Comments on: National Day of Action Against Coal Finance: Video Roundup

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:54:06 +0000

It’s all very nice and well to “think positive” but the facts are: coal is the problem. There is no “solution” to coal.
When people were saying “ban asbestos” or “ban chlorofluorocarbons” or “stop nuclear warfare” nobody was saying “stop being negative”.
Sometimes we need to be negative, but there is a positive in all of this: if we focus on what is causing climate change, we can stop it and have a sustainable future for ourselves, our children and all of the generations to come.

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:18:07 +0000

Coal “solutions” are a fantasy. CCS is a decade away, at least, and rife with its own problems. Nothing else makes a difference. Building new coal capacity when we have just a couple of years to level off emissions is the definition of folly.

By: Genius

Genius — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:12:03 +0000

Think again. If you had a clue you would be promoting a positive solution, not a negative one. No one’s going off coal.

Positive solutions such as: filtering, modifying emissions etc., advanced coal use.

The message is not “STOP COAL” but, “PROMOTE COAL SOLUTIONS”! such as those described above.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:09:03 +0000

To all who want to stop coal: please send this message to every banker, accountant, lawyer, MBA student you know!

Calling all MBAs, lawyers, accountants: here’s your design problem.

Let’s get the banks to divest from coal. There must be a way.
The entire scientific community (including NOAA, NASA, and the US delegate to the IPCC) agree that global warming is real, it is human caused, and something must be done in the next 10 years to avoid huge catastrophes – flooded cities, major droughts etc. This was widely known 20 years ago. We also know that the reserves of oil will run out long before we ever reach a limit with coal.
Coal is the problem. Stop coal and we have a chance. Stop the loans that fund coal-mining.

Now for something positive!
Clean energy is a design problem. So is divesting from coal.
Groups like RAN have spanked the banks. Now let’s show that there is a solution. All of you bankers, MBAs, investment whiz kids, lawyers: here is your challenge. Suppose you work for a large bank with major investments in coal mining and coal-fired plants. The bank wants to completely divest from coal, legally and with no loss in overall profit, within 6 months. There is your challenge. Go.

Don’t let anyone tell you its impossible to divest from business commitments that quickly. When the heat was on, companies around the world found a way to divest from Apartheid South Africa, quickly, legally, profitably. We did it then, we can do it now.

All you business whiz kids out there – write a step by step process for how Bank of America and others can divest completely from coal in 6 months.

Be famous. Be the banker that stopped coal.