Tim DeChristopher: How individual action really makes an impact

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If you ever feel like you are just one person and you can't make a difference, watch Bidder 70. This film takes you on the incredible journey of Tim DeChristopher- an ordinary college student who treasured the outdoors of Utah. In 2008, when he saw that pristine Utah land was about to be sold to the oil & gas industries under a Bureau of Land Management oil & gas auction, he decided to take direct action. Instead of simply protesting outside, he went into the auction as a bidder, Bidder 70, winning 22,000 acres of land worth $1.7 million.

Even though the auction was invalidated years later, DeChristopher was still sentenced to 2 years in prison. Just like all great civil disobedience leaders, DeChristopher put the betterment of society before himself. While the land was saved, he went to prison.

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But during this process, Tim built up a movement led by groups like Peaceful Uprising  to spread awareness and show to the public the difference one person can make.

I cannot express how moved I was by this story. In addition, his fight helped further convince me of direct action's effectiveness at times. If he had just continued to protest outside, instead of daring to bid inside, that land in Utah would have been destroyed.

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Tim is a great role model for anyone wanting to create change. But like he says, he was just an ordinary guy who realized the devastating effects of climate change. Environmentalists aren't born; they are made.