"This morning I had breakfast with President Kroger. Over a delicious scone and coffee, I was very, very pleased to learn that the board of trustees of Reed College has just now decided to divest the school's $500 million endowment from fossil fuels.
"This is indeed fantastic news. Reed joins 11 other universities who have made this commitment to the planet and the future. . .
"I'm even more excited about Reed's visionary plan for re-investment. The money that is pulled from fossil fuels, the President tells me, has been earmarked for community-owned renewable energy projects. This means Reed is putting its money to work for a complete enviro-social justice program: pulling support from big oil while literally and figuratively putting power back in the hands of the people."
Can we imagine how quickly the country would move from carbon polluting energy to a clean energy economy if every university took this step? We could create a carbon-free/nuclear-free economy in less than a generation. Sadly, in reality, Reed -- who never divested from South Africa either -- rejected divestment from carbon polluters. But, now they have been embarrassed not only in front of the Reed community of students, teachers and parents, but in front of the world for their unethical investment practices.
In addition to students, Indigenous communities in partnership with non-natives are leading the fight against extreme energy extraction as in the Cowboy-Indian Alliance. This week Enbridge Line 9 in Canada was blockaded in Burlington where protesters opposed the inadequate response to the 12,000 anomalies that have been reported on the line. As the KXL and Northern Gateway pipelines from the Alberta tar sands are being successfully slowed by protests, First Nations are turning their attention to TransCanada's Energy East pipeline. They are vowing the same kind of protests that threaten and have slowed other tar sands pipelines. First Nations have also vowed to take legal action to block a copper-gold mine in Canada.
Legal action is also being used as a tool for transformation in the United States. A youth organization, "Our Children's Trust" is arguing in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that the federal government should be required to implement a comprehensive Climate Recovery Plan based on the doctrine of Public Trust.
The lack of a climate plan is also at the root of a class action filed by insurance companies in Illinois. They are arguing that the failure of the government to prepare for severe rains and flooding caused by climate change is resulting in damages to them. Citizen activists are likely to intervene and join the call for climate action. These suits could become part of a wave of climate change litigation.
Tackling Trade Agreements and Greenwashing Too
Through trade agreements, Big Energy is trying to weaken environmental protections and increase their power to subvert democracy but people are stopping these too. A movement of movements has successfully stalled the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and now negotiators trying to move forward on its sister, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (called TAFTA) are being protested. People on both sides of the Atlantic see the risk of the agreement to the environment and other issues and are seeking to stop the agreement. In Europe on May 15,hundreds of activists protested TAFTA resulting in 240 arrests by riot police who surrounded the protesters.
This was followed by a protest in Virginia when TAFTA negotiators met at George Mason University. A coalition of food safety, labor, and environmental advocates organized the action. The harmful environmental impact of TAFTA is becoming more evident as this week a trade memo was leaked that showed the EU was pushing the United States to expand its fracking, offshore oil drilling and natural gas exploration. Similarly, a leaked text of the TPP environmental chapter showed there was no enforcement of environmental protections; and the Obama agreement was weaker than those negotiated by George W. Bush.
Protests are also occurring against public relations efforts of climate polluters who are trying to improve their image through sponsorship of museums, operas and other civic institutions. There has been a wave of creative and humorous protests urging institutions not to take money from corporations destroying the planet which is turning the effort by polluters to improve their image into a liability.
Protests are escalating. This week there was an unprecedented global event -- communities on five continents took action against Chevron. They focused on Chevron's destruction of the environment and violation of human rights; and urged people to reject Chevron's brand including its subsidiary, Texaco.
The largest climate protest in history was announced this week for September 20-21 in New York City to coincide with heads of state gathering at the United Nations for a climate change summit. While world leaders are coming together, organizers are recognizing the power is within us saying: "We want this moment to be about us -- the people who are standing up in our communities, to organize, to build power, to confront the power of fossil fuels, and to shift power to a just, safe, peaceful world."
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