energy / climate change
21 April 2007
Michael Reilly
Magazine issue 2600
Since the University of California joined BP on a big project to develop new biofuels, 130 Berkeley faculty members have signed a petition over concerns for academic integrity
TWO students at the University of California, Berkeley, pour jugs of a thick, dark liquid onto the steps of the campus administration building. Wearing lab coats emblazoned with the BP logo, they shout at passers-by to "start getting used to oil".
This was the scene last month, as protesters chanting "No BP!" opposed a deal between industry and academia to develop new biofuels. Admittedly, it was a dim echo of the 1960s, when Berkeley was the global epicentre of student revolt. Still, this humble demonstration was a reminder that the radical spirit lives on. Berkeley is a scientific powerhouse with a political conscience, where even an apparently progressive effort to develop "green" fuels provokes an outcry that the university is selling its soul to Big Oil.
Four decades ago, thousands of Berkeley students laid siege to campus buildings in the name of free speech. Firebrand Mario Savio railed against the ...
The complete article is 635 words long.
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