An April Fools protest

April 1, 2008 Boston Globe

By Andrew Ryan and Matt Collette

What links a U-shaped bicycle lock, the neck of a red-headed young woman, and the glass front door of a branch of Bank of America in Copley Square?

Coal, apparently.

The young woman chained her neck to the bank’s entrance as part of a demonstration against global warming. Pamphlets handed out by the 30 or some protesters said that Bank of America has financed “billion of dollars” supporting dozens of new coal-fired power plants.

Dubbing it an “April Fools” protest, the demonstrators described the energy companies funded by Bank of America as the worst contributors to climate change. They handed out pamphlets with information from the Rainforest Action Network.

"The Rainforest Action Network is unfortunately ignoring important economic realities, including that economic reality that as a country, more than 50 percent of our energy comes from coal,” said Ernesto Anguilla, a spokesman for the bank.
“ “We all face the challenge, including the Rainforest Action Network, of developing and using renewable energies.

The Rainforest Action Network’s “current actions are not productive to finding these solutions,” Anguilla continued. “And I would also add that for over two decades that BOA has met that challenge head on and we are very proud of our actions.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council is honoring the bank for its progressive policies for promoting an environmentally sustainable economy, Anguilla said. The bank has committed $20 billion over the next 10 years to finance renewable energy, he said .

Boston police said at least one person was arrested at the protest. Details were not immediately available.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)