December 05, 2007

Rainforest Action Network Holiday update!!


A group of DC based polar bears made a “bank run” on Bank of America withdrawing $27k in COLD CASH from the banking giant over their funding of coalmining and climate change.

About 2:00.

RAN Supporters Making a Difference!

National Day of Action Against Coal Finance a Success!

Over the course of 24 hours on November 16-17, RAN supporters in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S. planned and participated in more than 100 actions protesting Citi and Bank of America's investments in new coal-fired power plants and mountaintop removal coal mining. The turnout was overwhelming and the message was clear: Stop funding coal, start funding the future!

You can check out great video recaps from San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas and Columbia, S.C.; read on-the-ground reports from dozens of locations on our blog; and check out photos from actions all across the country on RAN's Flickr site.

Plus if you couldn't be there in person, RAN has set up an online action where you can get Citi to call you personally, at a time of your choosing, so you can tell the company to stop funding coal yourself!

Help Stop Cargill's Plans for a New Polluting Port in Paraguay

U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill operates an illegal soy port in the Brazilian Amazon, but this hasn’t satisfied the company's insatiable appetite for rainforest destruction. Cargill has new plans for a soy mega-port in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.

One of the greatest threats posed by this port is its proximity--just a third of a mile--to the water intake of the public utility company that provides drinking water to more than a million residents of Asuncion and the surrounding area. Evidence is very strong that the water contamination associated with the port's operations will lead to a higher incidence of cancer, leukemia and respiratory illness.

Please, join our allies in Paraguay--including Francisco Avalos who joined us on a speaking tour in November--as they call for an immediate halt to the construction of the Cargill port in Asuncion. Tell the Paraguayan government to stop the construction now!

RAN at the LA Auto Show


RAN one-upped the big automakers at the LA Auto Show this past month by performing a rapid conversion of a Prius hybrid into a plug-in hybrid just outside the show. The message to the automakers was clear: If grassroots engineers can make a plug-in in a day, the auto industry's claims that real fuel-efficiency is too technically challenging are a pack of lies. Watch a video of the conversion and see all the photos from three days of action at the show.

Throughout the event RAN activists broadcast live video as they confronted industry executives in person. At one point Toyota executive Bob Carter actually knocked a video camera from the hands of a RAN activist after being asked why his company is suing California for the state's increased environmental standards. Watch the video of Carter in action and read press coverage of the exchange.

RAN to OfficeMax:
Stop Selling Paper from Grassy Narrows


As you may already know, the Grassy Narrows First Nation in Ontario, Canada, has called for a logging moratorium on its territory. But despite the community’s very public demands and ongoing controversy in Grassy Narrows, OfficeMax paper products are still produced from trees logged on Grassy Narrows territory.

Last year, OfficeMax promised to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Grassy Narrows. Now is the time to make OfficeMax keep its word and publicly support the logging moratorium. The province of Ontario is negotiating with Grassy Narrows to address the community's demand for a moratorium on logging and RAN supporters can take action online to support Indigenous Rights in Ontario.

RAN is gearing up for a series of actions targeting OfficeMax, so stay tuned. If you want to plan your own action, get in touch and we'll help you make it happen!

RAN Celebrates in New York!


Sex and the City’s Mr. Big, Chris Noth, hosted and sponsored his second annual exclusive event to benefit RAN at his nightclub, The Plumm, in New York City. Chris’ Law and Order co-star, Alicia Witt, and critically acclaimed, legendary musician, Jimmy Webb, added beautiful music that helped to inspire an already passionate crowd. Other celeb supporters included Kristin Davis, Dan Florek, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Belzer and Jennifer Missoni. And thanks to these folks – and everyone who turned out on the night – we got a great boost in our New York area profile and gained many new friends. Come join us next year!

If you want to get involved in supporting RAN this holiday season and you're looking for meaningful holiday gifts, try a "Gift of Compassion" from our friends at ABC Home and Planet. Each gift is beautifully designed and crafted and the proceeds from each $50 gift will go towards protecting two acres of precious Peruvian rainforest and to building a pathway to self-sufficiency for its Indigenous communities. Give a Gift of Compassion – it’s a wonderful gift to receive.


This holiday season you can join our movement by hosting a rainforest agribusiness potluck and teach-in!

- Try Green Caroling This Year!

What holiday tunes do you already know
That could be rewritten to give a marvelous show?

Submit Your Own Green Holiday Song!

- Zero Waste for Zero Warming Visit Zerowarming.org and watch a great video from our friends at GAIA and take action against waste incineration!


Check out the latest posts at RAN's blog: The Understory

-Jocelyn brings us a moving two-part report from her travels to the Alberta tar sands

-Sparki congratulates Rising Tide on a great hoax spoofing an industry-led "climate partnership"

-Luke teaches Tom Friedman a thing or two

-Brihannala skips Thanksgiving to talk sustainable palm oil in southeast Asia

-YouTube video of a polar bear closing his Bank of America account and withdrawing $27,000 in the process!

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