Rising Tide Boston helps big banks market “Green Coal”
Last Friday, members of Rising Tide Boston set up “Green Coal” marketing tables outside branches of Bank of America and Citibank to highlight these banks’ high-risk investments in coal power and mining.
Emulating the coal industry’s marketing pitch of “clean coal”, activists handed out samples of “green coal” while informing fellow citizens not to expect green coal to be clean, safe, or affordable.
“Although we’ve spent a lot of time and resources researching ways to make coal environmentally friendly, or ‘clean and green’, the best way we found to do it is to paint it green,” said Chris Santorum, one of the Green Coal Salespeople.
To watch a video of this event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doWqvWDRDGM
Rising Tide Boston has been working with local housing and poverty advocacy groups to demand that the big banks stop gambling with the future of people and planet. Real solutions to the climate crisis, that are market-ready and viable, would both address economic equity for local communities and directly reduce the disproportionate burden of impacts that working class communities around the world face from fossil fuel industries such as coal.
Despite the coal lobby’s desperate schemes to sell the “clean coal” concept, coal power generation remains dirty, unsafe and unaffordable as the following facts confirm.
- The coal industry is responsible for nearly 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions
- Toxic emissions from coal power plants cause over 26 000 deaths per year in the US alone
- An average coal plant is responsible for externalized environmental and public health costs of over 300 million dollars per year.
- There are currently 110 coal power plants slated for development in the U.S. none of which have the ability to capture the carbon they would emit.
“Without the financial backing of big banks like Citi and Bank of America, the coal industry wouldn’t be able to build over 100 new coal plants. We need real solutions to the climate crisis, not more coal industry greenwash,” said Lulu Debarca of Rising Tide Boston.
7 Responses to “Rising Tide Boston helps big banks market “Green Coal””
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November 18th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Where to turn… is it better to fight “clean” coal, even the “better” sort, at the risk of seeing less good alternatives. Sometimes I think we let the best be the enemy of good.
Lets hope that renewables will outcompete coal on commercial basis within short!
November 20th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Truly Green Coal Power Plants are not possible now. Spend money on real clean, renewables, especially wind and solar instead.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
To make cole green it would cost too much money to make it
economically viable for the consumer, not to mention the
enviromental impact. If we have to dump more $ into making
any big switch it should be renewables which in the end
would be cheaper, create more jobs, and help end globle
warming. What more could anyone ask for?
November 21st, 2008 at 9:36 am
During the election, I kept hearing about clean coal. I did wonder. I belong to Appalachian Voices, and they’ve never mentioned any such thing. Thanks for the clarification.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:11 pm
a lot of talk,evenfrom OBAMA,about clean coal.But no comments regarding the horror of mountaintop removal.The media needs to get on top of this!
November 24th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I think that this is a good idea and that we should do this more often. What I liked about Obama was that he will bring the change we need, and that he mentioned “clean” coal as kind of an after thought. I know he may not be the best possible candidate, but he’s still better than Mccain. I’ll give you that.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I am saddened by Obama’s nominations of Salazar and Vilsack.I hope he will disappoint these men at some point by turning down their worst ideas. They are not willing to give up pushing practices that pollute the land, the air, and the water. My grandchildren may inherit their folly. I love my grandchildren.