Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, anti-fracking crusader - with his Mom in Boulder, Colo.
Let us accept as an opening proposition that at the rate we are despoiling the planet to get temporary supplies of energy via fossil fuels, we will leave no habitable planet for the next generation. Many young people - kids from elementary school on to high school - understand their future and living capital is being destroyed right before their very eyes - but very few are prepared to actually do something about it.
Not so with young crusader Xiuhtezcatl (pr. Shu-TEZ-caht) Roske-Martinez who is determined to fight for his world and that of his peers, acknowledging that passivity is not an option, especially now as the gas frackers destroy the water in our state and across the country, and the air too. He understands that 10 million frack wells - whether for oil (kerogen) or natural gas, simply can't be accepted if his generation is to inherit a livable world.
Some might say this youthful advocate for the Earth has activism in his genes, since both parents are seasoned activists. (His mother Tamara Roske, founded Earth Guardians in Hawaii.) Residents of Boulder know him because of his action and campaigns on their behalf. He helped stop the use of pesticides in city parks, and was among the fiercest advocates for a fee on plastic bags. His was a key voice in a project to contain coal ash, and to end a 20-year contract with Xcel Energy, allowing the city to pursue renewable energy as its primary resource.
Of course, the Reich wingers in the state, invested only in its destruction for shale oil or natural gas, believe he is more a puppet of his mother than an authentic advocate speaking on his own behalf. From one post in the conservative Colorado Peak Politics blog:
"His mother claimed she did not indoctrinate him — that he chose to be an activist," and "within far- (and we mean faaar-) left environmental groups, Roske-Martinez is something of a legend."
That may be so, but let us bear in mind the phenomenon of child activism is not unusual. We've actually had recent cases of kids mounting campaigns for clean water in Asia and Africa, as well as dolls and toys for homeless kids. So it's not as rare as the conservo poster and his ilk (his fellow anti- Xiuhtezcatl posters) try to make it appear.
The conservative Scrooge's post went up shortly after Xiuhtezcatl and his younger brother, Itzcuauhtli, performed "What The Frack" at Evergreen Middle School last year. Their appearance sparked a counter protest by oil and gas industry activists, who posted hostile comments on the Earth Guardians' Facebook page and Roske-Martinez's Web page, and called the Martinez home with threats.
Threats? Are you kidding me? He's a kid trying to make his voice heard in a land supposedly devoted to "free speech". But perhaps it's true now that the only free speech left in this forlorn, misguided country belongs to money. The implication, however, was that Xiuhtezcatl and his family and other protestors need to back off. According to the courageous youthful activist who has Oikonomia (see e.g. http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2011/03/market-economy-how-about-life-based.html ) in his veins:
"It was scary, but this is why I speak on issues that directly determine the kind of world we will inherit,"
And GOOD for you, kid! Because right now, unless the gas frackers and fossil fuel-crazed drillers are stopped, the world you and your peers will inherit will be one giant shithole: mounds of raw Earth excavated for fracking sand, water despoiled with methane and other pollutants - where there's any water left, skies full of unbreathable air, oh - and a planet in the throes of a runaway greenhouse - where blackouts will be the norm and no amount of a/c can keep you cool, assuming any is available after all the power grids collapse.
The kid knows this, which drives his mission. He goes on to say in a recent Denver Post piece:
"I share facts about our environmental and climate- change crises. We are fighting for the survival of our generation and the health of the waters, the air, our community. We are fighting for kids everywhere."
He's absolutely right that he's fighting for kids everywhere, because in another 20-30 years this will be THEIR planet. While we suspect an "Earth v 2.0" exists, and may even have a breathable atmosphere and fairly decent climate, it is 500 light years distant. There is no way that world will be colonized any time soon - if ever- so this is the only Earth left. This is what kids like Xiuhtezcatl understand that most adults don't: It is literally do or die for them,
"Threats" from arrant pipsqueaks and cowards? Those are nothing compared to what Xiuhtezcatl and his generation will face, in terms of mass destruction of their world, if the fossil fuel fiends aren't halted. Sam Schabacker of Colorado's Food and Water Watch has perhaps put it best:
"He and the other Earth Guardians represent the best, brightest and most engaged young people in the state,"
And we need many more, in all the other states, even as the degenerate frackers have already sprung gas fracking on the unsuspecting state of North Carolina yesterday. This was pointed out on Chris Hayes' All In last night, speaking to a state rep from NC. While residents had fully expected safety issues to be vetted first, they weren't. The Reepo renegades - all likely in the pockets of big oil and gas - simply sprung it on people and oh -along with a "law" that prescribed 4 months in prison for anyone who reveals what's in the fracking liquid!
This is a war, people, make no mistake. A war for the future of this country and the planet - or at least the future generations who must live on it. If one is not fighting on the Earth Guardians' side then he or she is part of the problem, not the solution!
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