January, 16 2018, 11:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Thanu Yakupitiyage, U.S. Communications Manager; thanu@350.org; 413-687-5160
Senator Bernie Sanders to Join 350.org in Launch of Fossil Free U.S. Campaign the Day After the State of the Union
On January 31st, Bernie Sanders Joins Bill McKibben and Movement Leaders to Show Urgent Next Steps for Climate Movement.
WASHINGTON
Senator Bernie Sanders will join prominent climate activists to kick off a new campaign to take on the Trump Administration and the fossil fuel industry on January 31st. The event, Fossil Free Fast: The Climate Resistance, launches Fossil Free U.S, a campaign led by 350.org, calling for an immediate halt to all fossil fuel projects and a fast and just transition to 100% renewable energy for all. After a historic year of hurricanes devastating Houston, Florida, and Puerto Rico, floods across the South, and California and the Pacific Northwest's wildfires, speakers including Senator Bernie Sanders, Bill McKibben, Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Cherri Foytlin, Varshini Prakash, and more will outline a clear path for the climate movement through 2020.
The event, to be held in Washington D.C, will be livestreamed to thousands around the country. Speakers will rebuke the Trump administration's assault on climate and communities a day after the State of the Union with a clear call to action: resist the ongoing attacks on our climate, win back power through 2018 and 2020, and secure bold climate action at all levels of government.
Senator Bernie Sanders said, "President Trump's position on climate change is pathetic and an embarrassment. The debate is over. Climate change is real. It is caused by human activity, and if we do not act aggressively to move away from fossil fuels, the impacts will get much worse. In 2017, we saw fires, floods and massive hurricanes -- this is the kind of extreme weather that will become much more common with increasing climate change impacts. Now more than ever, millions of people must get engaged in the political process to demand that we finally put people before polluters."
Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org said, "2017 was tough--we resisted, but we lost a lot of ground. 2018 we take that ground back, and we'll do it with this Fossil Free campaign that helps unite progressive environmentalists to move us off oil and coal and gas and on to a world that works. We move into high gear on January 31--across organizations, across the arts and sciences, and across the country (with some help from our friends across the planet). If you can't be there in person, you can still be there live--and you should be."
Across the U.S., people are already building bold and necessary climate solutions The Fossil Free campaign intends to ramp up and connect these initiatives through hundreds of local campaigns across the country.
WHEN:January 31, 2018 at 7PM EST
WHERE: Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University
730 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052
(livestream will be available)
WHO:
Senator Bernie Sanders
Bill McKibben, Co-Founder, 350.org
Reverend Lennox Yearwood, President and CEO, Hip Hop Caucus
Cherri Foytlin, L'eau Est La Vie Camp (Water is Life Camp) and Louisiana Rise
Jameka Hodnett, National Field Organizer, Ready for 100, Sierra Club
Adriana Voss-Andreae, Executive Director, 350PDX
Tara Rodriguez, Puerto Rico Resistance Fund
Jacqueline Patterson, Director of Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP
Varshini Prakash, Sunrise Movement
Jessica Lorena Rangel, Eyes of a Dreamer
MEDIA RSVP: Media must RSVP to media@350.org to secure a seat.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
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