Berkeley for an Oil-Free President

Today I participated in a local event in Berkeley at a gas station at the corner of University & Sixth, where a group of citizens affiliated with MoveOn demonstrated the importance of electing an "Oil-Free" President.

This event was part of MoveOn's national campaign for better oil and energy policies starting with the President of the United States being independent from big oil interests. The literature that the group disseminated focused on the differences between Barack Obama's and John McCain't's oil policies and highlighted McCain't's longstanding ties to big oil.

Here is some more information about Barack Obama's overall energy policy, more info on Obama's plan to end America's dependency on oil, and Obama's ideas about next generation biofuels.

At the event today, there was a gigantic banner ("How Much More?"), which was held up on the corner for 12 hours (the longest local demonstration).

Folks made fantastic hand-painted signs. When I asked to take this awesome lady's picture, she wanted to pose in front of her incredibly fuel-efficient little 1984 Toyota.

People put their hearts into this demonstration and I could tell that they had pulled together a great event in a "stone soup" fashion: each person bringing their special ingredients so the "soup" that comes out of the combination of contributions is much greater than simply the "sum of its parts."

There were probably about 20 folks there, and it was great because they were stationed on all four corners of the intersection, making a greater impact.

Lots of cars honked in solidarity with the demonstrators' message. People slowed down to read the signs, then smiled and waved.

I lost track of the number of "thumbs up" gestures I received from drivers.

Even several of the public buses honked, smiled, and waved as they went along their route!

Apparently a couple of SUV drivers flipped the bird, but I didn't see that...

After the demonstration, the group circled around organizers Ethan (pictured here) and Alan (no photo), and we had a short discussion about future actions, including more demonstrations. In the future we would like to have more participants and incorporate the media to get more attention for the issue of oil and energy policy for a new century.

To those people who were there today, holding signs and passing out flyers, smiling and talking with passersby, this sign says it all: