🚀 go-pugleaf

http://occupydenver.org/just-say-no-to-unconventional-oil-stop-fracking-colorado/

Just Say No to “Unconventional Oil”: Stop Fracking Colorado!

Members of local environmentalist groups will team up with Occupy
Denver to rally and protest an upcoming “unconventional” oil and gas
convention at the Colorado Convention Center, where former U.S.
Senator Rick Santorum will be present as a speaker promoting the
interests of the ideologically counter-progressive 1%.

When: Tuesday, May 15th from 11:00am to 2:00pm
Where: By the “blue bear” on 14th and Stout, 700 14th Street.


The purpose of this rally is to let the corporate execs and engineers
who pack this convention know that turning Colorado into a dead zone
for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and oil shale development is
decidedly NOT OK with us; also to raise concern among the general
public about the dangers of unconventional methods of oil development.
We will rally outside the Colorado Convention Center before and during
Rick Santorum’s keynote speech (which begins at noon) to let people
know what’s going on inside, and what this means for the future of our
state—unless we put an end to it. An open mic forum will be held to
address issues crucial to the physical health of our people as well as
the environmental/ ecological health of our state.

Be sure to make a visible sign so that you can send your message to
all inside, and to the general public outside. (Possible sign-making
ideas: “Colorado Not For Sale”; “There Be Frackers In Here”; “No
Country For Old White Frackers,” etc.) We also encourage anyone to
bring theatrical ideas to dramatize this event (haz-mat suits, EPA
inspector costumes, gas masks, “fracking fluid,” etc. would be quite
appropriate here).


Photo by William Avery Hudson
A few additional details about this convention may help to explain why
we are protesting it. For one thing, the name of it is significant:
“Developing Unconventional Oil: North America’s Bountiful
Resource.” (“Bountiful” is obviously code for “plenty,” as in “ripe
for profit,” etc.) For another thing, the cost to get in this
conference/ exhibition is $995 per person, guaranteeing that no
representative of the soiled masses shall enter. (In all fairness, it
should be noted that the cost is generously reduced to $885 per person
if you’re with a group of four or more. So how can you call that
‘elitist’?) Oh, and leading sponsors for the convention include
Haliburton among others. Really, need we say more?

For a more in-depth account of what this is all about, here is a brief
description taken straight from the website’s welcome page: “In 2011
alone, 67% of DUO’s audience was corporate and engineering management
along with research and development. Operating and financial companies
accounted for over 55% of conference delegates.” So this is kinda like
a country club gathering for oil tycoons. Full details about the
conference are available at http://www.hartduo.com/. The “conference
agenda” is well worth a look. If you’re interested in finding links to
articles with titles like “Why BP May Be The Ultimate ‘Bounce-Back’
Stock,” the website may be worth browsing at some length. And finally,
should you have any questions about the event (like, “Why does it cost
so much?”), there are plenty of folks on staff to answer them via
email.

In case anyone should like to make a more permanent presence at this
event—or rather, outside of it—it should be noted that the convention
actually begins on Monday, May 14th at 1:00 PM and ends at noon on
Wednesday, May 16th. So, if you have spare time, feel free to greet
these people as they come in, or bid them farewell as they leave,
letting them know exactly what you think about their intentions to
‘develop’ “unconventional oil” in Colorado. They might tell you that
it’s in the best interest of Coloradans, that it’s good for the
economy, that it creates jobs, and so on.

What would you like to tell them?