Zombies Attack! … the banks

Halloween protest of spooky mining practices

By ALEXANDRA DEDNAH

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On Halloween, 20 zombies descended upon Copley Square, armed with a megaphone and signs reading "Coal is Dead, Fund the Future" and "Funding Coal, Killing Communities" to protest the policies of Citibank and Bank of America, which lend billions of dollars to support strip mining. Marchers were members of Rising Tide Boston, and were concerned that, as Ryan Gray (who had half of a Citibank credit card protruding from his "bleeding" head) so eloquently put it, "The banks are fucked up."

Mountaintop-removal coal mining (one of two types of strip mining), first tested in the 1970s, is the practice of blasting off mountaintops in Appalachia to extract coal. The removed "overburden" is then dumped into valleys. According to the protesters, this process has polluted over 1,200 miles of rivers and streams, and the toxins released have caused cancer, asthma and other illnesses in neighboring residents. Under the guidelines of mountaintop removal, coal mining companies are supposed to help rebuild the destroyed areas.

The Asheville, N.C., branch of Rising Tide organized the march, sending out a call to action to other branches. The Zombie March is part of a nationwide campaign that also includes grassroots environmental organizations Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and Coal River Mountain Watch, according to Deirdre Lally of Rising Tide Boston. Lally was arrested at an October 7th protest with Rising Tide, RAN and CityLife/Vida Urbana that shut down a Citibank in Harvard Square when she and three other activists chained themselves to the bank's front door. "For the past two years, we've been trying to get banks to fund clean energy resources," Lally said.

According to RAN, in 2006, Bank of America invested only half as much in clean energy (such as wind and solar power) as it did in dirty energy (like coal). The same year, Citibank—which was the top financier of coal in the world, according to financial website Bloomberg News—spent 200 times more in coal than in clean energy projects; the banks are now supporting 150 new coal-fired power plants, according to RAN.

But Ernesto Anguilla, spokesperson for Bank of America, says the company has taken several steps to address environmental concerns since 2006. "That's pretty old information, I would say ... Bank of America was the first bank to make a long-term commitment to the environment," Anguilla says. "We're in our second year of a commitment to invest $20 billion over the next 10 years, to finance the development of clean energy ... And we support, adopt and adhere to leading practices for managing environmental impacts associated with coal."

Citibank offered the Dig a statement that insisted, "Citi, together with its clients, environmental organizations and other stakeholders, is taking a responsible and strong leadership position on climate change." It went on to cite Citi's "targeted $50 billion—more than any other institution—over the next 10 years for climate-friendly efforts; we have committed to reducing the carbon emissions of our own operations by 10 percent by 2011—including acquisitions; and we are investing in climate-friendly enterprises, and engaging with our clients on their carbon reduction efforts." They also boasted their ranking as No. 1 among global banks by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a coalition of global investors with more than $41 trillion in assets.

Both banks adhere to the "Carbon Principles," a framework of investment strategies developed by industry advisors at seven energy companies and two environmentalist nongovernmental organizations, along with six participating banks—Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Suisse, JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo—in 2007. But the "framework" is a bit fuzzy; it does not set new rules or compliance standards, instead, it "provide[s] a framework for discussion with our clients that is intended to better inform our financing decisions as lenders and underwriters to the industry," and "advance a belief that the United States needs a balanced approach to meet our future electric power needs while addressing climate change and carbon cost risks," and "preserve the range of investment options open to power companies, including coal-fired power plants," according to the Carbon Principles website.

Anguilla describes the principles as a doctrine that guides banks lending practices to the coal industry. "This is a very complex issue," he says. "More than 50 percent of the energy we use comes from coal. We can't pragmatically stop supporting coal or we wouldn't have energy. What we can do is work to develop alternatives ... But the solutions will take years to enact."

Still, with solemn expressions and pale, blood-smeared faces, protesters passed out flyers outlining the effects of mountaintop removal and urging customers to withdraw their accounts with Citibank and Bank of America. The marchers stopped in front of several Bank of Americas and Citibanks on Boylston Street, where security guards and frowning management stood watch outside and perplexed customers made their way past the protesters.

After a few hours, the zombies began to trail off in search of their next victim ... and a Halloween party to drink their environmental woes away.