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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Blair Fitzgibbon, 202-503-6141

Hundreds to Protest Fracking in Colorado on May 12

Colorado Tells President Obama to “Keep it in the Ground,” Echoing Protests  Against Fossil Fuels Around the World

DENVER

On May 12, hundreds of Colorado community, climate and fracking activists will protest a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction at the Holiday Inn in Lakewood, Colorado (just outside Denver). Groups plan to rally and engage in peaceful civil disobedience to demand that public lands be no longer drilled, mined, or fracked. The protest is part of a global week of action focused on citizen action to keep fossil fuels in the ground and promote clean renewable energy, and comes days after the Colorado Supreme Court denied local authority to regulate fracking.

What: Keep it in the Ground protest of BLM oil and gas leasing auction

When: Noon, Thursday, May 12

Where: Holiday Inn Denver Lakewood 7390 W. Hampden Ave, Lakewood, CO 80227

Who: Residents and activists from Colorado and surrounding states, along with national environmental allie

Media availability: Protesters will be available for interviews before and after the action

Images: Protest photos and video will be available for media use; the url will be included on the press release

Background: The rapidly growing "Keep it in the Ground" movement is calling on President Obama to halt new federal fossil fuel leases on public lands and oceans -- a step that would remove up to 450 billion tons from the global pool of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Similar "Keep It in the Ground" protests have challenged fossil fuel auctions nationwide, with the BLM preemptively canceling nearly 10 auctions this past year.