Here are a few pictures from our Climate Strike in Aspen September 20, 2019.
It was a sharp contrast to the Grand Junction Club 20 meeting the next day which was a strong “all of the above” for energy message from the guest speakers who gave lip service to renewables (that *is* progress) but continued to push coal and natural gas while dismissing “the green new deal” as sloganizing without substance (“they’ll get rid of airplanes!”). The relocation of the BLM to Grand Junction was met with wild applause- even though there were those who wondered if leaving DC would weaken the department’s bargaining power and who were aware that although the offices have been leased as of Nov 1 (tucked in nose to tail in the same building with fossil fuel companies) congressional funds have not been allocated for the move. There was no mention of the Climate Strike but only stern looks and tight set jaws recounting the number of jobs lost when fossil fuels move out of the region. The silent cloud of blame was placed on renewables not on automation or market forces. Sell the Natural Gas to Japan to weaken China was the message (something we heard from the previous administration selling the Natural Gas to Europe to weaken Russian). The popular reaction in this audience was to double down on coal and to scramble for other mining markets in rare earths and uranium. I was told I could power my Tesla with vanadium… “at any gas station” just like a car. Well, no, but it might improve all those batteries in the bottom of the car…
The struggle is real and the front lines are here. There will be no progress without economic justice which includes the rural United States .
This is just my opinion.