Naked Activists Respond To Lobbyists' Forged Anti-Climate Letters to Congress (PHOTOS)

In response to the discovery that lobbyists had forged "grassroots" anti-climate letters to congress to sway votes against the Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill, progressive group Friends of the Earth rallied in an unusual way: a naked protest!

Activists stood outside Bonner & Associates, the firm reportedly behind the hoax, sans pants, holding signs reading "The Fossil Fuel Lobby: Naked Fraud" and "Coal and Oil: Stealing Our Future."

"Apparently, the fossil fuel industry's tactics are as fraudulent as their arguments against climate action," said Ricken Patel, Executive Director of Avaaz.org, another progressive group. "I guess they couldn't find real people opposed to green-energy jobs."

Read the full press release and see pictures of the naked protest below.

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In Response to Forged 'Grassroots' Anti-Climate Letters, Naked Activists at Lobbyists' Office Say Fossil Fuel Lobby Has No Clothes

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Responding to breaking news that lobbyists forged letters from constituent groups in order to sway votes against the Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill, activists protested outside the offices of Bonner & Associates, the firm reportedly behind the hoax, wearing jackets, ties, and no pants while holding signs reading "The Fossil Fuel Lobby: Naked Fraud" and "Coal and Oil: Stealing Our Future."

"Apparently, the fossil fuel industry's tactics are as fraudulent as their arguments against climate action," said Ricken Patel, Executive Director of Avaaz.org. "I guess they couldn't find real people opposed to green-energy jobs."

Friends of the Earth Public Advocacy Director Nick Berning said, "The fossil fuel industry doesn't just play dirty with the climate, it plays dirty when it comes to our democracy. It will stop at nothing when it comes to putting corporate profits over health, jobs, the environment, and even plain old ethics. This is an outrage."

This morning, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported that an employee of Bonner & Associates had forged letters opposing the energy bill and faxed them to Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va) on the purported letterhead of two Charlottesville-area grassroots groups, the NAACP and Cresciendo Juntos. In reality, neither group opposed the legislation. Bonner & Associates reportedly apologized and claimed to have fired the employee responsible, but the full extent of the fraud is unknown.

This afternoon, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the House Select Committee on Global Warming, called for a congressional inquiry into the forged letters, saying, "This fraud on Congress shows that some opponents of clean energy have resorted to forgery and theft to block progress."

According to Charlottesville Daily Progress, the DC-based lobbying firm Bonner & Associates sent at least six fake letters to Rep. Tom Perriello urging him to oppose the climate bill. The letters were sent on faked letterhead purporting to come from the local NAACP and a Hispanic nonprofit network called Creciendo Juntos. After the fraud was discovered, a partner at Bonner & Associates traveled to Charlottesville to personally apologize, and wrote in a letter to Cresciendo Juntos that the forger had been fired.

• • • • • • • (Photo from Action Factory DC)

Comments

[starkcr31]

10:19 AM on 08/03/2009

I didn't realize I had gone back in time to the 1960's. Why won't these hippies go away?

[ProfMandia]

01:50 PM on 08/02/2009

http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/global_warming/

The only plausible explanation is that today's warming is primarily due to human activities. The increase in greenhouse emissions can easily account for this warming. There is robust evidence for the man-made global warming. There are no other known sources of warming that can explain the observed modern climate change. People that claim there is no warming or that the warming is not caused by humans have offered no credible alternate hypotheses. Yes, these folks make claims but none of the claims has stood up to scientific scrutiny.

Because I see/hear much disinformation from well-intentioned folks, I feel it is my duty to try to educate people on this very important matter (see Website above). Unfortunately, it is an uphill battle because most of the real science is discussed in hard-to-read scientific journals and most of the bad science is easily accessible on Web pages, blogs, and other forms of mass media. Worse, there are political organizations such as The Heartland Institute that present themselves as scientific organizations but these organizations are directly and indirectly funded by the fossil fuel industry and others that stand to lose if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

[Christine Noble]

02:18 PM on 08/02/2009

There are a lot of people on that band wagon. Here in Rochester we have a local meteorologist that rails against "the global warming crowd" even making fun of the change to the term "climate change", referring to it as a political move, cause after all look at our unseasonably cool weather right now in Rochester (ignoring the fact, easily researched and probably known to him that it is being influenced by warmer patterns elsewhere.)

[adoseofsanity]

07:53 PM on 08/05/2009

HELLO, the planet isn't warming.

And, if it were, it is far more likely be related to either a normal planetary cycle of some, or the SUN, without which, it would be very, very cold (even if we all drove fuel guzzling SUV's)

To think that WE are the only reason there is any variance in climate is not only simplistic, it is dangerous. There have been multiple periods of dramatic global cooling, called ice ages which have occurred naturally.....even liberals can't argue that.

[dotdot]

12:59 PM on 08/02/2009

Curious to read through these comments. I feel like a lot of the negative comments are coming from people who were also probably quick to jump on board with criticisms from Friedman, Gore, et al., that today's youth are spending too much time on Facebook instead of taking to the streets in protest. When youth then come out with some creative ideas and get some visibility, it's also criticized.

[MurrayAbraham]

07:48 AM on 08/02/2009

Walking around naked to protest the commerce of fur might make sense, but to protest the tactics of lobbyists using forgery it doesn't. It's even counterproductive.

[delay loop]

11:17 AM on 08/02/2009

In theory you are right. But I bet if they were clothed, they would not get a post on this site.

[Lavina]

12:06 PM on 08/02/2009

How so? Looks like it worked to me.

[texterdexter]

03:55 AM on 08/02/2009

Isn't there some way to hold Bonner and Associates legally accountable for lying to Congress or did that become officially impossible during the Bush Administration?

[ChicagoBob]

01:49 AM on 08/02/2009

"Bonner & Associates, the firm reportedly behind the hoax, "

Since when is forgery a hoax?

[Christine Noble]

02:20 PM on 08/02/2009

Yeah, but these SOB's won't see any jail time. What I don't get is why don't they just invest in Green Energy, sure the profits won't be as mind boggling, but they will be there, and the resources will continue to be there, whereas eventually (according to some estimates within a couple of decades) fossil fuels will run out.

[fedupinfla]

12:39 AM on 08/02/2009

I say kudos to these guys! It sometimes takes doing something off the wall to focus attention on an issue that would normally only be "news" for a day or two...

Lets hope Congress will take this seriously and investigate lobby fraud. You can bet this wasn't the first time nor will it be the last!!

[getalong]

11:25 PM on 08/01/2009

You see, this really upsets me.
It's a serious issue, so why don't we take it seriously?

You've got an important cause there, and now you're ruining it by making a mockery of yourself... and, by extension, you're making a mockery of the cause itself.

Let me make this simple for you to understand. I can sum it up using only two words:
1) Not.
2) Helping.

[RyanMuadDib]

01:17 AM on 08/02/2009

Would this even be an article if it weren't for the antics??

[EricSaeger]

06:34 AM on 08/02/2009

Oh, jayzis, never mind that repressed "getalong" person. "Not. Helping." definitely sums it up.

[getalong]

08:45 AM on 08/02/2009

Yes.
Yes I would be.

[zepfan81]

09:43 PM on 08/01/2009

The problem with liberalism isn't the lack of ideas. It's the fact some liberals want to bring more attention to themselves than the actual issues, like above.

[DubyaGump]

09:48 PM on 08/01/2009

Sorta like them crazy teabaggers!

[mathme]

10:42 AM on 08/02/2009

Yes, they should have sent a polite letter to someone.

[RTIII]

01:30 PM on 08/02/2009

I'm sure plenty of letters were written and sent.

The problem is that our media is (mostly) in bed with large corporate interests, like coal...
.

[czs5056]

09:39 PM on 08/01/2009

if only there were some more college women there and stuff to read on the back

[Gwiwer]

07:54 PM on 08/01/2009

I really hope this naked protesting thing doesn't catch on though. Imagine what one of those Tea Parties would be like if everyone were naked...

[SlimPickins79]

08:01 PM on 08/01/2009

and think of all the stupid children to be conceived as a result. ack.

[dennisrs]

08:02 PM on 08/01/2009

The Tea Party I went to in Baton Rouge had some real nice babes there. I wouldn't mind. :)

[amber15]

06:13 PM on 08/01/2009

but that guy the biggest bonus ever..........

[jrjones529]

05:50 PM on 08/01/2009

this is why i love being a progressive....

[fedupinfla]

12:41 AM on 08/02/2009

Great isn't it?!? lol

[teasley]

05:21 PM on 08/01/2009

Adult children.

[northendtreker]

05:26 PM on 08/01/2009

Bonner and his gang: adult criminals.

[amber15]

06:10 PM on 08/01/2009

you mean the lobbyist.........

[neesy08]

05:18 PM on 08/01/2009

I knew I should have gone back to D.C. this weekend! LOL