via fishandbicycles.com

The reports of King Coal’s demise appear to be exaggerated. At least for now.

After a year of fighting for coal export terminals proposals in Washington, coal companies are moving south into Oregon. Last week, it was announced that port officials at the Port of St. Helen’s, OR approved proposals to allow coal export terminals on the Oregon coast.

King Coal’s plan is to take the coal being mined from leases in Wyoming and Montana that are being opened up by the Obama’s Administration’s energy plan, transport it by rail to ports in the Pacific Northwest, and ship it overseas to Asian markets for big profits. There are already active efforts in the Washington port towns of Longview and Bellingham.

The Port of St. Helen’s agreements with Houston-based port logistics company Kinder Morgan and Australia-based coal company Ambre Energy would ship up to 38 million tons a year and is the first proposal to be approved in Oregon. It’s also reported that the ports in Coos Bay, OR are also in talks with unnamed coal companies about coal export terminal development.

Earlier in the year, Oregon’s Gov. John Kitzhaber had stated no coal would be exported through the state without an “open vigorous public debate.” It’s pretty clear that King Coal and the Oregon political establishment don’t want that at all.

For environmental and climate activists in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll remind them of the words of the late Judy Bonds — “Fight Harder.”

via movieposter.com

In the 1974 classic Roman Polanski neo-noir film Chinatown, private detective Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) discovers one of LA’s dirty secrets: Wealthy developers are legally stealing precious water from poor struggling farmers in California’s central valley to hydrate the posh homes of Beverly Hills and a rapidly growing Los Angeles. It’s a sordid tale of corrupt local politics, exploited natural resources, an earlier version of the 1% vs. the 99%, and seemingly the “future” of the city.

In a similar vein, despite growing green consciousness in southern California, the city of Los Angeles has another dirty secret, and it is called coal. Furthermore, the electricity that the residents of L.A. are using everyday from coal is being burned at the expense of struggling Native communities in the American Southwest.

Despite a resolution passed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the L.A. City Council to get L.A. off of coal, the Los Angeles Water and Power Department (LAWPD) still purchases almost half of its power from coal plants in Arizona and Utah. The resolution has led to two coal plants being shut down, but the LAPWD is still heavily invested in utility companies like Southern California Edison.

And while California itself has very few coal plants and no coal mines, it keeps its homes air conditioned and lights on through plants hundreds of miles away spewing pollution into the airways and waterways of the Southwest. This addiction has a particularly harsh impact on communities in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and Arizona as the Navajo Generating Station is located on Navajo land. Furthermore, companies like St. Louis-based Peabody continue to mine coal reserves on the same land.

Stellar reporting by Altnet’s Josh Frank has highlighted this story and the struggle of Indigenous groups fighting to be heard on the impact of coal plants and mining on native land.

My community is heavily impacted by Salt River Project’s coal and water extraction activities. SRP has extensive ties to Peabody Energy’s massive mining operations and the Navajo Generating Station,” says Louise Benally of nearby Black Mesa. “Coal mining has destroyed thousands of archeological sites and our only water source has been seriously compromised. Their operations are causing widespread respiratory problems, lung diseases, and other health impacts on humans, the environment, and all living things.

Last month, protests erupted in Arizona around the Navajo Generating Station. 16 activists were arrested at the offices of corporate climate marauder and managing partner of the Navajo plant, the Salt River Project (SRP). SRP is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and sits on its board. ALEC is most known for aggressive legislative campaigns to undermine labor standards, climate science and civil liberties, as well as a driving force behind the racist Arizona law SB1070.

At the end of Chinatown, the wealthy developers won, covered up scandals both political and personal, and Gittes was told “forget about it Jake. It’s Chinatown.”

But the fight over LA’s future with dirty coal is far from over, and we won’t be forgetting about the struggles of people most impacted by it for quite some time.

Hundreds of Charlotteans and local police found themselves swept up in a manhunt-style game of “Cowboys vs. Corporations,” organized by local RAN activists to mark the two-year anniversary of the Citizens United supreme court decision. As a Western-themed people’s posse pursued the elusive “Mr. BoA,” passing out Wanted posters along the way, the absurdity of corporate personhood was not lost on spectators, many of whom were startled into laughter by the activists’ antics.

Photos by John Duffy.

While the game was simple and easy to replicate, it was quite effective at shattering the barriers between participants and spectators. Here’s how it worked:

We set game boundaries of 4×3 city blocks, and restricted the movement of players to public property. After a willing activist donned a giant Bank of America logo for a headpiece and slipped off into uptown Charlotte, the hunt was on. RAN activists were divided into several posses and then fanned out, canvassing police and pedestrians for tips on where the bankster scoundrel had gone. After 20 minutes of searching and a protracted footrace, “Mr. BoA” was apprehended and brought to face justice at the Occupy Charlotte encampment. The victorious posse members were rewarded with gift certificates donated by the Common Market, a locally owned, locally sourced delicatessen.

We had so much fun celebrating public space and challenging corporate power, we’re making plans to recreate the event in the near future. We heartily recommend that you round up a local posse and pursue some corporate bad guys yourself, particularly during business hours. Contact me for materials, game rules, and more information at todd@ran.org.

If corporations are people, then this Mr. Bank O. America fellow is a clear and present danger to society. So we teamed up with The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, rounded up a posse, and searched the streets of San Francisco for this fugitive from justice.

We went to several of his known hangouts (otherwise known as Bank of America branches) with a citizen’s arrest warrant in hand. But the perp had flown the coop before we got to each location.

Just to make sure Mr. Bank O. America’s crime spree is brought to an end as soon as possible, we pasted the arrest warrant all over town. If he exists — which I’m beginning to doubt — we’ll catch him.

Just what are Mr. Bank O. America’s crimes? It’s a long list. He’s a tax cheat who made off with BILLIONS in taxpayer dollars, even while he was putting thousands of Americans out of work by helping crash our economy. He’s a notorious bankroller of the dirtiest energy source — coal — and is thus responsible for poisoning countless communities across the States. And he has outright stolen more of America’s homes than any other bank-person-thing (sorry, the metaphor kinda broke down there — see how ridiculous the idea of corporate personhood is?).

If you see him, do not attempt to apprehend Mr. Bank O. America alone. Call for backup on our blog, Bankrupting America.

Our Bank of America “man” hunt today was part of the broader Occupy Wall Street West day of action against the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision that gave corporations the same free speech rights as people. (Jan 21 is the decision’s 2-year anniversary.) RAN and ACCE joined with Occupy Wall St. West to to expose how Wall St. banks like Bank of America are attacking our communities, our environment, and our democracy in the name of profits. Today, we sent a loud and clear message: Corporations are NOT people. Money is NOT speech.

There are many actions going on throughout the day. Find out how you can get involved and check out pics and video from all of the actions on the Occupy Wall Street West website.

So today RAN activists in Charlotte, North Carolina joined a broad coalition of economic and social justice organizations in a pledge of resistance to Bank of America’s reckless profit seeking. The event, organized by RAN, the Pushback Network, Occupy Charlotte, and a plethora of local labor and community organizations, began with a “funeral for democracy” marking the 2-year anniversary of the Citizens United supreme court decision, which has drowned American democracy in a flood of corporate cash. Activists processed to the base of Bank of America‘s corporate headquarters bearing coffins for democracy, dignity, equality, and the environment.

Photos by John Duffy. View more on Flickr.

We issued a set of demands, which you can read below, and announced plans to mobilize thousands of activists in a week of direct action resistance around Bank of America’s May shareholder meeting, which is to take place in Charlotte. Brigid Flaherty, Pushback Network Director, issued this call to action at today’s event:

This May, we’re going to take this city over.

We invite you to join us now and in the months leading up to May in what we’re calling the Spring of Discontent. Imagine that large, unaccountable corporations who violate basic democratic principles of fairness and decency are on the defensive this spring in the lead-up to their high-profile shareholder meetings. Envision a Spring of Discontent with hundreds of thousand of people from across the country occupying the headquarters and shareholder meetings of corporations representing the worst of the worst…

This spring, Charlotte, the state, the South and the nation will be part of that wave as we organize a week of large-scale actions to deliver a clear message to Bank of America — pay your fair share, get your money out of our democracy, invest in American jobs that protect workers and support families, and stop funding climate change.

The coalition closed the event by sending a delegation of activists into Bank of America in an attempt to deliver their demands directly to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. They were intercepted by a private security guard who refused to deliver the coalition’s letter to Moynihan or admit the delegation to the building. Vowing to deliver those demands to Bank of America through months of hard-hitting direct action, the coalition members retorted with a chant: “BoA gonna’ pay in May!”

Stay tuned for more updates from RAN’s ongoing coalition work in North Carolina.

Here is the list of demands BoA refused to even read:

WE DEMAND THAT BANK OF AMERICA:

Keep People in their Homes.

Bank of America’s risky and predatory behavior contributed substantially to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Bank of America is responsible for policies that put millions of American families at risk of losing their homes, create insurmountable student loan debt, and cost millions of Americans their jobs. We demand that Bank of America pay for the crisis it created by:

• Forgiving student debt.
• Imposing an immediate moratorium on foreclosures and reducing principle for underwater mortgages.
• Ceasing manipulative and racist policies directed at their customers, including arbitrary fees and predatory lending.

Pay its Fair Share.

Bank of America should pay its fair share and stop depriving our state and federal governments of revenue. After shirking state taxes for three years, Bank of America owes a debt to the people of North Carolina. We demand that Bank of America submit to regulation and invest in our communities by:

• Paying the statutorily required 35% corporate income tax instead of gaming the system through off-shore tax shelters, loopholes, and scams.
• Ceasing lobbying against necessary and reasonable financial regulation.
• Redirecting lobbying dollars and executive bonuses into programs that support American communities.

Fund the Future — Not Coal.

Bank of America is the largest funder of dirty coal energy projects in the United States, contributing to a human health epidemic and spurring climate change. While air pollution causes respiratory and heart disease, killing an estimated 3,000 North Carolinians alone each year, Bank of America’s coal funding keeps our state dependent on the dirtiest energy source of all. Additionally, mountaintop removal destroys Appalachian communities, and dirty energy disproportionately affects low-income communities of color. We demand that Bank of America help to solve the climate crisis by:

• Ceasing funding for dirty coal energy projects that drive climate change.
• Prioritizing funding of renewable energy projects.
• Revitalizing our economy through investment in green job creation.

A videographer rolled along with the team we sent out to hit the BoA ATMs in Chinatown and the Financial District, and put together this video for us.

Want to help hold Bank of America accountable? Looking for a way to plug in to the growing global movement to end corporate rule? Take action with us on January 20 as we issue a people’s arrest warrant for Mr. Bank O. America in the streets of San Francisco!

The activists used special non-adhesive stickers designed to look exactly like BoA’s ATM interface. But instead of checking and savings accounts, these new menus offered a list of everything BoA customers’ money is being used for, including investment in coal-fired power plants, foreclosure on Americans’ homes, bankrolling of climate change, and paying for fat executive bonuses.

Here’s a handy map showing all 85 ATMs we made a little more truthful last night:

The stickers also encourage BoA customers to “Stop doing business with Bank of America until they start behaving responsibly” and have the URL to our new blog, which we’ve just launched along with The New Bottom Line:

BankruptingAmerica.tumblr.com.

We’re using that blog to track all the ways BoA is bankrupting America, hence the name. We’ve received so many submissions it’s clear to us that this website was badly needed. There are lots of grievances to be aired with regard to how Bank of America is conducting its business these days, as it turns out. (Not that that’s terribly surprising.)

Check it out, and feel free to submit if you’re so inclined.

Update: The response to this action has been so huge that we’ve made the design available as a high-res PDF. It’s available here. We ARE NOT suggesting you do anything with it.

If you’re a dissatisfied BoA customer and closing your account, an activist or organizer involved in a protest or campaign, or simply someone disgusted by BoA’s banking practices, we want you to submit to the blog. Just go here.

In addition to news about protests against BoA, we’re also looking for calls to action for protests against Bank of America, brand jams/logo jams or any other creative materials spoofing Bank of America and its profits-over-people-and-planet business model, news relating to Bank of America’s practices that are bankrupting our economy and wrecking our climate, and anything else creative or inspiring that we never could have even dreamed of.

Why Bank of America? There are plenty of reasons why the bank deserves all the attention it’s getting these days. To name just a few:

• BoA is the #1 funder of the US coal industry, which is polluting our communities and cooking our climate.
• BoA is the #1 forecloser of Americans’ homes.
• BoA has let go of nearly 100,000 workers over the past several years—while it paid its top five executives over $500 million in bonuses.

Check out the blog at BankruptingAmerica.tumblr.com and share the content with your networks, submit a post, and help us call Bank of America out for wrecking our economy and our planet in the name of profits.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the first-ever Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. yesterday.  The long-awaited air pollution rule promises to prevent 34,000 deaths otherwise caused from toxic pollutants released from power plants including mercury, arsenic, cyanide, nickel, chromium, lead and more.

In making the announcement, Administrator Jackson focused on children’s health issues, including cases of asthma (which her own son is battling), birth defects and impaired brain development caused by mercury in the air.

The U.S. has been waiting a long time for this. It took more than two decades of negotiating and 900,000 public comments (20,000 from RAN activists), but the final MATS rule marks a great step forward for clean air in this country.

The Obama administration has yielded mixed news on the environmental front all year, so it was cheering to hear a strong, bold announcement like this one be issued forth by the EPA despite Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski’s attempts to instill fear in the heart of the public over the new standard’s effect on energy reliability.

Even after two decades of undulating process, Senator Murkowski called the pace of the EPA rulemaking “reckless” when in fact continuing to allow outdated coal plants to operate is much more so. EPA estimates show the new safeguards “will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. “ If the rule had been finalized ten years ago, would 111,000 people still be living, and 47,000 heart attacks prevented?

The finalized rule will likely affect the future of about 40 percent of coal-fired power plants in the U.S., which operate substandard to the rule’s particulate pollution requirements. The utility companies operating these plants are weighing up the economics of retiring plants versus investing hundreds of millions of dollars in life-extending retrofits for the aging plants.

We have a clear understanding of the negative impacts that burning coal has on our health, economy, and climate. With the solar and wind industries booming, we know how to produce electricity without endangering ourselves. As we head into 2012, it is well past time to phase out of coal entirely and transition to cleaner and renewable energy sources. If you’d like to be a part of that transition, joining RAN’s campaign to shift the biggest U.S. banks away from coal financing and towards clean energy is a great place to start.

Lisa Jackson concluded her press conference at the children’s hospital with some hurdles the EPA encounters,  “If we started hiring engineers instead of lobbyists and scientists instead of lawyers, we [the EPA] would be able to do our job much faster for the American people.” I absolutely agree.

While one-percenters gathered for their $175-per-plate luncheon, more than 30 festively dressed Charlotteans serenaded attendees with Christmas carols modified to call attention to Bank of America and Duke Energy’s destructive funding and burning of dirty coal, practices which cause severe damage to human health and the environment.

As carolers in white beards and Santa hats sang a Rudolph-inspired ‘Brian the Big Coal Funder’ tune, RAN organizer Todd Zimmer explained, “Brian Moynihan and Bank of America have given billions of dollars to the coal industry to blow up mountains, poison our air and water, and worsen climate change. For this bad behavior, they deserve nothing more than a giant lump of their own coal.”

While CEO Jim Rogers mocked customers’ resistance to Duke and BoA’s arbitrary fees and rate increases inside, Charlotte activists playing the two naughty CEOs presented a Christmas gift to the city: a giant inhaler wrapped in a big red bow. Protestors gave the dirty energy executives lumps of coal in return, before launching into a round of “We Wish You a Coal-Free Christmas.” Eventually, the Santa-clad protestors moved uptown to the Bank of America Corporate Center, where they caroled, gave out lumps of coal, and engaged with passersby, many of whom pledged to close their Bank of America accounts on the spot.  Ho ho ho, dirty CEOs!

Reverend Billy protesting outside the BoA building in Chicago.

Last week, RAN teamed up with Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization, Occupy Chicago, and Reverend Billy for a week of action against B of A highlighting the bank’s $4.3 billion dollars invested in the coal industry and its impacts on local communities in Chicago.

The week started out with a visit to Bank of America’s regional office in downtown Chicago with Reverend Billy. At 5 p.m., just as BoA employees were leaving for the day, protesters held a special sermon led by the good Reverend while informing employees and passersby of the bank’s investments in dirty coal.

On Saturday, a number BoA customers entered a bank branch in the heart of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and closed their bank accounts. This particular branch was very symbolic for the account closings since it is located only a few blocks from the highly controversial Fisk coal-fired power plant. After their money was withdrawn, a press conference was held outside of the bank, where Pilsen residents and RAN activists further explained the bank’s ties to the coal pollution poisoning the community.

To top the day off, activists and community members marched 3 miles in 15 degree weather from Pilsen to the downtown offices of Midwest Generation, the owner of the Fisk coal plant.

After a week of direct action in Chicago, BoA heard our voices loud and clear, but it is going to take a lot more than just Chicago to win this fight. We need all of you involved in this. Please take the pledge to close your account or boycott BoA ATM’s.

Check out this video highlighting our work in Chicago:

A wreath and a list of the 29 miners who died at the Upper Big Branch disaster at the state coal miners' memorial on the first anniversary of the explosion. Photo: AP/Jeff Gentner

No amount of money will bring back the 29 men who died because of Massey Energy’s gross disregard for safety, but hopefully this will help their families start to feel a sense of justice.

According to the Charleston Gazette: “Alpha Natural Resources will spend $200 million on fines, victim restitution and mine safety improvements to resolve enforcement actions and some criminal matters arising from the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster.”

The NYT is reporting that it’s “the largest settlement ever in a government investigation of a mine disaster”.

This announcement comes a year and a half after the explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia on April 5, 2010, which killed 29 of 31 workers in the worst U.S. coal mine disaster in 40 years. The Mine Safety and Health Administration subsequently issued a report finding that “Massey’s corporate culture was the root cause of the tragedy” and fined the company $10.8 million, the largest fine in MSHA history.

What is especially notable about this settlement is that while Alpha Natural Resources is protected from future criminal charges, individual Massey executives are not.

For a more detailed analysis of the settlement, check out Coal Tattoo’s blog.

Climate activists chained to wind turbine on lawn at Asheville BoA branch. Photo Credit: Mountain Express.

From coast to coast, the heat is on Bank of America for its bad practices.

Yesterday, a second action in the past two weeks took place in Bank of America’s home state of North Carolina, resulting in multiple arrests at a BoA branch, this time with Appalachian residents fed up with the company and its insistence on bankrolling the coal industry. If the protest sounds familiar, its because the actions against the bank have become commonplace across the nation in the past few months.

Pointing to better energy alternatives than continuing to rely on coal, six activists were arrested in Asheville after a professor and student chained themselves to a symbolic wind turbine on the lawn of a local BoA branch. Over 60 people converged on the local branch to support the action and encourage customers to close their accounts.

The two read their statement aloud to bank managers to explain their actions: “Today we gathered in solidarity to call on Bank of America to stop funding the deadly coal industry, which poisons our air and water with pollution, destabilizes the climate with carbon dioxide emissions and destroys Appalachian communities with mountain top removal mining.”

The awesome action today in Asheville was inspired in part by RAN’s Not With Our Money for Coal action last month at BoA headquarters in Charlotte. Check out this great video that shows eight protesters getting arrested when they demanded BoA divest from coal, right at the front doors of the company’s iconic headquarters skyscraper in uptown Charlotte:

The momentum is building against BoA outside of North Carolina, as well. In November alone, hundreds of protests at Bank of America branches have been reported, many of them focused on the ill effect of coal investments on the environment and human health. Just over a month ago, in Portland, Oregon, a group of activists from Portland Rising Tride dressed up as zombies and resurrected the first ever Undead Zombie Army Against Coal, marching from Occupy Portland to two Bank of America branches. The group also produced this hilarious and informative video:

Also in Oregon, a broad climate coalition brought together a large crowd in Eugene and hosted a lively march and rally focused on BoA investments into coal export terminal developments on the West Coast.

Check out this great video to feel the gravitational pull for the 99% that are standing up against big banks and climate change, all over.

In St. Louis, Washington State University students staged a loud protest at a BoA branch on campus, while students closed their accounts with the bank.

In Chicago, steady bank protests and broad coalition account closure pushes dotted November’s calender with a myriad of well-attended protest actions. While some activists were symbolically closing bank branches due to “climate crimes,” others were unfurling a large banner from a central train platform that read, “Bank of America Funding Coal: Giving Pilsen Asthma.”

Standby for more, Bank of America.

The top three “climate killers” will not come as much of a surprise: JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and none other than Bank of America top the list with $22 billion, $18.27 billion, an $16.79 billion invested in coal since 2005, respectively.

As officials from around the world are assembling in Durban, South Africa to discuss ways to combat climate change, banks around the world are busy trying to figure out how they can profit off of making the climate crisis worse.

In fact, between 2005 — the year the Kyoto Protocol went into effect — and 2010, funding for coal nearly doubled. Yes, you read that right: As the world’s leaders have been trying to get their act together and deal with the most urgent existential crisis humanity has ever faced, the biggest banks in the world have been busy sinking as much money as they can into the single largest cause of that crisis (emissions from coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of man-made carbon pollution).

As the report notes, these banks are not unaware of the climate crisis. It’s just that they see it more as an opportunity for some great PR than a problem they have a stake in solving even if it means leaving money on the table. All of the top 20 coal bankrollers have made climate commitments that are drastically contradicted by where they’re actually investing their money.

JP Morgan Chase claims it’s “Helping the world transition to a low-carbon economy”, for instance. Citi holds itself out as the “Most innovative bank in climate change” — which sounds more like Citi is gunning for Chase’s number one spot than trying to help solve the climate crisis, but who am I to quibble with how Citi chooses to word its greenwash.

Bank of America has declared that “The most formidable challenge we face is global climate change.” A fittingly purposeless statement, given that BoA has invested $4.3 billion in the US coal industry, making it the single largest underwriter of America’s coal problem.

Here is a chart showing which banks made the top 20, and the amount they’ve invested in companies that are polluting our communities and wrecking our climate:

An international coalition of NGOs came together to release this groundbreaking report, including urgewald, a German environmental organization; groundWork and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, two South African social and environmental justice organizations; and BankTrack, an international network. RAN contributed research to the report.

A full copy of the study with a ranking of all the researched banks can be downloaded here. The underlying data for this research were provided by Profundo economic research. They can be found here.

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 America executives “Not with our money!” right now.

Update 11/15/11 12:19PM As authorities attempt to evict Occupy protesters from public spaces across the country, those protesters are going to start showing up at Bank of America’s doorstep more and more. Bank of America is in the center of the Occupy Movement because of its reckless financial practices that put profit before people and planet. To wit: “Bank of America is foreclosing on our neighbors and it’s foreclosing on our climate. To be honest, I’m embarrassed that I’m still a customer.” So says Jamie Trowbridge, an Appalachian State University student who was one of the two climbers arrested at today’s protest. “Coal is dirty at every stage in its lifecycle. No longer will Bank of America fund coal with my money. When I get back to school, I’m going to cut up my BoA debit card, and help other students do the same.”

Read more: BREAKING NEWS: Eight Arrested During Protest at Bank of America Headquarters

Update 11/15/11 11:52AM All four of the activists arrested for blockading the front door of BoA HQ have been released from jail. News crews on hand at jailhouse.

Update 11/15/11 11:35AM Some good photos and great coverage by Creative Loafing, Charlotte’s best alt weekly.

Update 11/15/11 11:26AM Lots more photos added to Flickr set, you can view them in the slideshow below.

Update 11/15/11 11:03AM #OccupyCharlotte protesters rallying outside of Bank of America HQ read out messages sent to BoA 1%ers via OccupytheBoardRoom.org!

Update 11/15/11 10:23AM Just a reminder that you don’t need to be in Charlotte at BoA HQ to send a message to BoA execs. Tell Bank of America executives “Not with our money!” right now.

Update 11/15/11 10:00AM Taking a cue from the protesters who were willing to put it all on the line and were forcibly evicted from Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Oakland, and Occupy Portland, two teams of courageous Charlotteans locked down entrances to BoA’s headquarters today in an attempt to bring business as usual to a halt. Seems they don’t want BoA funding the companies that are poisoning their communities with dirty coal any longer. Eight have been arrested.

Update 11/15/11 09:23AM Our action team has been arrested, but a contingent from Occupy Charlotte has marched down to BoA HQ to keep the protest going. Several activists arrested trying to blockade the entrances. Avram from Canary Coalition is addressing the crowd, speaking about fighting coal plant pollution in North Carolina.

Update 11/15/11 09:08AM Confirmed four arrested: both climbers and two support personnel.

Update 11/15/11 08:36AM Climbers are down and have been arrested.

Update 11/15/11 08:03AM Overheard Bank of America employee watching the climbers hang the banner: “They want Robin Hood to come back and get their money for them.” At least he admits that banks like BoA have stolen our money, and someone needs to get it back for us.

Update 11/15/11 07:56AM Fire Dept. just arrived with a cherry picker.

Update 11/15/11 07:52AM Passerby discussing our banner: “I mean I can understand that they are upset, but why don’t they just go to a local bank, that’s what I did.” Couldn’t agree more! MoveYourMoneyProject.org.

Original post: Two climbers have just hung a banner reading “Not with our money” outside Bank of America’s corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Why Bank of America? Because we live in a time when the twin opportunities of job creation and the transition to a green economy are not only within reach, but desperately needed. Yet Bank of America, more than any other bank, continues to prop up coal, a dirty, 19th-century energy source.

But not with our money. Not any more.

You can get in on the action too: Tell Bank of America executives “Not with our money!” right now.

We’ve just issued a new campaign briefing — “Bank of America: Risking Public Health and the Climate” — showing that, despite claims that it considers the impacts of its investments on the environment and the climate, Bank of America is the largest underwriter of the U.S. coal industry, contributing $4.3 billion to the coal sector over the past two years.

That’s why we’ve dubbed Bank of America the Bank of Coal. BoA invests in every dirty aspect of the coal industry, including loans to Arch Coal and Peabody Energy, two of the biggest coal mining companies in the Powder River Basin that are trying to turn the pristine Pacific Northwest coastline into a major hub for exporting coal around the world. BoA is also invested in companies like Edison International, which owns the old, dirty Fisk and Crawford Plants in urban Chicago. Pollution from coal plants like Fisk and Crawford cause health problems that kill 24,000 Americans every year.

Bank of America puts profits ahead of people and the planet. The bank is investing in dirty coal companies that are polluting our communities and cooking our climate while also foreclosing on Americans’ homes and laying off thousands of workers. The same short-sighted thinking that led to our global economic crisis is being applied to BoA’s investments that impact the environment.

Write to BoA now to say “Not with our money.”

We’ll be updating this blog post with photos, video, and developments in this ongoing action throughout the day.

We’re working side by side with economic justice and democracy groups who are also pushing for the biggest banks to change their behavior. Whether the issue is environmental pollution, home foreclosures, or predatory lending, we can all agree on the root cause: Corporate profits being prioritized ahead of human dignity.

This was at the front of my mind on Saturday when I joined with many friends and allies and the mighty ranks of #OccupySF to mark “Bank Transfer Day” and take our message directly to the banks.

A full 3,000 of us marched through the streets of the city’s financial district, stopping along the way at the Chase West Coast HQ, the Wells Fargo HQ, and Bank of America Plaza. At each corporate office we sat down and blocked the streets and then staged “foreclosures” at these buildings.

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment home defender Brenda Reed spoke about Chase trying to foreclose her home and shared Jamie Dimon’s office phone number with the crowd. Iraq Veterans Against the War spoke about Wells Fargo underwriting military operations. And I spoke at BoA about its bankrolling of the coal industry.

Then the Chinese Progressive Association spoke to us about the economic situation of immigrants in our city and taught us how to chant “We are the 99%” in Cantonese. As we marched back to #OccupySF through Chinatown, we kept the chant going strong.

This event illustrated the power we have when we act together. That power is not only strong in the streets, it’s an economic force to be reckoned with. The thousands of RAN supporters who are closing their BoA accounts, are a part of the 650,000 people who have moved billions of dollars from big banks to credit unions this past month. That’s a significant shift, demonstrating clearly that our movement is ready to abandon the banks that don’t reflect our values.

An activist carries a "Bank 'Robber' of America" sign at an #OccupySF march on October 15th.

Update: More signs that the pressure is working: Bank of America has dropped its plan to charge a $60 annual fee for its customers to access their own money! We’ve got to keep the pressure on. If you haven’t already, sign the pledge to stop doing business with Bank of America until it stops wrecking our economy and our climate.

Original Post: Via Crooks & Liars we learn that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is “incensed” about all the pressure being brought to bear on his bank and its shady practices. In other words, what Moynihan is saying is: “The pressure is working. Keep it up.”

It seems that Moynihan is so concerned about all the negative press BoA’s been getting, in fact, that 135 representatives of his bank have made 1,500 visits and calls to local officials to remind them of all the money the bank lends in their communities. If that sounds a little creepy to you — like Don Corleone reminding someone of the “favor” he did for them — then you’re not alone.

Bloomberg has the scoop:

Bank of America’s outreach campaign is part of Moynihan’s effort to turn around the lender since he took over as CEO in January 2010 following two taxpayer bailouts. His plan to charge some debit-card users a $5 monthly fee drew reprimands from President Barack Obama and lawmakers, including U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who said customers should withdraw their deposits in protest.

“I, like you, get a little incensed when you think about how much good all of you do, whether it’s volunteer hours, charitable giving we do, serving clients and customers well,” Moynihan said during the Oct. 18 gathering. To the bank’s critics, he said, “You ought to think a little about that before you start yelling at us.”

Moynihan is laboring to rebuild the bank’s reputation with customers, employees and investors. Even before the debit-card fee sparked protests in Los Angeles and Boston, state attorneys general blamed the bank for using improper documents to justify foreclosures. To help reverse a stock decline this year of more than 50 percent, the lender is cutting expenses by eliminating more than 30,000 jobs.

The thing is, Mr. Moynihan, we have thought long and hard about your bank and why we’re upset with you. You’re Bank of America, the Bank of Coal. You’re providing more money to coal projects than any other bank — like the coal-fired power plants that are poisoning communities around the country right now and cooking our climate — while you’re also a leading forecloser on Americans’ homes. Your bank took $138 billion in government handouts, then paid no federal taxes while you yourself were pocketing a $9 million bonus. On top of all that, you had the gall to then turn around and announce that your bank was so strapped for cash that you had to lay off 30,000 workers and charge customers $60 a year for the privilege of accessing their own money.

Oh, and that whole episode where one of your bank managers refused to let a customer close her account simply because she was doing so in protest of your bank’s contributions to the wrecking of our economy didn’t help you out any. Just FYI.

So spare us your faux outrage, Mr. Moynihan. Your bank deserves all the criticism it has received and more, and you know it more than anyone. We’re right to be incensed, and we’re not going to stop letting you know about it until Bank of America starts operating on the values of the communities you pretend to serve.

Reverend Billy has been acquitted of all charges for last year’s action on Buy Nothing Day at UBS in New York City. During the action, the Stop Shopping Choir dressed as angels in flowing white robes and wings, filled the lobby, and handed out information about UBS’s financing of mountaintop removal.

More recently, Reverend Billy has been lending his talents to the Occupy movement. According to the Rev: “We are meditating on this year’s Buy Nothing Day activities, with all the Occupy Wall Street energy. Certainly surprised by the acquittal. The judge was a former prosecutor and apparent Republican. Maybe he’s come over to the 99%.”

Here’s the choir’s anthem, “We are the 99% (as we gather together)”:

In case you have no idea what I’m talking about: Last week, RAN teamed up with groups like NY Communities for Change, Main Street Alliance, and The New Bottom Line, as well as blogs like Crooks & Liars and Down With Tyranny!, to launch OccupytheBoardRoom.org. The site lets you send your message directly to the 1% — the folks who are making out like thieves thanks to our unjust economic system, and then using their ill-gotten gains to corrupt our democracy and ensure this perverted system continues.

I’m sure you’ve got something to say about all this. Send your message to the 1% right now!

Maybe you’re as tired as I am with banks like Bank of America, a.k.a. the Bank of Coal, which took $138 billion in government handouts, paid no federal taxes, and gave a $9 million bonus to its CEO, who then turned around and said his bank was so strapped for cash that they had to lay off 30,000 workers and charge customers $60 a year for the privilege of accessing their own money. All while underwriting some of the dirtiest coal projects in the country that are poisoning our communities right now.

And now, apparently, Bank of America won’t even let you close your account if you’re doing so in protest of all these gross injustices.

Enough is enough, right? The CEOs at banks like BofA need to hear from you.

Here’s what I wrote to them:

Dear 1%ers,

You’re probably furious or at least annoyed with the Occupy movement right now. You might even feel like you’re being wrongly maligned. That’s understandable. You didn’t create this perverse economic system of ours, you’ve just profited handsomely off of it. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t stand with us, the 99%, and demand a fair and just system that works for everyone.

I’m writing to you because I don’t want to relate to you solely as “the 1%.” You’re all people just like me and the rest of the 99%. Relating to each other only as 1% and 99% is not productive. I’m writing because I want to relate to you as a person. I think that’s important.

We both know that the current economic system is unsustainable. The rich can’t keep sitting on their fat stacks while the poor and the middle class have to scramble for whatever crumbs are left. You can’t continue to lay people off from their jobs and kick them out of their homes. You can’t continue to bankroll fossil fuels, polluting our communities and cooking our climate. You must realize that this situation is in no one’s best interest, and can’t possibly continue for much longer.

I urge you to get on the right side of history. Support the Occupy movement. Speak up against the injustice inherent in the system. Work to dismantle the mechanisms by which the extreme inequality we see today has been created. Because ultimately we’re all people living on this planet and doing the best we can. We’re all in this together.

We would welcome your support. But you should also know that we will not be cowed by your derision and intimidation, should you choose to ignore the legitimate calls for economic and social justice echoing across the world right now. We’re going to make things right. Will it be with you, or without you?

Peace, Mike G.

The Rainforest Action Network has been campaigning to get the big Wall Street banks to quit funding coal and driving climate change for years now. So it may seem, on the face of it, like the Occupy Wall Street fight is not quite the same as our fight. But it really is. As Naomi Klein recently said to me, “The same logic that has trashed the economy is trashing the planet and we need to make those connections incessantly, because that’s how you build a truly mass movement.”

Not Everyone Can Occupy Zuccotti Park, But Everyone Can Say No to Bank of America

We’re doing our part by giving bank customers around the country the opportunity to show their discontent with the big banks by pledging to stop doing business with Bank of America. All of the ‘Not One More Dollar’ pledges we receive (to close BofA bank accounts and/or to boycott its ATMs) will be bundled — much like the big banks packaged mortgages for sale — and presented to Bank of America executives in protest of the bank’s funding of coal, the country’s number one contributor to climate change.

Over the past two years, Bank of America has invested $4.3 billion in coal. It is the biggest bank in the world and the biggest underwriter of the coal industry — bankrolling coal mining, infrastructure investments and coal-fired power plants around the country. Why does this matter? Coal kills between 13,000 and 34,000 people a year. That’s one person every 15 minutes.

It’s not just its funding of coal that we should be holding Bank of America accountable for, of course. The list of grievances over BofA’s behavior is a very, very long one. Bank of America has recently announced it will charge customers up to $60 a year to use their debit cards at the same time that it is laying off 30,000 employees. Bank of America is also a leading forecloser of Americans’ homes.

And then there’s the fact that Wall Street banks have infected our political system. Here again, we find that the same interests that have blocked federal action on climate change are being bankrolled by BofA to cook our climate and spew pollution into our communities.

Bank of America’s customers want the bank to take responsibility for the social and environmental consequences of its lending practices, and the Not One More Dollar pledge is a way for people to communicate that. I urge you to sign it now and put Bank of America on notice.

This post originally appeared on Huffington Post.