Terry Tempest Williams

At Mountainfilm last May, two of our favorite people, activist Tim DeChristopher and author Terry Tempest Williams, sat down together in a hotel room in Telluride and talked for three hours. Orion Magazine has published the transcript of their engaging and thoughtful conversation.

From the moment I heard about Bidder #70 raising his paddle inside a BLM auction to outbid oil and gas companies in the leasing of Utah’s public lands, I recognized Tim DeChristopher as a brave, creative citizen-activist. That was on December 19, 2008, in Salt Lake City. Since that moment, Tim has become a thoughtful, dynamic leader of his generation in the climate change movement. While many of us talk about the importance of democracy, Tim has put his body on the line and is now paying the consequences.

Looking back at 2011, this has certainly been the year of the protester, something that Time Magazine crystalized with its Person of the Year issue. Of course the magazine rightly mentions the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements, but they neglected to write about one of the most significant protesters of the year: Tim DeChristopher. DeChristopher is currently serving two years in prison for disrupting a federal auction of land for natural gas and oil drilling.

From Festival Director David Holbrooke:

There has been a flurry of social media around Tim DeChristopher's trial. Here is a roundup of some of the most poignant quotes that have made their way round the web in the past few days:

From Terry Tempest Williams' Facebook page:

Last day of DeChristopher trial. I keep writing "trail" instead of "trial." Whatever happens today in terms of verdict, this conversation will continue. Tim remains calm, cool, and centered. He is carrying the burden. Proof is our beautiful, broken planet.

From Bill McKibben:

Thinking of @DeChristopher as trial hour nears. And thinking of Ed Abbey, who's standing up in his grave, fist raised

From Jamie Henn, 350.org Co-founder and Communications Director: