KEEP FOSSIL FUELS IN
THE GROUND CAMPAIGN, NEWSLETTER #5,
FOCUS ON FOSSIL FUELS DIVESTMENT,
JULY 6, 2016.
Compiled by Dick
Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and ECOLOGY
(#1
August 5, 2012; #2, March 15, 2013; #3, Jan. 4, 2015; #4 (Divestment #1) June
13, 2015.)
OMNI
CAMPAIGN AGAINST FOSSIL
FUELS NEWSLETTER #3, January 4, 2015.
What’s at Stake:
Bill McKibben concludes a recent essay with these words: “…fossil fuels are the problem in global
warming—and fossil fuels don’t come in good and bad flavors. Coal and oil and natural gas have to be left
in the ground. All of them.”* If the past is a strong clue to the future,
the fossil fuels industry--its officers, boards, and investors--will never voluntarily
give up extracting fossil fuels until every last drop of coal, oil, and gas are
consumed. They must be compelled. Divestment is one way to force the industry
to do what is right for the planet and future generations. When asked what OMNI might add to its
climate portfolio, OMNI’s Climatologist Robert McAfee wrote: After fee and
dividend the next biggest impact on keeping coal in the ground is the
divestment from fossil fuel companies. Just like we did during the 1980's with
divestment from S African corporations to stop Apartheid. There is a movement
call for fossil fuel divestment. The University of Arkansas should get rid of
any fossil fuel stocks. Robert (For readers unfamiliar with its history, OMNI
has had an active, outstanding fossil fuels fee/dividend committee for several
years.)
To the familiar BDS applied against South
African and now Israeli apartheid, Naomi Klein might add blockade. See This Changes Everything, Chap. 9,
“Blockadia” (and passim). The
BDS Movement against fossil fuels could be BBDS: Boycott, Blockade, Divestment,
Sanctions. And more pressure methods are
available to us. We’ll need every
pressure: the big rich of fossil fuels, the owners, the 1% won’t relinquish their
money and political power until they are forced to justly share, or until fossil
fuels are no more. Read Jane Mayer’s Dark Money: The Hidden History of the
Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. *(McKibben, “Global Warming’s Terrifying
New Chemistry,” The Nation, April
11/18, 2016).
Contents Campaign
Against Fossil Fuels Newsletter #5, Focus on Divestment #2
Divestment
Campaign
States
California
Colleges
Movement
Growing
Anti-FF Students Forming
Coalitions with Anti-Private Prison Activists
La Sala and University of Maine: Not Only
Divestment, But Also Reinvestment
A Point of View from Yale U
Union Theological Seminary
Diane Rehm Show: Divestment Movement
Expanding Beyond Colleges
Organizations
350.org
Also Keeping
Fossil Fuels in the Ground for the People and the Planet
Affirmative Government:
Obama, Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management Curb Arctic Drilling
Analogy to Philly Soft Drinks
Tax: Philly Soda Tax Gets Thumbs-Up From Council.
Use Taxes to Prevent Harms and Support Help, Increase Fossil Fuels Taxes and Use Revenue for Renewable Energy.
Use Taxes to Prevent Harms and Support Help, Increase Fossil Fuels Taxes and Use Revenue for Renewable Energy.
Law: Citizens Suing Corporations
Public
Service Organizations: Oil Watch, Latin
America and Africa
A Few Realities
Climate
Change Is Happening
Arid and Semi-Arid
Regions are Expanding
The Great Regulator
of Climate—the Forest Carbon “Sink”—is Fast Disappearing.
Climate
Change is $Denied$$
Oil
Industry’s Clean Air Fight Prepared for Its Climate Denial
DIVESTMENT
STATES
BY KATIE
VALENTINE
SEP 3, 2015 PHOTO/RICH PEDRONCELLI
SEP 3, 2015 PHOTO/RICH PEDRONCELLI
The
California Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that prompts the state’s public
employee pension funds to divest from coal.
The bill
passed the Assemby with a vote of 43 to 27, and will require the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and California State Teachers’
Retirement System (CalSTRS) — which combined are responsible for $476 billion
in assets — to remove all holdings in companies that get at least half of their
revenue from coal mining. The divestment would have to be completed by July
2017. MORE
COLLEGES
Students
Rise Up to Fight Climate Change With National Divestment Network
Dinah DeWald, Common Dreams
DeWald writes: "The fossil fuel divestment movement is powerful, and marks a new phase in environmental and climate justice struggles ... Together, students have decided to fight this industry in our school communities, and support the work of others fighting this industry on all fronts."
Dinah DeWald, Common Dreams
DeWald writes: "The fossil fuel divestment movement is powerful, and marks a new phase in environmental and climate justice struggles ... Together, students have decided to fight this industry in our school communities, and support the work of others fighting this industry on all fronts."
Campus Activists Unite in Call for
Divestments at Colleges by Collin Binkley,
Associated Press
December 29, 2015.
December 29, 2015.
BOSTON ― Campus activists who often
fight in parallel with one another for their respective causes are now starting
to form alliances as they turn up the pressure on some U.S. colleges to
financially divest from industries that run counter to their beliefs.
Student groups that have long called on
colleges to stop investing in fossil fuels have begun working alongside students
demanding divestment from the prison industry, a movement that has gained
momentum recently with support from black student organizations.
Coalitions created this year at Wesleyan
University in Connecticut and the University of Pennsylvania have pressured
their institutions to drop investments in fossil
fuels and prisons and
in companies that have ties to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian
territories, demands that students previously pursued separately. At Tufts
University near Boston, divestment groups against fossil fuels and Israel banded together with a
coalition opposing investments in private prison companies.
“There’s a consciousness with the
younger generations that these are not single issues,” said Zakaria Kronemer, a
national organizer for the Responsible Endowments Coalition, a New York
nonprofit group that helps students campaign around what they see as crucial
social-justice issues. “It doesn’t make sense for us to be working in silos anymore.”
Beyond the call for divestments,
students have thrown other causes into the mix. After fighting to get Columbia
University to divest from fossil fuels,
a student group organized a coalition with five other campus groups that tackle
issues such as racism, sexual assault and workers’ rights. Together, as the
Barnard Columbia Solidarity Network, they issued merged demands to campus
administrators.
“I don’t think they’ve dealt with
anything like this,” said Daniela Lapidous, a senior and a group member. “Only
by building these coalitions will we win any of our demands.”
The collaborations have had some
success. After students staged a joint sit-in this year, the president of
Wesleyan agreed to endorse divestment from the prison industry.
Advocacy groups that help students
organize say they expect to see more crossover coalitions at colleges. Already,
students from several universities are trying to establish a national umbrella
group that would unite students across schools and causes. National environmental
groups have offered online training to students on the perks of solidarity.
“Increasingly, the climate movement has
seen how deeply intertwined the climate crisis is with issues of racial and
economic injustice,” said Jenny Marienau, a divestment campaign manager for the
environmental group350.org. “I don’t think it’s just a numbers
game, though. I really do think there’s deeper alignment.”
Students against fossil fuel
investments, for example, point to a recent report from Columbia predicting
that rising temperatures will pose a health risk at prisons.
Even with the help of newly formed
coalitions, though, students have struggled to get colleges to disclose their
investments. The Wesleyan group, named the Coalition for Divestment and
Transparency, criticized the school because students have no way of knowing if
Wesleyan invests in contentious industries.
Of the 30 public universities with the
largest endowments, only nine released any of their investment holdings in
response to a recent Associated Press records request. None of the 20 private
colleges with the top endowments ― the smallest of which tops $3 billion ―
provided any records.
Colleges guard their investments
closely, contending that disclosure would tip their hand to competitors. Some
students and faculty say colleges should invest only in socially responsible
ways, but colleges and financial experts counter that endowments are meant
primarily to generate revenue.
Often, administrators can’t even trace all
their institution’s investments.
Most big universities now invest in
hedge funds, said Jessica Matthews, head of the mission-related investing
practice at Cambridge Associates, which advises colleges on investments. While
those types of funds pose a challenge to divestment, she added, there are some
fossil-free hedge funds available to schools.
Research has been mixed on whether
divesting from fossil fuels would hurt a university’s endowment. Some colleges
counter that it’s better to work with companies on changes rather than cut ties
with them.
Still, Matthews said she sees some
evidence that universities are heeding the calls of campus activists. Over the
past two years, more than 70 colleges have sent inquiries about divestment, a
surge over previous years. Most have been focused on fossil fuels, she said,
but there has been growing interest in prison divestment.
Meaghan
La Sala, “Not Just ‘Divestment,’ Climate Justice Needs ‘Reinvestment.” Yes! (Fall
2015).
I.
The “student- led fossil fuel divestment movement” is
successful: in 3 years, “34 schools have committed to moving investments out of
that deadly sector.” The same could be
achieved with prisons and Israel.
II.
But what then? Equally important is the reinvestment of the
money into beneficial activities—such as, revolving loan funds, community-managed cooperative funds, and a
myriad of specific investments such as alternatives to prisons. The Reinvestment
Network is helping student divestment movements. --Dick
LaSala,
Not Just “Divestment” Google Search, August 21, 2015, revealed the following,
page one
Common Dreams NewsCenter
Jan 26, 2015 - "Our responsibility
is not
just to
talk about carbon in the atmosphere but to talk ...
bangordailynews.com/.../fossil-fuel-divestment-a-sma...
www.350maine.org/divestment_climate_justice
Apr 26, 2014 - The Climate
Justice Alliance (CJA) is just one example of a group doing this kind of organizing.
e360.yale.edu/feature/why_the...divestment.../2898/ Yale University
Jul 27, 2015 - The fossil fuel divestment campaign has so far
persuaded only a handful
https://utsnyc.edu/divestment/
Union Theological Seminary
“Not only is Union a moral
leader, it's also a resident of Manhattan with long ties to the city's leaders,
meaning that divestment now has a foothold in the world's ...
THE DIANE REHM SHOW
Wednesday, Jul 01 2015 • 11 a.m.
(ET)
Hundreds of demonstrators march
May 15 to the French Consulate to demand the French government and French
company Engie stop supporting coal in South Africa and support sustainable
renewable energy instead. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/GETTY
IMAGES
It began on college campuses, students lobbying their schools to
pull out of investments in coal, oil and gas companies. Recently, however, the fossil fuel divestment movement has expanded
beyond university walls. Last year, heirs to the Rockefeller oil fortune announced they’d purge a portion of their
portfolio of coal and tar sand investments. Earlier this month, Norway voted to cull coal stocks from
the holdings of its government pension fund, worth $890 billion.
Guests
·
John Schwartz science
reporter, The New York Times.
·
Frank Wolak director
of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development and a professor of
economics at Stanford University
·
Robert Massie senior
advisor, Boston Common Asset Management, initiator of the Investor Network on
Climate Risk and author of "Loosing The Bonds: The United States and South
Africa in the Apartheid Years"
Related Links
Topics + Tags
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Comments
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People can just disconnect from the
grid? Am I supposed to take that seriously? What a nonsense argument.
If clean energy were available I would purchase it. It isn't available. It isn't available because entrenched interests stymie any movement away from a fossil fuel based economy.
Divestment is the only option. Business will never move towards renewables so long as one drop of oil (one lump of coal, etc) is left.
If clean energy were available I would purchase it. It isn't available. It isn't available because entrenched interests stymie any movement away from a fossil fuel based economy.
Divestment is the only option. Business will never move towards renewables so long as one drop of oil (one lump of coal, etc) is left.
It better not take 150 years to get off
fossil fuels. At the rate we're burning them, we will exceed 2 degrees C in the
next 10 years and once we pass 4 degrees C, life on earth will be wiped out. I
don't see much movement away from fossil fuels. What are we waiting for?
We are waiting for the last few holdouts
who, for ideological reasons, will never be convinced. I think we have gone way
past the point of 2degreeC increase. I think a 4degreeC increase is, basically,
assured at this point.
We could have done something twenty or thirty years ago but decided not to do so. No amount of cutting, at this point, is going to be sufficient- especially with 7 billion people (with an expectation of at least 9 billion by 2050). [POPULATION GROWTH]
You cannot cut fast enough to cover the added energy demands of another 2 billion people. But if we cannot agree to cut CO2 emissions I don't see how we will agree on limiting population growth.
We could have done something twenty or thirty years ago but decided not to do so. No amount of cutting, at this point, is going to be sufficient- especially with 7 billion people (with an expectation of at least 9 billion by 2050). [POPULATION GROWTH]
You cannot cut fast enough to cover the added energy demands of another 2 billion people. But if we cannot agree to cut CO2 emissions I don't see how we will agree on limiting population growth.
One of the largest components of
university carbon footprints is faculty travel. Universities can help combat greenhouse gas emissions by
taking steps to decrease travel. For example rather than bringing in four or
five candidates for a faculty or administrative position phone or televideo
conferences can be used to narrow the field. Universities can press for changes
to rules mandating how the national science foundation reviews proposals so
that the panels meet by phone rather than onsite at the nsf. Rather than the
American chemical society and the American geophysical Union holding two annual
meetings they can hold one per year. Funding agencies can limit the amount of
conference travel for many proposals.
•
Government won't act. Business won't
act. [Divestment] is the last option for people and is entirely
appropriate. Until we change the fundamental basis of our economy (cheap fossil
fuel) most of us will be stuck using the same old, dirty, energy forms.
There may be a more effective way of
creating change. Divestment is a
tool BUT -- follow the money. Institutions/endowments should refuse to
buy bonds/debt from these companies AND shame the underwriters who issue
it. Push lenders to stop lending the way the Quaker Action Group did.
No matter how large the company, it always carries debt. (endowments
-- check your fixed income portfolio as well as your stocks. you may be
in for a big surprise). It's a smaller, far more targeted approach to
financially pushing companies towards responsibility as well as easier
and perhaps much faster.
tool BUT -- follow the money. Institutions/endowments should refuse to
buy bonds/debt from these companies AND shame the underwriters who issue
it. Push lenders to stop lending the way the Quaker Action Group did.
No matter how large the company, it always carries debt. (endowments
-- check your fixed income portfolio as well as your stocks. you may be
in for a big surprise). It's a smaller, far more targeted approach to
financially pushing companies towards responsibility as well as easier
and perhaps much faster.
ORGANIZATIONS
350.ORG: FIGHTING BACK AGAINST CC
350.ORG DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS CAMPAIGN PLUS
Dear Friends,
Last weekend, the radio show This American Life did a special episode on climate
change and dedicated a third of the program to covering Bill McKibben, our Do
The Math tour, and the growing fossil fuel divestment movement.
I want to share the episode with you because I think it really
gets at the heart of what this fossil fuel divestment effort is all about.
After you listen, I hope you’ll be inspired to start or join a local divestment
effort on your campus, at your church, or in your community.
Once you’ve listened, be sure to share the link with your
friends and family -- oftentimes, a good story is the best way to get someone
involved in a new campaign.
This American Life airs on more than 500 stations around the
country and reaches 1.8 million listeners, so it was some great exposure for
our growing campaign. In the past few weeks, we’ve also gotten big coverage on
All Things Considered, Marketplace, Businessweek, and The Associated Press.
It's starting to get through to people: divestment is not only the moral thing
to do, but also the smart thing (the AP went so far as to do its own
analysis, concluding that "by one measure, endowments would have been
better off had they divested 10 years ago").
This campaign is beginning to really add up. Five colleges have
now divested from fossil fuels. 13 cities across the country have committed to
pursue the goal. And religious institutions are quickly taking up the call,
from the United Church of Christ in Massachusetts ,
to the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, to Lutheran denominations in Oregon
As Bill says in the This American Life piece, divestment is a powerful moral
statement that makes it clear that the fossil fuel industry is a rogue
industry, outlaws against the laws of physics and chemistry. We may not be able
to bankrupt these companies, but we will show that they are morally bankrupt.
And by taking away the industry’s social license, we will weaken their
political power, turning Big Oil into this generation’s Big Tobacco, a pariah
industry that politicians are forced to turn against.
This divestment effort is one of the most exciting campaigns
we’ve ever run here at350.org. Many thanks to the thousands of you who are already helping lead
this fight. For everyone else, now’s a great time to get involved.
Happy listening,
Jamie
350.org is
building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook andTwitter, and sign up for email
alerts. You can help power our work by getting
involved locally, sharing your story, and donating here. 350.0RG DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN
Off to a great
start!
\Dear friends,
Last week, we launched a new platform to help people organize
fossil fuel divestment campaigns in their communities.
We’ve been blown away by the
response: there are already almost 100 new divestment campaigns up and running
across the country! And that’s on top of the over 300
college and university campaigns currently underway.
We’re off to a great start, but if we’re going to make a real
impact on the fossil fuel industry, we need this campaign to grow even larger.
Getting started on a local campaign is simple:
· Get a petition started so you can build your local group and
start showing your city, state, or religious institution that there’s public
support for divestment.
· Set up a local meeting and email petition signers, your friends,
and local groups to get them involved.
· Plan your campaign: we’ve got some great resources on the
website and our crew will be on hand to provide support every step of the way.
Your fellow organizers are already racking up some impressive
wins: the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee voted to divest this week, Vermont state-senators are hearing testimony in favor of
a divestment bill, and big moves are underway in San
Francisco , Seattle
Together, we’ve also started an exciting discussion about the
potential for sustainable reinvestment to help revitalize our economy while
protecting our environment (the $200 million your city might have invested in
the fossil fuel industry is a lot of money that could go towards energy
efficiency, new industries, and more).
And our local efforts are making a national impact. Politicians
have talked about divestment on the Senate floor, the New York Times ran a
front-page Business Section story on the campaign, and think-tanks and big
banks like HSBC are talking about downgrading fossil fuel stocks.
I just joined 350.org two months ago, and I’m amazed at how
much we’ve accomplished already. Now, we need to keep up the momentum. Your
local divestment campaign will make a big difference.
Click here to get started. Onward, Jay
350.org is building a global movement to solve
the climate crisis. Connect with us onFacebook and Twitter,
and sign up for email alerts. You can help power
our work by getting involved locally, sharing your story, and donating here.
|
Now is the time to end
offshore drilling.
mment deadline June 16th. Sign on now to end offshore oil
drilling.
Friends,
Over the last year, we’ve seen huge wins for the climate
movement. President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, Shell abandoned
their Arctic drilling plans, and the first international climate agreement
was signed in Paris.
On most days, it feels like the political tide is turning. But
our fight to keep fossil fuels in the ground is far from over, and nowhere is
this more true than where I come from -- the Gulf Coast.
In 2015, the Obama administration unveiled a 5-year offshore
drilling plan, opening new areas for oil and gas extraction in the Arctic,
off the Atlantic coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Earlier this year, the Atlantic was removed from the draft
plan, but the Arctic and the Gulf are still at risk. Meanwhile, both of these
regions are heavily impacted by both our changing climate and fossil fuel
extraction. They're experiencing some of the most rapid sea-level rise and
land loss on the planet, and have been subject to devastating oil spills.
If drilling is unsafe in the Atlantic, then it’s unsafe on all
our coasts. It's time to end offshore drilling everywhere.
Impacted communities in both the Gulf and the Arctic are
standing together and fighting back. If President Obama wants to be seen as a
climate leader, then he needs to be accountable to communities like mine on
the front lines of climate impacts. Coastal communities know exactly
what’s at stake if drilling continues in the Arctic and the Gulf -- their
cultures, land, and livelihoods.
President Obama has the power to stop new offshore drilling
without interference from Congress. This is a unique opportunity for the
President to listen to communities on the ground and cement his legacy as a
climate leader before he leaves office.
Climate change touches all of us. Let's make sure offshore oil
and gas stays where it belongs -- deep under ground.
In unity,
Genny Roman & the rest of the 350.org team
350.org is
building a global climate movement. Become a sustaining donor to
keep this movement strong and growing.
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350.org Donor
Bulletin: April 2016
 |
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Dear
friends,
We're
very excited that Break Free is only a couple weeks away. After
months of preparation, the committed, widespread, and creative climate
movement is joining together to take action.
As
noted writer Grace Paley wrote, "the only recognizable feature of hope
is action." The climate movement is full of hope -- what choice do we
have when climate change is already upon us, yet we do not know how serious
the future impacts will be?
Taking
action is what makes the 350 team who we are. The lead up to big
mobilizations requires us to build and test relationships; analyze strategic
opportunities; make long-term plans (yet stay nimble); and remember to take
breaks every now and then too.
We also
take hope from news of victory -- including this week's cancellation of a
major Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline!
Thank
you for all you do to be in motion and action with us. And if you don't yet
know where you'll be for Break Free, it's not too late to make your plans.
Very
Warmly,
May
Boeve
Executive Director |
How The Epic Global
Resistance To Fossil Fuels Is Growing
|
Photo: 350.org
|
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A few
of the inspiring ways that people are stepping up to keep fossil fuels in the
ground across the globe. Read more.
|
Campaign Update: UK
Divestment
|
Photo: 350.org
|
|
Over
the past couple years, 350.org has worked with partners to
build a fossil fuel divestment campaign from the ground-up in the United
Kingdom. We raised our campaign profile through our partnership with… Read more.
|
Kinder Morgan
Cancels Major Natural Gas Pipeline
|
Photo: Ben Nelms/Reuters/Landov
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Congratulations
to all of our partners and allies who opposed the Kinder Morgan pipeline in
the Northeastern United States. Read more.
|
Yale Pledges to
Divest From Coal and Tar Sands
|
Photo: Alex Zhang
|
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Yale’s
step toward divestment from coal and tar sands speaks to the power of the
youth fossil fuel divestment in the US and globally. This news comes at a
time when hundreds of students and dozens of campaigns have been taking
action on campuses. Read more.
|
Defending The
Defenders
|
Photo: Loi Manalansan
|
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We are
deeply discouraged and saddened to see so many stories in just the past few
weeks of violent attacks against peaceful activists calling for justice and
saying no to extractive industries. Many of these have resulted in death,
injury, and intimidation… Read more.
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350 Trainings
Website Launched
|
Photo: 350.org
|
|
Leading
a training? Want some tools for facilitating online or face-to-face group
meetings? Working on a local climate action? Find tools and techniques that
will help you and the people around you overcome obstacles and work
together. Learn more.
|
RELATED
SUPPORTS FOR THE PEOPLE
Government
Agencies
Taxing
Harms to Purchase Good
Courts
Public
Service Organizations
Victory! Arctic Ocean offshore
drilling leases cancelled!
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7:07 AM (4 hours ago)
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This
email was sent to: jbennet@uark.edu
This
email was sent by the Sierra Club85 2nd St San Francisco, CA 94105
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SUING CORPORATIONS
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2:08 PM (10 minutes ago)
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My good friend, Elisabeth Radow
in New York, has been one of the attorneys representing the two families in
Dimock, PA. You will recall that it was their water contamination by
Cabot Oil & Gas that provided the inspiration for Josh Fox's Gasland documentary.
The long preparation for the trial has now paid off with the court's
ruling. It will probably be appealed, but knowing Elisabeth, the case is
probably pretty tight.
Sometimes the light of justice is
able to shine!
Oil Watch: International Oil Exploitation Resistance,
Google Search, March 19, 2015
Latin America
and Africa
www.oilwatch.org/en/
Los Angeles, CA –
Amazon Watch and Yasunidos, a campaign comprised of a
collective of Ecuadorian and international environmental
organizations and ...
|
Hoy
Oilwatch Latinoamérica se une a las distintas ...
|
President
of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has ...
|
|
The
objective of Oilwatch is to build a network of national and ...
|
As
the Niger Delta boils and as Nigeria looks towards a bleak ...
|
westafricaoilwatch.org/what-we-do/
We research and publish
periodic 'report cards' that assesses both host governments and international
oil companies commitment to safe and responsible oil ...
See Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything, Chap. 9,
“Blockadia.” The BDS Movement against
fossil fuels could be Blockade-Divestment-Sanctions—or better yet: BBDS: Boycott, Blockade, Divestment,
Sanctions. And? We’ll need every pressure: the big rich, the
owners, the 1% won’t give up their money which is their political power until
it is taken from them, or until fossil fuels are no more.
BENEFICIAL
TAXES: SUGAR TAX/FUEL TAX
ANALOGY: USING TAXES TO
DRIVE OUT HARMS AND TO SUPPORT HELP: INCREASE FOSSIL FUELS TAXES AND USE
REVENUE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY.
JARED BREY AND HOLLY OTTERBEIN | JUNE 8, 2016 | 75 COMMENTS
Mayor Jim
Kenney is now one step away from securing a major
first-term victory, after a City Council committee voted Wednesday evening
to approve a new tax on sugary drinks and diet sodas in order to
fund his priorities: expanded pre-K, community schools, and an
overhaul of the city’s parks, libraries and recreation centers.
Read more at
http://www.phillymag.com/tag/soda-tax/#OGOocBiERPs4svLU.99
“Philadelphia
Mayor Proposes Sugar Tax.” AD-G (June 9, 2016).
Problem:
Power of fossil fuels industry and the millionaires and billionaires
invested in it is immensely greater than that of the soda pop industry. Imposing a tax on anything by which the Koch
brothers enrich themselves is difficult to imagine.
EFFECTS OF OIL PRICE, Depends on your angle.
In the WaPo,former Treasury
Secretary Lawrence Summers argues that the
lowest oil prices in years provide a perfect opportunity to enact a carbon tax without slowing the economy.
“Oil Glut Likely to Be Severed,
Analysts Say.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (July 23, 2015). The “oversupply” from OPEC has
increased. Consequently investment has
decreased and “70,000 workers cut.”
REALITIES
(URGENTLY NEEDING ATTENTION: Every Environmentalist Organization Should Be
Well-Read Regarding the Connections for Full-Spectrum Protest)
Climate
Is Changing: Droughts Increasing, Trees Decreasing
Arid
and Semi-Arid Regions are Expanding
New Study Shows How Climate Change Is Already
Reshaping The Earth
BY JOE
ROMM SEP 3, 2015 CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
A landmark
study in the journal Nature documents
an expansion of the world’s dry and semi-arid climate regions since 1950 — and
attributes it to human-caused global warming.
This
expansion of the world’s dry zones is a basic prediction of climate science. The fact it
is so broadly observable now means we must take seriously the current projections of widespread global
Dust-Bowlification in the coming decades on our current CO2 emissions pathway —
including the U.S.’s own breadbasket.
The new
study, “Significant anthropogenic-induced changes of climate classes since
1950,” looks at multiple datasets of monthly temperature and
precipitation over time. The main finding:
MORE http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/03/3697620/expanding-global-dry-semi-arid-zones/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3
The
Great Regulator of Climate—the Forest Carbon “Sink”—is Fast Disappearing.
Trees Are Disappearing From The World At An Alarming
Rate
BY KATIE
VALENTINE SEP 2, 2015 CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
SEP 2, 2015 CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
Some
tropical countries saw an “alarming” surge of tree cover loss in 2014,
according to a new report.
The report, published Wednesday by the World Resources
Institute’s Global Forest Watch, uses data on tree cover loss — a measure of
the removal, natural or human-caused, of all kinds of trees, whether they’re in
a forest or on a plantation — from the University of Maryland and Google. That
data show that in 2014, the planet lost more than 45 million acres of tree
cover, with tree cover loss in tropical countries accounting for more than half
of that total. Tropical countries alone, the report found, lost nearly 25
million acres of tree cover in 2014, a chunk about the size of South Korea. MORE: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/02/3697519/tree-cover-loss-2014/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3
We Must
Go Negative: Capture Carbon and Bury It
Clay F.
Naff. “Humanity’s Last Stand: How We Can Stop Climate Change Before It
Kills Us.” The Humanist (July-Aug. 2016).
Go directly to paragraph 22, his main point: “…even changing our gas engines for electric
motors and swapping coal-fired plants for geothermal, nuclear, wind, solar or
some future renewable won’t be enough.”
In case we missed it, he repeats in his final paragraph: “…a single
human lifetime is all that remains before catastrophic effects set in. . . .in
addition to replacing fossil fuels we must boldly strive one way or another to
put carbon back where we found it” to diminish those effects(17). Naff mentions five methods: natural storage: restoring forests, growing algae and kelp; engineered
storage: coal-fired decomposition of CO2, ff emissions run through chemical
bath. Needless to say, all pose immense problems
either technological or political.
CLIMATE
CHANGING, INDUSTRY DENYING
|
Bill Moyers in
Conversation
|
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OMNI
NEWSLETTERS
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Contents: Fossil Fuels Newsletter
#4, Divestment
Campaign #1, June 13, 2015
Introduction
Fossil Free,
Gofossilfree.org
Universities
Divesting
Student Movement
Oxford
Stanford
Harvard
Religions: Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA)
350.org
Divestment Campaign
END ANTI-FOSSIL FUELS CAMPAIGN, FOCUS ON DIVESTMENT #2, FF
NEWSLETTER #5, July 6, 2016
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