Asheville and other cities organize Fossil Fools' Day protests against corporate polluters

Environmental activists target coal, oil, natural gas, big banks, large environmental groups

Rising Tide North America, an all-volunteer network with 50 chapters throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico in cooperation with other groups, announced that more than 30 cities have organized demonstrations on April 1, 2010, against the fossil fuel industry, large financial institutions and, surprisingly for some, a handful of large environmental groups.

This protest, which has become annual event, is known as Fossil Fools' Day. This year the group has called for greater confrontation and less negotiations with the polluters.

Rising Tide targeted online protests against what they call "Big Green" environmental organizations. They accuse these groups of taking money from the worst corporate polluters. Key targets of this online protest campaign include Conservation International, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), National Wildlife Federation and Environmental Defense.

Called "a national day of action," Rising Tide North America has organized the protests in conjunction with Mountain Justice, a coalition of Canadian climate activists. The protests will feature clownish parades, posting flyers, and creative street theater. Rising Tide said that the direct actions would be non-violent.

Cities where actions against corporate polluters and those involved with the polluters will take place in Asheville, Boulder, Chicago, Edmonton, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Ottawa, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C., and at least 15 other cities.

Rising Tide said that corporations targeted for protest include Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, NW Natural Gas, Pepco and Shell.

"Extractive industries are holding our climate and our communities hostage," said Lacy MacAuley, an organizer of the Washington, D.C., actions. "I am participating in this Day of Action to tell fossil fools, like JPMorgan Chase and Pepco, that their destructive investments are threatening our homes, our communities and our climate."

SPEAKING OUT AGAINST LARGE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TAKING CORPORATE CASH

In conjunction with protests across the country, Rising Tide North America is launching an online campaign targeting some environmental groups. Rising Tide accuses several large environmental groups of allowing their financial and political relationships with big business to compromise their positions on climate change.

Rising Tide North America recently released a new publication, entitled "The Climate Movement is Dead: Long Live the Climate Movement." It critiques the too-cozy relationship between some of the largest environmental groups and Corporate America, and why environmentalists should call for the ending of such corrupting practices.

According to Rising Tide, the National Wildlife Federation pioneered fundraising strategies, beginning in the 1980s, based on taking money from polluters like Shell and BP in exchange for forestalling real critiques of the companies behavior. Rising Tide said that this practice has become systemic amongst the 'Big Green' groups and that the Fossil Fool's protest is designed to demand an end to such practices.

"In December, 2009, we received a wakeup call in Copenhagen where the world’s governments failed to enact effective climate legislation and many large players in the environmental movement were neutralized by decades of compromise and corruption," said Rising Tide's Matt Wilkerson, who is based in Asheville, North Carolina.

"A grassroots movement of environmental justice groups, climate justice groups, Indigenous peoples, frontline communities and energized activist networks are mobilizing to counter the toxic influence of industry and their proxies in big environmental NGOs over policy and public opinion. Professional environmentalists have sold us out to greedy corporations and it's time regular people took the lead in solving this grave ecological crisis."

NEW CALL FOR CONFRONTATION, NOT NEGOTIATIONS AND CAPITULATION

Rising Tide said that in the past decade, climate change and climate justice have gone from issues discussed amongst scientists and policy experts to being the impetus for a growing international movement that has stopped dozens of proposed coal fired power plants.

The group has also directly challenged entrenched interests in the Canadian tar sands and Appalachian mining industry. Rising Tide prides itself with having "worked in solidarity with frontline communities." 

Rising Tide said that given the failures in Copenhagen, they will encourage grassroots climate movement to become more confronational, and "shift their attention from negotiations and compromise to more frontline and anti-corporate struggles."

HISTORY OF FOSSIL FOOL'S DAY

Rising Tide said that Fossil Fool's Day protests began in 2004. At that time coordinated actions were organized across the United States and Canada. Now the annual protest includes actions in Mexico.

Rising Tide said, "These events oppose energy derived from fossil fuels, promote education about alternative sources of energy, and encourage support for climate justice, sustainable communities, corporate responsibility and a clean renewable energy future."

CONTACT INFO

For more details, visit fossilfoolsday.org or email fossilfoolsday@risingtidenorthamerica.org

Rising Tide North America’s online action calls upon the "Big Green" environmental groups to stop taking corporate polluter's donations and requests activists support to help fund their efforts. Visit "Stop Green Groups from Taking Corporate Cash" at http://bit.ly/aVhTGH or Click Here>

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