ecoRI news celebrates activist Brian Wilder for spending his time harassing Chase Bank.  Apparently, by treating energy companies as, you know, real businesses, the bank  is “funding mass extinction and the climate crisis.”  Who knew?

The fossil fuel industry may not give climate advocates a second thought, but it is harder for banks to shake off bad publicity. That is why Wilder, a Cranston resident, and fellow activists, such as Elizabeth O’Connell of Warren and Diane Hill of North Kingstown, often appear outside pro-petroleum banks or visit their branch lobbies — to let these institutions know their investment choices are helping to endanger the environment and public health.

The wasted human energy, here, is staggering, but it pales in comparison with the harm that would be done if these protests were more successful, from the civic principle that seeks to deprive people of the ability to conduct business to the terrible cost for American families of skyrocketing energy bills.