It’s Getting Hot In Here

The National Day of Against Coal Finance has been amazing, with over 40 cities and towns participating in WAY over 100 actions against Citi and Bank of America (with a couple of actions against Duke and Peabody). Rainforest Action Network wants to give HUGE thanks to everyone that helped out - Coal River Mountain Watch, Appalachian Voices , Rising Tide, Mountain Justice Summer, SEAC , Energy Justice Network and everyone else who took a stand for a clean, sustainable future!

Here’s a quick rundown of great actions across the country. If we missed your city - please let us know!

General photos of most of these actions can be found at Ran’s Flickr page. And videos are being added over on YouTube.

Southern WV- At Kayford Mountain WV, Larry Gibson and students from James Madison University in front of the direct impacts of Citi and Bank of America’s invesments: Mountain Top Removal coal mining.

And some folks from Coal River Mountain Watch in Whitesville, right down the road from Marsh Fork Elementary also made a statement about Bank of America financing mountaintop removal.

Charlotte, NC- 2 college students, dressed as polar bears, locked themselves to the doors at Duke Energy to protest the construction of North Carolina’s Cliffside coal plants. Pictures can be found here.

St Petersburg, FL- Activists from two local environmental groups — Earth First! and Rising Tide — unleashed a balloon-propelled banner earlier today attacking the bank for funding new coal plants and investing in mining companies that use environmentally destructive practices to extract coal. The banner stayed on the ceiling of their lobby the rest of the day - ensuring that customers knew what Bank of America was using THEIR money for. Read more about the action here.

Harrisonburg VA: Thirty-five to forty students from James Madison University and Blue Ridge Earth First! attended attended a bike mass and action outside of Bank of America in downtown Harrisonburg. Two people cancelled their accounts, while others delivered letters to bank managment. Check out the video here from WHSV on “One on one”

San Francisco, CA-Across downtown San Francisco, nearly every Bank of America and Citi ATM was shut down this morning as swarms of activists covered over 70 ATM’s with “Global Warming Crime Scene” tape and “closed” signs denouncing investments in coal that are killing our climate. Many customers enthusiastically took flyers, shocked to learn that their banks are using their money to invest in environmental destruction.

A few hours later, a roving band of people in Haz-Mat suits featuring the Citi logo with smokestacks billowing climate-destroying gasses took to San Francisco streets. At 4 different Citi locations, people entered the branches educating customers about Citi’s dirty investments in the coal industry. “Die-Ins” were held inside branches and “global warming crime scenes” were announced as banks shuttered their doors. Lots of photos can be found here.

Washington DC- Activists and polar bears demonstrated in front of Bank of America with the polar bears attempting to close their B of A accounts. Pictures here.

Philadelphia:Members of Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied, leafletted, and performed street theater–including a die-in and clean energy revival–at a Bank of America at 19th and Market in downtown Philadelphia. The students and youth talked to customers about Bank of America’s dirty energy investments, and sent a message to the city’s financial district: “Coal is over, Fund the Future!”. Today’s action will be followed up with an action at Citibank in center city tomorrow.”

New York, NY- Citi is sponsoring “How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Broadway” so New York climate and coal activists thought it only fitting that the Grinch and all the Whos from Whoville pay them a visit.Houston Texas: RAN Houston occupied and distributed flyers inside a Bank of America branch before being escorted out by police. Pictures here

Austin, TX- RAN Austin passed out leaflets and petitioned a Bank of America branch in downtown Austin.

Eugene, OR- Folks reported “Our action went well despite the constant pouring rain, at one point I counted 14 folks out there in the rain- more than that came and went. Banner was displayed to a busy road for full hours of operation of the bank 10-1. “Against Coal? Honk!” signs were a big hit until they dissolved in the rain, our billionaire for coal’s hat suffered a similar fate. We’ve got 66 signatures and talked to easily twice that many (even in the rain!). 3 people said they informed the bank they were closing there accounts. Distributed a bunch of info.”

Charleston WV- “Concerned youth from Charleston, WV gathered in the bleachers of a local high school under the shadow of a coal fired power plant to protest Citi and other funders of coal, such as Bank of America. These funders invest huge amounts of money in mountaintop removal and coal-fired power plants. These concerned citizens believe that because mountaintop removal coal mining hurts West Virginia communities, and coal fired power plants are destroying local air quality and fueling global warming, Citi and Bank of America should be investing its customers’ money in renewable energies and green jobs for a healthier West Virginia economy.”

Las Vegas, NV- Margot in the Las Vegas RYSE chapter reported to us “We passed out tons of flyers and stickers, talked about the issues over a megaphone, and got over 150 signatures for our petition.We were very happy with the success of our first action! Thanks for all the support.”

Davis CA- A determined affinity group of activists shut down dozens of ATMs in Davis. Note the pic of people waiting in line for all the ATMs except Bank of America.

Richmond VA- Mountain Justice Summer activists reported “Action went really well today! Lots of energy and we flyered and held banners for about 2 hours outside BOA branch in financial district of downtown Richmond. Gave away almost 600 half page flyers, and hopefully changed some minds.”

Milwaukee WI- Activists from Casa Maria Catholic Worker told us “In Milwaukee, We delivered letters (with Dirty Money flyers) and met with managers of the 3 CitiFinancials in Milwaukee and 1 Smith Barney. Their responses were relatively positive.”

Los Angeles- Billionaires for Coal throw cocktail party outside Bank of America branch in Pasadena. Check out some hilarious photos here.

University of California, Santa Barbara- “When I arrived at 10am to set up, two men in suits were already present, and speaking with the local police force. Turns out, those guys were from Bank of America headquarters in LA, and came all the way up from LA to keep an eye on us! They observed our actions from afar throughout the day. Once we packed up, I approached one of them, introduced myself, thanked him for letting us demonstrate in front of the ATMs (even though we weren’t violating any laws) and asked if he’d like to sign the petition. Obviously, he declined. But he did say that he supported what we were doing. I’m assuming he won’t want to be quoted on that. We flyered and asked for signatures from 10-2, after which the campus was completely dead. We got about 75 signatures, and lots of press.” Read more here.

Olympia WA-”On Friday, November 16th, approximately 25 activists paid a visit to the Bank of America branch in downtown Olympia to demand an end to B of A’s coal investments. This boisterous group of college students and working people carried signs and banners and received plenty of support from passing motorists, who honked their horns or gave the thumbs-up sign. About thirty minutes into the protest, we tried to bring in some balloons for a banner float, but their security would not lets us in. After some talking, he decided to let those of us with accounts enter the bank to close our accounts. A few others were able to get in, talk to people and hold signs. About seven of us closed our accounts. Some of the tellers were curious as to why we would do this, and we informed them that Bank of America funds the coal industry, who are responsible for destroying mountains in Appalachia, and who accelerate climate chaos by spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These tellers appeared clueless about what their employer does. While talking to one of the higher-ups who assisted me with closing my account, I asked him if he was aware of Bank of America’s immoral actions, and he replied that that was none of his concern. Check out Olympia’s video here.

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More updates to come! Get ready for Christmas carols, and Santa Claus delivering stockings full of coal to your local banks!

To learn more about the campaign to end our addiction to coal; to shift Wall Street out of dirty investments, and to build a just and sustainable economy - visit www.dirtymoney.org