Lwiterally Gwiddying on the Hoover Dam: Protester Threatens to Blow it Up

Juliette Sánchez, Press Corps 19

An unidentified protester, who has been nicknamed the “Hoover Dam Bomber,” was seen griddying on the Hoover Dam, holding a stick of dynamite. “He’s lwiterally gwiddying on the Hoover Dam,” stated an onlooker, citing the popular TikTok reference.

“I’m here for Earth First!” He told the NAIMUN Daily. “Nobody listens to the environment and we have to do something. I’m blowing up the Hoover Dam!”

Earth First!, a radical environmentalist group cited by the protester, denies any involvement.

“What Earth First! needs to do, as a global, multinational organization, is to get in front of it as fast as possible, to denounce these actions and make sure we’re not seen as this terrorist organization by the people,” said Ted Turner, philanthropic environmentalist and entrepreneur.

Earth First! has begun to reach out to reporters, denouncing the bomber in the process. “We don’t approve of actions taken by the Hoover Dam Bomber,” Dr. Dave Parks, longtime Earth First! member and collaborator, told the NAIMUN Daily.

Furthermore, Earth First! has published a press release accusing BP Oil of hiring someone to impersonate an Earth First! activist. Earth First! believes BP Oil has done this in attempts to lessen the group's influence.

BP Oil, one of the world's leading oil and gas companies, has declined to comment.

Earth First! and BP Oil have had conflicts in the past. The recent social media campaign against BP led by Earth First! has reportedly brought the once-prosperous company close to filing for bankruptcy. 

Earth First! has sent a response team to defuse the bombs, citing that they have no intention of hurting anyone. 

“The main objective of Earth First! is not to harm and attack the government. It’s to have environmental reform.” said Ted Turner.

If the Hoover Dam were to explode, the implications would be disastrous. The dam holds back Lake Mead, which holds 3.5 trillion gallons of water. Flooding would cover approximately 10 million acres of land and 25 million people rely on Lake Mead for access to water.

Additionally, the dam is currently a large source of renewable energy, providing communities with the energy they need without the use of coal or oil. The destruction of the dam would be devastating to the environment, counterintuitive to Earth First!’s mission.

However, when constructed, The Hoover Dam changed the Colorado River's course, which affected water quality, sediment structures, and fish habitats. The dam is representative of human intervention in nature for their own benefit, something the Earth First! group has advocated against frequently in the past.

Whether the protester is truly a part of the BP Oil Company, the Earth First! organization, or another third party is still unknown, however details are anticipated to arise once the bomber is identified by officals. Nontheless, enviromental tensions are on the rise as NGOs like Earth First! work to bring the importance of climate change to the public’s attention.