Juneau students and residents, led by members of the Yees Ku Oo Dance Group, march to Centennial Hall during a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is holding four days of meetings at Centennial Hall. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau students and residents, led by members of the Yees Ku Oo Dance Group, march to Centennial Hall during a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is holding four days of meetings at Centennial Hall. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

‘Not another penny for dirty energy’: Juneau climate ‘warriors’ urge state fund to stop investing in fossil fuels

Environmental protesters march to big, annual meeting

For Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé junior Linnea Lentfer, the potentially disastrous effects of climate change aren’t a distant abstraction. They’re a clear and present danger.

Rising and warming oceans will be a major problem by 2100 if climate change trends continue at their current pace, according to NASA. The impact of a climate crisis at the turn of the next century factored heavily into a speech Lentfer delivered Tuesday at the Alaska State Capitol during the Stand Strong for Climate Rally.

“I would be 97,” Lentfer said into the mic. “If I have children, they would be middle-aged. They will grow up in an age where the climate crisis is what governs their lives. Their very ability to live hinges on the decisions we make today.”

‘Not another penny for dirty energy’: Juneau climate ‘warriors’ urge state fund to stop investing in fossil fuels

Lentfer was one of six people to speak at the rally, which intentionally coincided with the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds annual meeting taking place this week at Centennial Hall. The rally concluded with a downhill march to the venue and a short demonstration in a courtyard outside the building.

Dozens of other Juneau students participated in the rally by holding signs welcoming international representatives to the capital city and urging them to divest from fossil fuels. The event featured plenty of participation from adults, too.

It was organized by local environmental nonprofit 350 Juneau, and speakers included Alaska State Writer Laureate Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes, University of Alaska Southeast professor David Noon, 350 Juneau co-chair Elaine Schroeder, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council indigenous engagement lead Heather Evoy and Inian Island Institute Executive Director Zach Brown.

[Empire Live: Climate change rally aims for international audience]

Each speaker voiced heavy support for everyone, including the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, to stop investing in fossil fuels.

Brown said climate change’s impacts are already evident, and its relationship to burning fossil fuels is no mystery. He called for all investors — the APFC, pension funds and others — to steer clear of fossil fuels.

Zach Brown speaks during a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The rally included a march to Centennial Hall where the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is taking place. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Zach Brown speaks during a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The rally included a march to Centennial Hall where the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is taking place. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

He pointed to a sign in the crowd held by a young girl that read “Not another penny for dirty energy.”

“Hold up that sign,” Brown said. “That’s what I’m talking about right there.”

Juneau residents attend a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The rally included a march to Centennial Hall where the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is taking place. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Juneau residents attend a “Stand Strong for Climate” rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. The rally included a march to Centennial Hall where the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds is taking place. The rally was organized by 350 Juneau, a local chapter of an international climate advocacy movement, 350.org. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Hayes too called for divestment and said the protesters gathered valued nature’s personhood and would not let forces of corruption, colonialism, end-stage capitalism, patriarchy, racism or inequity persevere.

“We are determined to resist,” Hayes said.

She concluded her speech by repeating “divest,” and the crowd joined in.

Noon argued for divestment by drawing historical parallels between removing money from fossil fuels to times nations opted to divest from slave-produced works or economic sanctions placed on apartheid-era South Africa.

“Those movements for abolition, for divestment from South Africa’s caste system, took decades to bear fruit and a lot of that fruit remained bitter and strange for years to come,” Noon said. “We can take some comfort in knowing those movements did prevail. We don’t have the time they had to do what we need to do, so we need to act now.”

[Cruise line buys downtown waterfront property]

After the speeches, dance group Yees Ku Oo led protesters to Centennial Hall where youths and 350 Juneau co-chair Elaine Schroeder greeted foreign representatives through a bullhorn. None of the visitors were outside of Centennial Hall during the rally and none emerged to investigate the sounds.

However, Schroeder thanked them for being in Alaska just the same.

“Thank you for coming all the way to Juneau, so we can show off our beautiful environment,” Schroeder said.


• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.


More in News

KTOO, Juneau's public radio station, is photographed in Juneau, Alaska, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public radio facing cuts as Congress moves to pull back funding

KTOO could lose one-third of its budget if the House passes a bill cutting funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting

Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo
The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14.
Ships in port for the week of July 19

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, July 17, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire File)
Hiker rescued from gully at Eaglecrest

The woman got stuck in a gully after taking a wrong turn

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The Dimond Courthouse in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file)
Juneau man pleads guilty to murder of infant

James White pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder of 5-and-half-week-old Kathy White

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Megan Dean shakes hands with the new Arctic District commander Rear Admiral Bob Little on Friday. Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, commander of the Pacific Area, smiles. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
US Coast Guard receives new commander, new name for Alaska

The Arctic District’s new icebreaker will visit Juneau next month

City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
Municipal election candidate filing period opens July 18

The filing period runs from July 18 at 8 a.m. to July 28 at 4:30 p.m.

The Mendenhall River roars more than 13 feet above normal levels in August 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Suicide Basin predicted to fill by Aug. 8

The change in the prediction of when the basin will fill was based on heavy rain last week

Most Read