For Immediate Release: March 31, 2006
CONTACT: Steve Smith, Greenpeace, (202) 319-2432 (desk) or (202) 413-8521 (cell)
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May 31, 2006, DALLAS— Over 100 Exxpose Exxon activists dressed in big oil barrels bearing bold slogans like, “ExxonMobil: Pumping Global Warming Lies” and “Exxon: Bankrupting Our Future” descended outside ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting to pressure the company to change its dirty practices.
“ExxonMobil is pumping lies as well as our wallets and the American public is fed up,” says Shawnee Hoover, campaign director of the Exxpose Exxon campaign, a national coalition of some of nation’s largest environmental and public advocacy organizations. “The word is out that ExxonMobil has waged a multi-million dollar campaign to deceive the public and policy makers about global warming and to prevent this country from making real progress in adopting innovative energy solutions. The technology is there to bring down consumer energy costs, create employment, and reduce global warming pollution, but ExxonMobil refuses to participate.”
With gas prices soaring, and ExxonMobil making record profits and handing out record CEO payouts, ExxonMobil has yet to offer corporate changes that would help end U.S. oil addiction. The Exxpose Exxon coalition is encouraging shareholders to use the annual meeting to steer the company in the right direction.
“Having a reputation as America’s least responsible corporate citizen is not good for ExxonMobil,” says Athan Manual, Arctic Wilderness and Preservation Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “It’s only a matter of time before investors and decision makers act in response to the discontent felt by consumers.”
“Since the ExxposeExxon campaign was launched last July, close to half a million people have joined in our movement to pressure the company to stop using its profits and power to keep the nation addicted to oil,” says Hoover. “Today we are sending a message both to ExxonMobil and to Congress that we won’t stand for more policies that fuel our nation’s oil addiction and pad ExxonMobil’s pockets with profits.”
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