fuels).

Download The Potential GreenhouseGas Emissions fact sheet.

Download Public Lands, PrivateProfits (this report details the corporations profiting fromclimate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands).

Download WildEarth Guardians’ formal petition calling onthe 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 that study is completed.

Download the Center for BiologicalDiversity’s formal petition calling onthe Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing.

Photos of today’s event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildearth_guardians/