===March 20, 2009: 'Bluegrass at the Bank' hits Bank of America branch in Sarasota, FL===
Members of [[Mountain Justice]] and [[Earth First!]] from Florida and Appalachia disrupted the lobby of a [[Bank of America]] branch in Sarasota in protest of the Bank's continued funding of mountaintop removal mining and the construction of new coal-fired power plants despite recent claims of environmental concern. While several folks distributed informational hand-outs about BoA's investments in coal to tellers and account-holders, one individual played bluegrass banjo to celebrate the culture of the Appalachian region that BoA's investments so threaten. The activists' signs read, "Bank of America: still funding coal, killing communities."<ref>[http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/actions/2009-03-20/index.php "Bluegrass at the bank strikes again!,"] Mountain Justice Summer, March 20, 2009.</ref>
==History==
Coal reserves in Florida are marginal, and the state consequently has no history of coal mining.<ref>[http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ftproot/coal/0576.pdf State Coal Profiles], Energy Information Administration, 1994. - cached copy at [http://coaldiver.org/documents/state-coal-profiles-doe-eia-january-1994 CoalDiver.org]</ref> The coal power industry has in recent years been fairly powerful in the state: 17 plants, which collectively represent 66% of the state's coal-fired power generating capacity, have been built in Florida since 1980. However, in July 2007, Charlie Crist, Florida's newly-elected Republican governor, signed an executive order mandating CO<sub>2</sub> to 40% below 2007 levels by 2025; in this context, it will probably be impossible to build another traditional coal-fired power plant, and four coal-fired power plant proposals - [[Polk Power Station Unit 6]], [[Seminole 3]], [[Stanton Energy Center]], and [[Taylor Energy Center]] - have been cancelled or rejected since then.<ref>[http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/media/enews/2007/2007-05_energy_agenda.htm Governor Crist Sets New Energy and Environmental Agenda for Florida], Florida Solar Energy Center website, July 2007.</ref>
==Legislation and executive orders==