BREAKING NEWS: Demonstration at Wells Fargo in San Francisco financial district

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Contact:
Toben Dilworth, Rainforest Action Network, (415) 398-4404 x349, media [at] ran.org

Environmental activists ‘grill’ Wells Fargo for not getting on the wagon
Eco-chefs serve up tofu and tough questions at summertime sidewalk ‘cook-in’ in San Francisco’s financial district

San Francisco – Today at lunchtime in San Francisco’s financial district, Rainforest Action Network will launch BBQ the Banks, a national summertime campaign to turn up the heat on “The Liquidators,” America’s most environmentally destructive banks. Wells Fargo is a San Francisco-based bank that does not have an environmental policy.

Who Environmental activists from the Rainforest Action Network
What BBQ the Banks sizzling summertime sidewalk “cook-in”
When 11:30 a.m. (PST), Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Where Wells Fargo Corporate Headquarters, 420 Montgomery @ California
Visual Festive financial activists grilling up free organic veggie burgers
amidst colorful banners and custom culinary attire reading “BBQ the Banks: Turning up the heat on banks that fund global warming”

While Wells Fargo hosts a lunchtime reception to commemorate its first day of business (July 13, 1852) inside the company’s museum, Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance activists will serve up sizzling tofu and tough questions on the sidewalk outside. Video activists will ‘grill’ Wells Fargo executives and employees asking them why the San Francisco-based bank doesn’t get on the wagon and join Citigroup and Bank of America in adopting environmentally ethical policies and stop financing deforestation and global warming. Colorful banners reading “Grilling the banks that cook the Earth” will send a message to bank executives that destructive finance will be met with creative action coast-to-coast throughout the summer of 2004. Eco-chefs will treat Wells Fargo customers to tender and tasty tidbits fresh off the grill as well as the raw truth about the bank’s destructive investments.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), and John Hancock (NYSE: JHF), are among the list of banks that have yet to follow the footsteps of industry leaders Citigroup and Bank of America, who earlier this year announced sweeping environmental standards as a result of grassroots pressure brought by Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign.

“Wells Fargo needs to get on the wagon,” says Dan Firger, an organizer with Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign. “Two of the world’s largest banks have introduced environmental ethics and human rights into their bottom lines as a response to consumer demand. It’s up to Wells Fargo to determine which side of history they will be on. From the Bay Area to Boston, we’ll be turning up the heat on big banks this summer until they turn down the heat on the Earth.”

Wells Fargo is the bank of choice for the U.S. oil industry, financing seven of the top ten oilfield service firms and four of the top eight offshore drillers. They are also financing the destruction of North America’s last remaining old-growth forests, including the Tongass region of Alaska. More information on Wells Fargo’s destructive lending can be found at http://www.BBQtheBanks.com.

“Rather than adopting strong environmental policies that redirect investment away from climate change and forest destruction, Wells Fargo continues to drag its feet and avoid public scrutiny while pouring billions of dollars into companies and projects that are destroying the Earth’s endangered ecosystems, fueling climate chaos, and displacing indigenous peoples.” says Ilyse Hogue, Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign Director. “We ask a simple question of Wells Fargo today: Will you exhibit visionary leadership in setting policies to confront the most pressing environmental issues of our time?”



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