Lock Down at Bank of America to Protest Coal Investments

***Activists Mobilize and Protest Amidst Overwhelming Police Presence***

*** Police spend thousands to protect dirty energy***

Today a massive police operation was deployed in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties to prevent activists from protesting a dirty power plant responsible for climate change. Dozens of uniformed and undercover cops surrounded the site of the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action as a police helicopter hovered over the site.
In addition, dozens more police were deployed at Progress Energy’s Skyland coal power plant to prevent legitimate protest against dirty energy and climate change.

“This shows which side of the climate debate the government is on. They have spent tens of thousands of dollars to protect the coal industry today. Clearly if the government wanted to address climate change, they would be sending the police in to arrest the heads of Progress Energy for perpetuating the greatest threat humanity has ever faced - climate change,” an anonymous polar bear said.

In spite of the overwhelming police presence, Climate Convergence activists took a bold direct action against Bank of America over concerns regarding their investment throughout the coal cycle and their promotion of climate injustice. Although there was much speculation regarding a protest action at the Progress Energy Skyland coal-fired power plant, protestors surprised the downtown office of Bank of America.

Two activists locked down inside the main lobby and other activists blockaded the entrance to the downtown branch of Bank of America. The protest included a large, lively group of concerned citizens dressed as canaries and polar bears. Activists carried signs and banners that read: “Bank of America Stop Funding Climate Change,” “Bank of America Stop Mountaintop Removal,” “No Coal, No Nukes, No Kidding” “Bank of America Climate Criminal.”

About Liz

While at the University of North Carolina, Liz led one of the first successful campus renewable energy campaigns in the southeast and won the Morris K. Udall scholarship in both 2002 & 2003. She organized the first Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference April 2-4, 2004, to engage other Southern schools beyond UNC in energy and climate work. In the summer of 2004 she became a co-founding member of Energy Action Coalition, which she has been actively involved with since then. She co-chaired the Energy Action Coalition Steering Committee for 2 years and is Executive Director of the Southern Energy Network, which works with students in the Southeast on clean energy and climate initiatives as part of Energy Action Coalition's Campus Climate Challenge. In late fall 2005, she attended the UN Climate Negotiations in Montreal and helped start www.itsgettinghotinhere.org . In 2008, she joined the board of the Highlander Research and Education Center (www.highlandercenter.org).

8 Responses to “Lock Down at Bank of America to Protest Coal Investments”

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1 Joy Towles Ezell Aug 14th, 2007 at 1:16 am

NO Coal — NO Nukes — NO Kidding!
NO Compromise!
Joy
2 Susan Aug 14th, 2007 at 1:40 am

It’s awesome to see so many people carrying on the good fight. Thanks for all you do.
3 knigt Aug 14th, 2007 at 5:07 pm

haha..
4 Patty Aug 14th, 2007 at 6:52 pm

Rock On!

No Coal! NO Nukes! No Kidding!

Definitely NO COMPROMISES!
5 Stark Jun 26th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Who on here turned their lights on today?
Who would like to go to a hospital when they are sick, pregnant or in need of surgery?
Who turned on a computer, ipod, or cell phone?
Who went to a coffee shop today?
Who is concerned about their grandparents well being when they need to go to a nursing home and need to be hooked up to a medical equipment?
Who likes hot showers?
Who wants their kids to be educated and go to school every day?
Who likes to have a heater in the winter?
Who likes to have fans and air conditioners in the summer?
Who makes less than $250,000 a year and can’t afford the expensive alternatives today….

I for one do and unfortunately there is no alternative that is currently feasible today, or will be in the next 15 years, that will make it affordable to the masses other than energy created from power plants, of which a majority of them are coal powered. These new plants are utilizing technology that is less pollutive, more productive and safer every day. Let’s think about the reality of what is needed to keep our country / world going today before we protest something so basic and so important to every day survival. Yes - please let’s spend massive amounts of time and money researching and developing alternatives as a solution and get them to a point that enables them to be affordable as they are DESPERATELY NEEDED as we only have 250 years left of coal in the ground…. We need to focus on this as we all want a bright future, if it be from the lights we turn on to read to our children at night or the natural sun that we should all be out enjoying.

Instead of wasting our time protesting use your minds to help our world, go do research or donate your time to helping the environment. But protesting by day and benefiting from what you are protesting about at night doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I believe there is a term for that, one of which I am polite enough not to use today…..

Sincerely,

Stark
starkbaddin@gmail.com