Posts By Amanda Starbuck

Amanda Starbuck - who has written 97 posts on Rainforest Action Network Blog.

Amanda Starbuck directs RAN’s Energy & Finance Programs, challenging large banks to stop funding the world's most destructive industries and start funding renewable energy. Amanda can be found on Twitter: @Starbuck

Dirty Money: U.S. Banks at the Bottom of the Class

By Amanda Starbuck, May 1 2012

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Dirty Money: U.S. Banks at the Bottom of the Class

Today Rainforest Action Network and the Sierra Club released our Coal Finance Report Card 2012, our third annual ranking of the largest financiers of mountaintop removal coal mining and coal-fired power plants. The report looks at the stated policies for mountaintop removal and coal financing from each of the largest US Banks and assigns a [...]

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Transforming Bank Lobbies

By Amanda Starbuck, April 26 2012

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Transforming Bank Lobbies

Someone once wrote that a bank is like a giant squid wrapped around the face of humanity. And it feels as if banks have overwhelmed the neighborhood, as I walk just two blocks around my office this lunch hour, counting six different bank branch lobbies along the way. They all reach to grab my attention [...]

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Greenwash of the Week

By Amanda Starbuck, April 25 2012

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Greenwash of the Week

It’s the time of year when banks put their ‘best foot forward’ and prepare to be scrutinized by their shareholders at annual general meetings (AGMs). It’s a legal requirement, the AGM is held every year where the board of directors is elected, and the highest-ranking staff report to members on previous and future activities. So [...]

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What If You Owned Bank of America? We Teamed Up With The Yes Men to Find Out What You’d Do

By Amanda Starbuck, April 19 2012

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What If You Owned Bank of America? We Teamed Up With The Yes Men to Find Out What You’d Do

Yesterday morning, Bank of America announced that it was turning over a new leaf, rebranding itself as “Your Bank of America” and seeking the American public’s input on how it could become a bank that responds to real people. Or so it seemed. You know what they say: If it seems too good to be [...]

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DC Judge Restricts The EPA’s Ability To Protect Our Water and Ecosystems

By Amanda Starbuck, March 23 2012

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DC Judge Restricts The EPA’s Ability To Protect Our Water and Ecosystems

I’m outraged by today’s news from DC. Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled that the EPA exceeded its authority in revoking permits for what could now become West Virginia’s largest mountaintop removal (MTR) mine. Back in January 2011, the EPA vetoed Arch Coal’s permit to mine at the Spruce site,  as it would cause [...]

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Wanted: Brian Moynihan

By Amanda Starbuck, March 13 2012

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Wanted: Brian Moynihan

When we got word that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was visiting our fine city of San Francisco this week, we knew that we needed to track him down and have a frank conversation about his bank quitting coal. RAN is calling on the biggest U.S. banks to stop financing the polluting coal industry [...]

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Keystone XL Has Reared Its Ugly Head Again – And We Have 24 Hours To Stop It

By Amanda Starbuck, February 13 2012

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Keystone XL Has Reared Its Ugly Head Again – And We Have 24 Hours To Stop It

The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has reared its ugly head yet again. This time, we have just 24 hours to stop it. President Obama rejected Keystone XL last month, but now many Senators are rushing to resurrect it in order to protect their friends, Big Oil. The Senate could vote as early as Tuesday [...]

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EPA Announces Powerful Air Pollution Safeguards: You Spoke and Lisa Jackson Listened

By Amanda Starbuck, December 22 2011

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EPA Announces Powerful Air Pollution Safeguards: You Spoke and Lisa Jackson Listened

As the holidays draw near I’m raising a glass to all of you RAN activists, because—along with hundreds of thousands of clean air advocate allies—you stood up and asked the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our environment and our bodies from toxic pollutants. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the first-ever Mercury and Air Toxics Standards [...]

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Occupy Movement Starts Showing Up on Bank of America Doorsteps

By Amanda Starbuck, November 16 2011

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Occupy Movement Starts Showing Up on Bank of America Doorsteps

As the authorities attempt to evict Occupy protestors from public spaces, they are  showing up at Bank of America doorsteps across the country. Yesterday, in Charlotte, environmental activists showed up and were arrested at BoA’s Corporate HQ to demand the bank end their financing of coal – the primary driver of climate change. Today, in [...]

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UPDATED: Activists In Charlotte, NC Take Action To Tell Bank Of America: Not With Our Money

By Amanda Starbuck, November 15 2011

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UPDATED: Activists In Charlotte, NC Take Action To Tell Bank Of America: Not With Our Money

Update 11/18/11 10:00AM PST We’ve just posted a short video recap of the day’s events. Watch it below or on YouTube. Update 11/15/11 01:59PM All eight activists are now out of jail, in good spirits, and proud of the message they sent to Bank of America today. You can send one too: Tell Bank of [...]

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