Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: [New post] Local Activists disrupt Devon Energy Board Member Robert Henry
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:07:36 -0500
Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance continues to hold people accountable
for their actions towards the planet.
Bob Waldrop, Okie City
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [New post] Local Activists disrupt Devon Energy Board Member
Robert Henry
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2014 06:19:12 +0000
From: Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance <donotreply@wordpress.com>
To: bob@bobwaldrop.net
WordPress.com
GPTSR posted: "Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance interrupted Devon
Energy board member and president of Oklahoma City University Robert
Henry as Henry emceed a book review event for The Frackers by Gregory
Zuckerman at Full Circle Books in Oklahoma City. Reasons cited "
Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance interrupted Devon Energy board member
and president of Oklahoma City University Robert Henry
<http://www.forbes.com/profile/robert-henry-1/> as Henry emceed a book
review event for The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman at Full Circle Books
in Oklahoma City. Reasons cited for the disruption were Devon Energy’s
role in the controversial tar sands in Alberta, tar sands extraction’s
connection to the Keystone XL, fracking in Oklahoma and abroad, and
Devon’s membership in American Legislative Exchange Committee (ALEC).
Jay Fowler speaks critically of Robert Henry as Henry stands before him,
arms crossed.
“No matter how many lies you tell, how many politicians you buy, how
many skyscrapers you build, it will not wash away the oil you have
spilled.” Local resident Jay Fowler said to Robert Henry.
This month news broke that Devon Energy recently applied for a permit to
begin a new tar sands project, Walleye, in Alberta, Canada
<http://newsok.com/oklahoma-based-devon-energy-eying-future-in-canadas-oil-sands/article/5340106>.
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation and other First Nations stand at the
frontline of Devon’s tar sands projects. Cancer blooms and loss of
sustenance are among the numerous problems plaguing the First Nations.
In addition to the devastating effects on local communities, Devon
Energy’s plan to increase tar sands production is a reminder that no
consideration is being given to the effects of climate change.
A banner reading "Keep it out of the air! Leave it in the ground!" is
displayed as people disrupt Robert Henry's attempts to gain control of
the situation.
“We can no longer ignore the damage being done by Devon Energy and the
fracking industry to our homes, communities, and eco-systems.. As a
lifelong resident of Oklahoma (and former industry worker), I believe it
is high time for us to say goodbye to the greedy CEO’s and Presidents
like Robert Henry and John Richels of Devon Energy and transition to a
just, renewable economy.” – Eric Wheeler
Across the United States Devon Energy is a major playing in the
phenomenon known as fracking. This extraction process uses toxic water
to create fissures in bedrock miles beneath the surface. This practice
has been linked to contaminated water, water depletion, earthquakes,
illness, and large gas explosions.
ALEC is a right-wing legislative think-tank that encourages public
services to be privatized (i.e. schools, prisons). ALEC creates
legislation that weakens worker’s rights, rolls back civil rights, and
deregulates commerce in favor of large corporations. Disrupters believe
that Robert Henry’s political legacy conflicts with the goals of ALEC,
and see his appointment to the Devon Energy board as an attempt to
create silence among Oklahoma progressives.
Before becoming president of Oklahoma City University, Robert Henry had
served as Oklahoma Attorney General and as a judge for the United States
Court of Appeals for the 10^th Circuit. Often revered as the most
influential Democrat in Oklahoma, Robert Henry is educated enough to
understand the science and risks of climate change and the urgent need
to immediately stop exploration and extraction of fossil fuels and shift
to renewable energies, based in local economies. Profits rather than a
livable, vibrant planet are more important for Devon Energy and Robert
Henry. According to Forbes, Robert Henry’s total compensation from Devon
Energy in 2013 was $336,015.