Climate hero faces 10 years in jail – Support Tim DeCristopher
Two weeks ago Tim DeCristopher, the US climate activist charged with disrupting an auction of land parcels for fossil fuel exploration by entering the auction and bidding for land, was found guilty in a Salt Lake City courtroom. He now faces up to 10 years imprisonment, with his sentencing scheduled for June 23rd.
Sentiment With Action
This article was published in Adbusters #91, the 'I, Revolution' issue. Right at the back. But that's cool, because I read magazines back-to-front. Don't know why, just do. 
It’s late. Maybe 2, or 3am, and I’m scanning my email inbox for anything important I might have missed. Eventually I notice a message that lists the names of two famous activists – Bill Mckibben and Naomi Klein – in its subject header.
The email is a ‘call to action’ soliciting support for Tim DeCristopher, a climate change activist who faces 10 years in jail after disrupting an auction of oil and gas leases in Utah.
I’m interested in this, and not just because of the facts – that by his fake bidding, DeCristopher prevented the Bush administration selling off 14 parcels of land for fossil fuel extraction – and is being prosecuted despite the new US administration ruling that the land had been inappropriate for sale. I’m actually interested largely because I’ve recently been thinking a lot about jail, and wondering about what role it might play in the peoples movement for just action on climate change. So I want to know more about Tim DeCristopher.
Great News: Ted Glick Avoids Jail
Fantastic news today for all climate activists around the world: Ted Glick, Climate Justice Faster and policy director of the US NGO Chesapeake Climate Action Now was spared the ordeal of a jail sentence for peacefully unfurling banners reading "GREEN JOBS NOW" and "GET TO WORK" inside the U.S. Senate Hart Office Building last September. Hundreds of fellow activists and climate concerned citizens from all over the world wrote letters in support of Ted to his judge and packed out his courtroom in solidarity, and it seems to have some effect. What was looking almost certainly like at least a few months, and quite possibly years, of jail time became simply a good behavior bond and community service, as Ted walked free from the court amongst friends and supporters.
CJF Faster Ted Glick Faces Jail.
Despite the Gulf disaster, no one from BP has been arrested and sent to jail. But today I write to inform you that one of America's best global warming activists, and a Climate Justice Faster, is probably facing several months of jail. Why? Because he peacefully dropped two banners on Capitol Hill that said: "GREEN JOBS NOW" and "GET TO WORK."
The Politics of Love
In the Gandhian tradition, in the tradition of Martin Luther King, and indeed in most religious and spiritual traditions also, we are told that we must maintain our integrity, refusing to attack and insult our opponents and enemies, and instead to extend our love to them.
When we choose fight against their actions, and even condemn those actions, but while extending love and forgiveness to our enemies as people, then we are strong within ourselves.
See this in action during Van Jones' award acceptance speech last night:
Check out the rest of the brief blog at http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/27/jones-beck-love/
I feel it approprate to reference one of Gandhi's sayings appearring on this site - that 'Justice will come when it is deserved, by us being and feeling strong.'
Framing: We can solve it.
Recently on 'It's getting hot in here', one of my favourite climate-movement blogs, there has been some discussion on language and framing in the climate debate, as well a surprisingly long debate on "whether renewables can solve it" in the comments of my last blog on the site.
In response to both these things, and after a long hiatus from posting on the Climate Justice Fast site, I have been prompted to share this extract from "Beyond Yes We Can" - a piece that I wrote this time last year, in a period of post-Poznan reflection.
Post-Copenhagen, much of what I wrote then still applies.
Before and after
Hi all. I'm just posting this photo to head off any 'CJF denial' (there has been some- misinformation on the net claiming that the long term fasters weren't really fasting, or that we were still taking in nutrition other than water). Such statements are just lies.
Day 44- One Day (fast ends)
*Today, at 10AM, I ended my fast, after 43 days and 11 hours of taking in nothing but water and salt*
One day.
The End of COP15, and the end of the Fast. So how do we all feel?
Distress, confusion, hurt, anger? Hope, passion, energy?
Emotion! Let it all out, people!
Personally, I am feeling a very strange and beautiful feeling today, as we concluded the fast, after 43 days entirely without food, coinciding with the disappointing end of COP15. It is a mix of feelings - disappointment at politics mixed with hope for the future, met expectations (regarding the politicians' lacklustre performances) mixed with passion and love, excitement and inspiration (for the peoples' climate movement), and finally, a very strange sensation of taste in my mouth and nutrition in my belly once more.
For COP15, the tension and the expectations were high. A 'fair, ambitious and binding' deal was called for by 12 million people across the world. We got none of it. Instead we got a huge disappointment. COP15 will not go down in history as the moment when the world, humanity, people of all nations and creeds, came together and united for the common good of all future generations.
What a pity. It is actually pitiful. A complete shame.
So what the hell happened, and what do we do now?
