Sunrise Rice protests greenwashing at Houston energy conference
In Houston’s Discovery Green park, the Rice chapter of the Sunrise Movement joined protests against oil and gas executives attending the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference March 10.
Raising banners with slogans such as “There’s no Planet B,” students gathered to demonstrate opposition against the greenwashing of energy companies. The conference is an event for leaders in the energy sector to discuss the industry’s future, according to the CERAWeek website.
Dyllan Lozano-Lomeli, a Sunrise Rice founding committee member, said companies at the conference were being dishonest about their commitment to sustainability.
“They’re greenwashing their initiatives, so that people think that they are part of green energy, but they’re pouring money into fossil fuels and prioritizing their own profit over the health of our planet,” said Lozano-Lomeli, a Jones College sophomore.
Caroline Pollan, a Sunrise Rice member, said the energy of the protest came as a surprise to conference attendees.
“There were all these people in suits with name badges who were just completely caught off guard,” said Pollan, a Duncan College sophomore. “Suddenly a group of folks with banners and all kinds of flags, someone dressed up as a globe, people in their protest attire walking down the street, with a whole bunch of policemen on horses watching and a whole-ass marching band. It was cathartic. It was joyful.”
José Cicerchia, a lecturer at Rice’s Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures also attended the protest as an interested party.
“Earlier this year in our SPAN 368 Latin American Short Fiction course, we read ‘Es que somos muy pobres’ by Mexican author Juan Rulfo. A story about how forces of nature plus the social system negatively affect characters mired in poverty,” Cicerchia wrote in an email to the Thresher. “I was looking to find out from those exercising their right to protest how they felt about the poor contending with climate change in a way that those who aren’t don’t have to in the same way.”
Anna Stravato, another member of the founding committee, said one goal of the protest was to raise awareness among the public rather than the conference attendees.
“Speaking realistically, I don’t expect that us going and protesting [will cause] a lot of these people to stop these oil and gas companies from holding their conference,” said Stravato, a Jones sophomore. “But I do think it’s important to raise awareness to the fact that students are very involved in this, and that they care a lot about this issue.”
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