Fossil Fools Day

Fossil Fools Day began in 2004 with coordinated actions across American and Canadian high schools and universities where they played over 125 coordinated April Fools' Day pranks centered around the dangers from using and harvesting fossil fuels. Pranks included "a mock oil spill at a public fountain, and meandering an inflatable black pipe" to oppose a proposed oil pipeline between the United States and Canada. Other demonstrations were focused on education, such as the use of stationary bikes attached to generators to show the difference in power use between incandescent and fluorescent bulbs on the campus of the University of North Carolina. == Fossil Fools Day activities ==

Subsequent Fossil Fools Day activities garnered additional international attention. In 2008, with 35 actions targeting the fossil fuel industry across Britain, 100 in North America, and some in South Africa and Australia, April 1 became an established day for climate activism. The international Rising Tide network joined by Earth First!, Rainforest Action Network, the Energy Action Coalition, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, the Australian Student Environment Network and others called for action on Fossil Fools' Day through street blockades and satirical signage. Activists temporarily blocked construction at a North Carolina coal plant, created disruptive blockades of fossil fuel infrastructure in Britain, and displayed a banner in Newcastle Australia that asked, "How does buying stuff fuel climate change?" == See also ==