{"id":52892,"date":"2019-09-10T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/empire-live-climate-change-rally-at-the-capitol-aims-for-international-audience\/"},"modified":"2019-09-10T13:13:22","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T21:13:22","slug":"empire-live-climate-change-rally-at-the-capitol-aims-for-international-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/empire-live-climate-change-rally-at-the-capitol-aims-for-international-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Empire Live: Climate change rally at the Capitol aims for international audience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

12:55 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Megaphones and signs are away and protesters are dispersing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

There was no acknowledgment of the rally from the wealth fund meeting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:45 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

350 Juneau Co-chair Elaine Schroeder is speaking through a megaphone.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We’re really very excited to welcome representatives from over 30 nations,” she said. “Thank you for coming all the way to Juneau, so we can show off our beautiful environment.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:40 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rally-goers are settling in at the courtyard outside Centennial Hall, they’ve made a semicircle with their signs facing the event venue. A Tsimshian song led by SEACC indigenous engagement lead Heather Evoy is marking their arrival.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

University of Alaska Southeast professor David Noon joked that if anyone wants their speech to be forgotten, they should speak after Hayes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

He drew parallels between pulling money out of fossil fuels to 19th century nations that divested from slave-made goods.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

After the professor, the next speaker is high school student Linnea Lentfer.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Lentfer said the climate change is the most dangerous threat humanity has faced. She cited a projection that predicts a mass die-off event could be possible by 2100 if carbon emissions continue at their current rate.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I would be 97,” Lentfer said. “If I have children, they would be middle aged.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We have gone too far in this crisis for change to be anything other than drastic,” Lentfer said. She said a stable economy that’s not reliant on fossil fuels must be established.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We must divest now,” she said. “We must act like we truly do care about the future of our children and grandchildren.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The rally is now marching toward Centennial Hall.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:25 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Alaska State Writer Laureate Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes spoke next.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“The gates of colonialism will not prevail against us,” Hayes said. “The gates of end-stage capitalism will not prevail against us.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

She concluded by repeated the word “divest” three times. The crowd joined in.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:20 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\"Zach<\/a>

Zach Brown speaks during a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Zach Brown, executive director for Inian Islands Institute, is the first speaker.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Brown said he chose to leave climate science for climate change education and activism because “the science is mature.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We know what’s happening,” he said. “We can see it.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

He said solutions, such as using renewable energy sources, are equally evident.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We know how to fix it,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

He has lathered up the crowd with a charged speech. Brown labeled fossil fuel companies’ actions as criminal and his mention of “climate-change denying politicians” drew resounding boos. He said university’s pension funds and state-owned funds need to divest from fossils fuels. Brown pointed to a sign that read “Not another penny for dirty energy.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Hold up that sign,” Brown said. “That’s what I’m talking about right there.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:13 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

SEACC indigenous engagement lead Heather Evoy said Yees Ku Oo will be leading a march “down the hill” to the wealth fund meeting at Centennial Hall after a handful of speeches.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:10 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Maybe it’s a side benefit of the climate catastrophe that we have sun instead of rain,” said 350 Juneau Treasurer Bob Schroeder after testing the mic.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

He introduced Yees Ku Oo, a multi-cultural, Alaska Native dance group. Yees Ku Oo is starting off the event with song and dance.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:05 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

State Rep. Andi Story and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, both Democrats from Juneau, are in the crowd for today’s rally. So is City and Borough of Juneau Assembly hopeful Greg Smith.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:01 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\"Students<\/a>

Students gather for a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

Local students are holding signs welcoming members of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Fund and urging them to divest from fossil fuels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Among the countries on the signs are Nigeria, Libya, Turkey, Iran and China. Representatives from those countries are a few blocks south at Centennial Hall for an annual meeting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Noon<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Reusing and recycling extends to at least one of the signs at this rally. A fish-shaped cardboard sign made by Shirley Dean for a previous Tongass National Forest rally is being toted by Dean’s friend Debbie Sidlauskus. Dean said she typically keeps her protest signs after rallies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I figured there’d be another one,” Dean said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

It also gave her visitor from Long Island, New York something to hold.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“My kids will be impressed,” Sidlauskus said. “‘Oh my gosh, Mom, you go to marches when you visit Alaska.’”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Dean said she’s a frequent participant in environmentally focused events.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I’ve almost got Juneau protest fatigue,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

11:50 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The rally at the Capitol will have an atypical background: Scaffolding obscured by plastic. Marble work on the Alaska State Capitol is ongoing. Rally participants are starting to gather across the street from the steps.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

11:30 a.m. <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

This week, Juneau isn’t just the capital of Alaska. It’s the hub of an international investment world, and a local environmental group is scheduling around that.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds — a globe-spanning group of state-owned investment funds like the Alaska Permanent Fund — is having its annual meeting in Juneau this week.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\"The<\/a>

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, at 10th Street and Glacier Avenue, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

So, Juneau 350 is hoping to capitalize on the international audience with a climate change rally today at the Alaska State Capitol. Organizers said they hope to spread a message encouraging decision-makers to stop investing in fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Speakers include Alaska State Writer Laureate Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes, local student climate activist Linnea Lentfer, University of Alaska Southeast professor David Noon, 350 Juneau co-chair Elaine Schroeder and SEACC indigenous engagement lead Heather Evoy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Watch a video of the meeting kicking off in Juneau here<\/a>, and read more about the meeting here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Live updates from the rally. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":474,"featured_media":52894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":9,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[230],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-52892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-news","tag-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52892"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=52892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}