Climate Activists Make Cheeky Jabs at Romney as Beholden to Fossil Fuel Executives
CHILLICOTHE-- Environmentalists outside the Ross County Court House satirically protested Mitt Romney's campaign at his rally Tuesday evening. Dressed in suits branded with fossil fuel corporate logos, the "Emitters for Mitt," as the group called themselves, thanked Romney for ignoring the science of climate change in order to maximize profit for the fossil fuel industry, the most profitable business in the history of the planet.
"We have two easy questions for Mitt Romney: Do you believe that humans are warming the planet? And what do you plan to do about it?" said local activist, Brandon LaBonte, dropping his fossil fuel baron persona. "We think it's time that America gets a solid answer on how Romney would deal with climate change in the White House."
"We know that Romney benefits from generous campaign contributions from fossil fuel interests, wants to strip the EPA of its power to regulate greenhouse gasses, and has supported giving billions of tax dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry each year," said Benjamin Bushwick, a student at Ohio University. "Putting these goals into action would be catastrophic for our global climate and people all over the world."
Danny Berchenko, organizer with 350.org tied the protest to recent events: "In the last year we have seen the devastating impacts of climate change through drought, wildfires, and record-breaking heat. Our country is parched and burning, and Mitt Romney can't even acknowledge that climate change is real," he explained. "We would like to know why he seems to disagree with NASA, the EPA, the Supreme Court, NOAA, and every scientific academy in every country in the world--all of whom have said that man is warming the planet and that strong action is needed."
Outside the campaign rally, the protesters held signs reading "Emitters for Mitt; Believe in Money," and chanted tongue-in-cheek cheers like "Killing the planet is not a crime; Mitt won't make us do any time!" They believe that similar protests will take place at campaign events around the nation in the coming months as climate activists demand answers from Romney.
For more information on Mitt Romney's positions on climate and energy issues, please visit http://act.350.org/sign/Mitt_and_climate
