November 26, 2013 - Just about a
year ago, Bill McKibben took to the road in a sustainably-fueled bus, intent
upon provoking actions in the board room and the classroom opposing dirty
energy. McKibben told students
they had more power than they knew, and could speak truth to power in guiding
their institutions of higher learning to divest themselves of shares of stock
belonging to petroleum companies.
Then he went even further, suggesting to university students that civil
disobedience could turn these same companies into a focal point for political
action. Did he convince them?
It would appear so. According to Chloe Maxmin, a junior at
Harvard and a leader of Divest Harvard, “Students have organized divestment
groups on about 400 campuses.” She
expressed the conviction that American government has been “taken over by the
fossil fuel industry.” Due to that
supremacy, “we’re going to pressure the fossil-fuel industry itself.” Sadly, Harvard is first among equals in
rejecting the divestment movement’s arguments, responding that it would have
little or no impact on petroleum companies, or on society’s reliance on fossil
fuels.
Peculiar, isn’t it? Harvard regards itself, and is
regarded, as a household name, synonymous with excellence and representative of
all that is best in the United States.
This being the case, they are quite naturally looked to for leadership,
which graduates have rightfully assumed in the halls of major corporations and
American government. Now, however,
Harvard favors us with its best imitation of the retiring wallflower who, when
asked to dance, bats her eyelashes and feigns surprise with a softly spoken
“Who – me?”
But all is not lost! In a November 18 editorial, the Yale
Daily News quoted the university’s own well-established Ethical Investor guidelines. Now we have something: an institution known for excellence
and endowed with foresight. Yale
was wise enough at the time of the anti-apartheid movement to know that would
not be the last time the university would be called upon to engage in moral
decision-making; hence, the guidelines.
Armed with the wisdom gained from previous campaigns, the editorial
avows “We are in a unique position to pioneer a new front on an existing
powerful environmental movement.”
Yale can be very proud of its students, who demonstrate an innate
understanding of leadership.
After only a year, the list of
colleges, towns, religious institutions and other organizations which have
voted to divest is quite impressive.
Here is the list in its entirety. I hope it will inspire you: College of the Atlantic,
Foothill-De Anza Community College Foundation, Green Mountain College,
Hampshire College, Naropa University, San Francisco State University
Foundation, Sterling College, Unity College, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland,
OR, Eugene, Berkeley, Richmond, CA, Santa Monica, Boulder, Santa Fe, Madison,
WI, Bayfield, WI, State College, PA, Ithaca, Truro, MA, Provincetown, MA,
Providence, Cambridge, Northampton, MA, Ann Arbor, New London, CT, Amherst, San
Francisco County, Dane County, United Church of Christ – National,
Massachusetts United Church of Christ, Minnesota United Church of Christ,
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oregon, First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake
City, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Cambridge, MA, Portsmouth
South Church Unitarian, First Unitarian Church of Pittsfield, ME, First
Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, Uniting Church, New South Wales & ACT,
Australia, Dover Friends Meeting, Dover, NH, Melbourne Unitarian Church, Australia,
Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, MA, Anglican Diocese of Wellington,
NZ, Anglican Diocese of Auckland, NZ, Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, NZ, Anglican
Diocese of Waiapu, NZ, Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki, NZ, Society
for Community Work, Sierra Club Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, Jubitz Family
Foundation, Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Santa Fe Art Institute, New
Progressive Alliance, Council of Canadians, Santa Clara Valley Water District,
Students’ Society of McGill University.
With thanks to gofossilfree.org,
The Seattle Times, and The Washington Post.
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