Philosopher Arrested For Protesting Fracking
Adam Briggle, associate professor of philosophy at the University of North Texas, has been arrested for engaging in a protest at a Vantage Energy fracking site in Denton, Texas.
Three Denton residents could face criminal trespassing charges after they were arrested early Monday morning in front of the entry to a gas well site on the city’s west side… The trio joined about two dozen other protesters at a Vantage Energy gas well site just after dawn Monday. The group descended on the entry and chained it closed with a giant copy of the citizens initiative banning hydraulic fracturing in Denton. The protesters said they were there to enforce the ban, which was overwhelmingly approved by Denton voters in November. Denton’s ban was effectively nullified when Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 40 on May 18.
More details are reported in the Denton Record-Chronicle.
Professor Briggle is known for his concern with philosophy’s impact. He is the author of A Field Philosopher’s Guide to Fracking: How One Texas Town Stood Up to Big Oil and Gas.
The Denton Record-Chronicle report ends with this human-interest item:
“Longtime Denton County resident Melvin Paddack said he was troubled by news of continuing protests over HB 40 and Denton’s ban. The Argyle resident said he owns some property near Krum with oil and gas leases on it.
“I know these people [protesters] think they’re doing right, but it’s hard for the younger generation to relate to what we endured to get here,” Paddack said.
He grew up near Roanoke. His mother cooked with wood or kerosene and hot water was a luxury, he said. When natural gas service came to Roanoke in the 1950s, his father built a new house with running hot water.
“My heart cries out that people could enjoy the new technology and the benefits,” Paddack said.”
What sorts of beliefs and motivations underlie what Mr. Paddack said, and why the reporter chose to end her report in this way? One might suppose that most Denton residents do now “enjoy” the conveniences of a variety of fossil fuel technologies; presumably the “benefits” of this one, given that he owns property with drilling leases on it, are financial. Will his “heart cry out” for his fellow residents if they find their water is contaminated, their neighborhood more earthquake-prone, or their children the victims of climate change? Why do we accept this kind of reporting, which is echoed in perhaps subtler ways on all the MSM channels? But it is effective–I expect many to come to the defense of Mr. Paddack and his worldview.
An informative documentary is “Last Call at the Oasis” (2011), here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIgh1RCRbsI
A later segment of the program covers some results of fracking.
They were not arrested for engaging in a protest against fracking.
@Hume, they trespassed (etc) in order to protest (the Texas Legislature’s bill over-riding their community’s ban on) fracking.
More on this story on Democracy Now: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/3/fracking_protests_continue_in_texas_as