Earlier this month, during the opening session of the 2013 Utah Energy Development Summit, two activists with Utah Tar Sands Resistance took to the stage in order to present Utah Gov. Gary Herbert — the host of the summit — with a very special award: Polluter of the Year. After commandeering the microphone, the presenters called upon “Dirty Herby” to accept the rather dubious distinction. After all, they argued, Herbert is working to grab more than 30 million acres of federal public lands in order to open them up to private fossil fuel development, which includes the first tar sands strip mine in the U.S.

Despite his dedication to the energy industry, Herbert was apparently late to his own summit and thus unable to physically accept the award. Instead, he tweeted: “Utah is committed to protecting our beautiful environment, so we want only RESPONSIBLE energy development.”

For more on this story, visit: Utah climate activists infiltrate a truly unconventional energy summit / Waging Nonviolence – People-Powered News and Analysis.