Bill McKibben on Fracking in Colorado

“Around the country, and around the world, there has been a steady increase in the questioning of, and resistance to, fracking.”

Bill McKibben , founder of 350.org, is an activist and organizer of events protesting the continued development of fossil fuel extraction sites and pipelines. In this conversation with Maeve Conran, McKibben discusses fracking and the interaction between politics, law, and the fossil fuel industry.

“It’s truly appalling to see the Supreme Court in Colorado rule that people in their own communities can’t-aren’t allowed to-stand up to the fossil fuel industry.”

McKibben acknowledges how hard the struggle against the oil industry can be, but also talks about how pressure from environmental groups has helped push politicians into being more environmentally conscious. The U.S. has been late to organize for environmental initiatives that are already implemented in other countries.

“It took people going to jail, it took a million letters to congress, and two million public comments to the State Department, but eventually, we made it impossible for the president to approve the damn thing.”

Bill McKibben was recently in Colorado for protests against fracking in Thornton and the auction of land leases to the oil and gas industry in Lakewood.

Bill McKibbon will be speaking about Climate Change as part of the Summer Writing Program at Naropa University on June 18th. Naropa University is one of a dozen universities that are no longer dependent on fossil fuels.

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