King Coal: The Joke's on You

Posted by Jamie Henn at 3:19 PM | 2 Comments | Permalink

(photo: Clemson University students take action at their campus' coal plant in South Carolina)

We all know the facts, but it's worth a refresher: the world is on a crash course with climate chaos because of our addiction to cheap fossil fuels. The USA is home to the worst addicts — we represent only 4 percent of the world's population, but emit over 25 percent of the world's carbon dioxide — and many of the worst dealers, corporations like ExxonMobile, Duke Energy, General Motors, and others have been trying to keep us hooked on their products by spending millions of dollars on lobbyists, misleading advertisements, and campaign contributions to crooked politicians (check out the video at the end of this post).

On April 1, thousands of students in the U.S. and worldwide will be sending a message to the biggest climate culprits: we won't be fooled again.

Fossil Fools Day will shine a spotlight on the real fools, the corporations and politicians who want to keep us hooked on dirty energy. This year's celebration is shaping up to be one of the most international campaigns the youth climate movement has ever run, with over 100 actions planned around the world. In Canada, youth activists are planning national actions to stop oil companies and government officials working to expand tar sands exploration. Down under, in Newcastle, Australia, climate activists will visit a local multinational department store and attempt to swap bucket-loads of coal for imported consumer products. Students have even translated the Fossil Fools Day site into a number of languages, including German, Spanish and Arabic.

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