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The Daily OrangeStudents join national movement to protest use of coal by corporations
By Rebecca Kheel
Posted: 11/17/08, 1:48 AM EST Section: News
Ernesto Anguilla, a spokesperson for the bank, said he does not know where the Rainforest Action Network got their statistics. He assured Bank of America kept its promise and invests a substantial amount of money in clean energy.
"We announced a $20 billion, 10-year initiative in 2007 to finance the development of cleaner and renewable energy sources," Anguilla said. "It's our goal to support a range of projects that together work to reduce overall carbon emissions from coal and other sources, but that takes time."
Anguilla added that 50 percent of the electricity the nation uses is from coal sources and that changing that is going to require collaboration between banks, the government and private sector leaders.
He said this issue is not new to Bank of America and the company understands where the protesters are coming from.
"We respect the rights of individuals to demonstrate their beliefs and speak their mind in a peaceful fashion," Anguilla said.
The minimal turnout for the protest came after Fox faced difficulties in planning the protest. When organizing, Fox contacted the Syracuse Police Department to see if she needed a permit to protest. When she mentioned that she would be handing out flyers, she was told she needed to buy a license to distribute them.
Fox then contacted Barrie Gewanter, executive director of the Central New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who worked with Fox and SPD to explain Fox's free speech rights.
"That is as much a free speech activity as standing on a street corner with a sign expressing an opinion about a social or political aspect of the day," Gewanter said.
rhkheel@syr.edu
"We announced a $20 billion, 10-year initiative in 2007 to finance the development of cleaner and renewable energy sources," Anguilla said. "It's our goal to support a range of projects that together work to reduce overall carbon emissions from coal and other sources, but that takes time."
Anguilla added that 50 percent of the electricity the nation uses is from coal sources and that changing that is going to require collaboration between banks, the government and private sector leaders.
He said this issue is not new to Bank of America and the company understands where the protesters are coming from.
"We respect the rights of individuals to demonstrate their beliefs and speak their mind in a peaceful fashion," Anguilla said.
The minimal turnout for the protest came after Fox faced difficulties in planning the protest. When organizing, Fox contacted the Syracuse Police Department to see if she needed a permit to protest. When she mentioned that she would be handing out flyers, she was told she needed to buy a license to distribute them.
Fox then contacted Barrie Gewanter, executive director of the Central New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who worked with Fox and SPD to explain Fox's free speech rights.
"That is as much a free speech activity as standing on a street corner with a sign expressing an opinion about a social or political aspect of the day," Gewanter said.
rhkheel@syr.edu
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