Success of #EndFossilFuelSubsidies Twitter Storm Directed at Rio+20

On Monday June 18, climate change activists used Twitter to send a message to end fossil fuel subsidies that has echoed around the world. People all over the planet understand that it’s simply wrong to be spending tax dollars off to the richest industry in the world, an industry that’s wrecking the atmosphere and endangering our shared future.

The 24-hour “Twitter storm” garnered the support of hundreds of thousands of people and was the top ranked tweet of the day. According to the Guardian this was the top trending topic in the US and second place globally while Topsy.com reported that it was the #1 story in the world.

Politicians have also joined the storm, with messages streaming in from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in the US and former Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand.

In addition to the Twitterstorm, activists at Avaaz.org, Friends of the Earth, and 350.org delivered a petition of more than 750,000 signatures calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies to 10 Downing Street this morning. Similar petitions are being presented in other nations. In Rio yesterday in which campaigners unfurled a massive trillion dollar bill on Copacabana beach marked with calls for an end to the subsidies, which are approaching that scale.

Keep the Twitterstorm alive and Tweet this post. To make sure the message is not ignored organizers at 350.org are asking
people to get 5 friends on Twitter to join the storm. Share this
Facebook event on your wall and tag five of your savviest friends asking
them to join.

The Twitter Storm has made it that much more likely that we will see the beginning of the end of fossil fuel subsidies.