Last month, THIS! Board Member Ralph King and CCC Member Michelle Merrill joined other climate activists in a literal chain, attaching themselves to the stage coach at Wells Fargo headquarters in San Francisco and demanding that the bank choose people over profit!
Ralph King is the founder of Silicon Valley Climate Action Now (SV-CAN) and Michelle Merrill is founder of Novasutras, an ecospiritual and ecoactivist organization.
We are inspired by and grateful for these brave leaders who work through uncomfortable feelings to take effective action.
Alec Connan of 350 Seattle and author of the terrific thriller, The Activist, captured the discomfort of “mis-behaving” according to how we were raised:
“We live at a time when people need to expand what they’re comfortable with. We have to realize that the system is broken and if we don’t change the system, we’re wrecked. We need to be doing things that we were raised to be uncomfortable with: raising our voices in meetings, speaking in public, being in a space where a security (guard) doesn’t want you there…We have to learn to lean into our discomfort.”
THIS! volunteer Daniel Lazier said it well:
“I got angry when I realized that the bank I was counting on to protect my money for my future was instead using my money to destroy my future.”
Wells Fargo is one of many big banks that are financing climate destruction. Since the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, they alone have financed $272 billion dollars for fossil fuel projects.
Do you want to get involved in putting pressure on climate-bad banks, but you’re not sure where to start?
If you’re an account holder (bank or credit card) with Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, or Bank of America, you can join TH!RD ACT in pledging to move your money along with thousands of others.
You have the power to stop your bank from using YOUR money to fund climate chaos.
If you’re not an account holder, you can sign the alternate pledge saying you will never become a customer if these banks don’t clean up their act!
Email Leigh@ThisIsWhatWeDid.org for tips, assistance, or questions.
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