Caroline Griffith, NEC Executive Director
On March 21, protestors gathered at the Wells Fargo bank in Arcata demanding that big banks, including Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America and Citibank stop funding fossil fuel projects, or they would pull their money from those institutions. The action was organized by the Climate Action Campaign of the Humboldt Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, and was part of a national day of action sponsored by the organization Th!rd Act which involved 102 demonstrations across 30 states. Th!rd Act is “a community of experienced Americans over the age of sixty determined to change the world for the better.”
In its call to action, Th!rd Act stated, “The fossil fuel industry polluting our atmosphere can’t exist without money from banks and investors. If we stop the Big Four Banks—Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo—from investing, we help shut down the industry. We don’t want our money and savings to be used to bankroll the climate crisis. Seventy percent of the country’s financial assets belong to Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. Who can influence the banks? We can. Together with youth who are fighting for their future.” According to Th!rd Act founder, Bill McKibbon, these four banks are the four biggest lenders to the fossil fuel industry.
One of the local demonstrators, Jamie Blatter, had proudly closed her Wells Fargo account that day. She said she had been thinking about it for a while, but was inspired by the call to action to finally make the move. She will be moving her money to a small bank called Atmos which seeks to shift money away from fossil fuel investments and towards renewable energy projects.
