‘No Clean Coal’ Banner dropped at UO Obama speech

Last week while organizing a Fossil Fool’s Day action, students at the University of Oregon in Eugene learned that Barack Obama would be visiting the UO within a few days. We switched gears and jumped on the opportunity to send our messages against dirty energy directly to the candidate.

On Friday a few students waited in day-long lines with over 9,000 people to reach the entrance of McArthur Court. Carrying hidden banners, including one worn as a skirt, the student activists handed out loads of materials to the crowd, educating them on ‘false solutions’, such as clean coal, carbon trading and ethanol

Once inside they positioned themselves high in the arena, across from Obama’s podium. Ten minutes into his speech the students dropped two banners over the railing. Reading, “There’s no such thing as clean coal”, the banner was directly in Barack’s, and thousands of others’ vision. The banner stayed up for over ten minutes, until security asked the students to take it down.

Youth in Eugene, and throughout the Northwest, are continuing to build a strong No Coal movement. With Bank of America actions (already in Eugene, Portland and Olympia) and a new proposed coal-fired power plant to fight in Washington, the tides of resistance are rising.

About

Monica works as a community and campus organizer around climate change and social justice issues with Global Exchange and Rising Tide, and is a co-founder of the Cascade Climate Network. She has been working with and supporting people fighting the root causes of climate change, including deforestation and the fossil fuel industry, for over three years. Monica offers workshops, presentations, trainings and support for young people seeking to develop themselves, and their groups, as political agents. She values multi-tactical campaigns: lobbying, direct action, all of it!!!

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13 Responses to “‘No Clean Coal’ Banner dropped at UO Obama speech”

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1 sparki Mar 27th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

Post pictures!!!!!

Great action
2 Nancy LaPlaca Mar 27th, 2008 at 8:54 pm

Please post photos if you can. Nice work getting the message out in front of Obama.
3 Teri Mar 27th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

Thank you we in Appalachia know coal can never be clean. Thanks again….
4 CRMW_Nick Mar 27th, 2008 at 10:50 pm

Awesome. Wish I could have been there. Get those pics up!
5 Julia Bonds Mar 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am

WHOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
It is time to educate the candidates!!!!! Your voice is loud and clear!Again the youth of America and of the world is showing us the way. thank you
6 Hill Hosta Mar 28th, 2008 at 9:50 am

Awesome!!!
7 Kathryn A. Stone Mar 28th, 2008 at 9:59 am

Don’t you love the spunk – chutzpah – of these young people! Hope Obama noticed!
8 Cathy Lodge Mar 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am

Great Job! I live in Pa where Rendell governs and caters to coal. His ties to industry and Clinton
make her a very UN-likable candidate for me. Would love to see banners dropped at
her functions too and send her the same message.
9 Jamie Mar 28th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

Awesome, awesome! Can’t wait to see the pics? Who’s going to step up and do something like this in PA and NC for the upcoming primaries?
10 cascadiamonica Mar 28th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Sorry…no pics! : (
11 sparkles Mar 28th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

I hope to see more socially and ecologically minded folks doing this to Obama and Hillary “maybe there is a way to recover those mountaintops” Clinton. Particularly since they are campaigning in coal states like WV and PA in the coming weeks.
12 Loren May 22nd, 2008 at 9:24 pm

GREAT. The resistance gotta grow everywhere. Renewable energy for our world. We have to force politicians to see. I created a “no coal worldwide” Facebook too.
Thanks for you good work.
Loren

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