Posts By Amanda Starbuck

Amanda Starbuck - who has written 90 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. She has been actively campaigning and organizing on environmental and social justice issues for 15 years, previously working with Greenpeace, People & Planet and Green Corps. She ran the media department at the Center for Alternative Technology, Europe’s leading eco-center and then, while leading the Communications team at Forestry Commission Wales, worked on the world’s largest onshore wind power development. Amanda can be found on Twitter: @Starbuck

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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People Power Is Changing Our Banking Behavior

By Amanda Starbuck, November 8 2011

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People Power Is Changing Our Banking Behavior

Over the last few weeks since we launched our “Not One More Dollar” campaign, thousands of you have committed to stop doing business with Bank of America until the bank quits underwriting the dirty coal industry. We’re working side by side with economic justice and democracy groups who are also pushing for the biggest banks [...]

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Remember, Remember The 5th Of November

By Amanda Starbuck, November 1 2011

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Remember, Remember The 5th Of November

Remember, remember the 5th of November — because this Saturday is “Bank Transfer Day.” BTD is a highly popular Facebook event (over 70,000 are attending) initiated by Kristen Christian, a young woman from California who decided she’d had enough of corporate greed. Her feelings resonated with tens of thousands of others, and the big banks [...]

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It’s Time To #OccupytheBoardRoom

By Amanda Starbuck, October 15 2011

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It’s Time To #OccupytheBoardRoom

It’s time to #OccupytheBoardRoom. Thousands of protesters have been occupying Wall Street for the past several weeks to take their demands for social and economic justice directly to the richest 1% of Americans — the very folks who are benefiting most from the inequality in our system while the other 99% of us face endless [...]

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VIDEO: Creativity And Passion Are Driving The Occupation Of Wall Street

By Amanda Starbuck, October 12 2011

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VIDEO: Creativity And Passion Are Driving The Occupation Of Wall Street

Walking around the “Island of Humanity” that is #OccupyWallStreet, I’m struck most by the creativity of expression and the impressive amount of organizing that has gone into keeping this three-week occupation going. It’s almost overwhelming to be here. But it’s also incredibly inspiring. I’ve been having some wonderful conversations and plotting sessions with a new [...]

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Greetings From The Bank Of America Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo!

By Amanda Starbuck, October 7 2011

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Greetings From The Bank Of America Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo!

Greetings from the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Health & Fitness Expo! I’m here manning a booth with RAN Chicago volunteers to get the word out about Bank of America’s financing of the filthiest polluting coal plants in Chicago. That’s right, when 45,000 runners join the Bank of America-funded Chicago marathon this weekend, the route [...]

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Why Are People Occupying Wall Street?

By Amanda Starbuck, October 4 2011

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Why Are People Occupying Wall Street?

Why are people occupying Wall Street? And can this protest lead to real change in how banks treat people? Over the last two weeks I’ve watched momentum build in lower Manhattan as growing numbers of people are physically drawn together to express their deep frustration with the financial system. The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demonstrators [...]

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PNC Bank’s Evolving Approach To The Energy Sector

By Amanda Starbuck, October 3 2011

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PNC Bank’s Evolving Approach To The Energy Sector

PNC recently released their 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report. Documents like this  provide a window into how a bank thinks about its environmental and social impact. RAN has been paying close attention to PNC Bank and its approach to the energy industry for a couple of years, so I was eager to get my hands on [...]

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