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Greenpeace Makes Urgent Call for Climate Action From Face of Mt. Rushmore

WASHINGTON , July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This morning, 11 daring Greenpeace climbers hung a banner on Mount Rushmore challenging President Obama to show real leadership on global warming. The banner, measuring sixty-five feet high by thirty-five feet wide, features an unfinished portrait of Obama with the message, "America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming." The demonstration comes as President Obama meets other G8 leaders in L'Aquila, Italy today to discuss the global warming crisis in the lead-up to UN climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen this December.

"This monument celebrates leaders who rose to the great challenges of our past. Global warming is the greatest crisis humankind has ever faced and it is the defining test of leadership for this generation. It's an open question whether President Obama will pass that test," said Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director Carroll Muffett.

To highlight the issue, 11 activists completed a challenging climb to the top of Mount Rushmore, and three rappelled down, hanging the nearly 2300-square-foot banner as they descended. The activists, highly trained in rock and industrial climbing, took special care not to damage the monument, using existing anchors placed by the National Park Service for periodic cleanings. The demonstration follows a series of protests inItaly this morning where other Greenpeace activists hung banners on coal plant smokestacks calling attention to the collective failure of leadership on global warming at the G8.

"We're at a moment in history where President Obama must show real leadership on global warming, not only for Congress and the American people, but for the world. Unfortunately, the steps taken to address the crisis so far have been grossly inadequate," said Muffett. "While President Obama's speeches on global warming have been inspiring, we've seen a growing gap between the president's words and his actions."

The best science shows that to avoid catastrophic global warming, governments must take action to keep global temperature rise as far below 2 degrees Celsius as possible. "Given President Obama's pledge to follow the science, it's troubling that his administration has not yet endorsed emission targets strong enough to keep us below that critical threshold."

Earlier this year, the experience with climate legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, which was drastically weakened by lobbyists for the oil and coal industries and other big polluters, showed that unless the president provides strong leadership on this issue, special interests will win out over the common interest.

"Doing what it takes to solve global warming demands real political courage," Muffett added. "If President Obama intends to earn a place among this country's true leaders, he needs to show that courage, and base his actions on the scientific reality rather than political convenience."

Greenpeace is calling on President Obama to use every tool at his disposal, both within and outside Congress, to strengthen U.S. climate policy with scientific integrity, and to take that policy toCopenhagen in December as evidence the U.S. will do what it takes to solve the climate crisis.

Specifically, Greenpeace is calling on President Obama to:

    --  Strive to keep global temperatures as far below a 2 degrees Celsius
        increase as possible, compared to pre-industrial levels to avert
        catastrophic climate change;
    --  Set a goal of peaking global emissions by 2015 and be as close to zero
        as possible by 2050, compared to 1990 levels;
    --  Cut emissions in the U.S. by 25-40 percent by 2020, compared to 1990
        levels;

    --  Join and encourage other members of the G8 to establish a funding
        mechanism that provides $106 billion per year by 2020 to help developing
        countries adapt to global warming impacts that are now unavoidable and
        halt tropical deforestation.

Greenpeace is also calling on President Obama to attend theCopenhagen conference personally to ensure a strong, science-based agreement is reached.

For live streaming video, pictures, and footage visit: www.greenpeace.org/rushmore

Earlier this year, Greenpeace released its roadmap for slowing climate change, the Energy [R]evolution, which shows that the U.S. can cut emissions 25 percent by 2020. To read the full-report, visit: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/reports4/energy-r-evolution-a-bluepr

SOURCE Greenpeace