25 signatures reached
To: President Steven D. Lavine and Board of Trustees at Cal Arts (California Institute of the Arts)
Divest Cal Arts
Within three years, as of 2018, we call on the university to divest the endowment from all investments in fossil fuels and dirty energy projects, including but not limited to coal, biomass, "natural" gas, conventional fossil fuel energy production. The school's endowment and holdings should be guided by an ethical ethos in that we first weigh the ethics of each investment. Funds co-mingled with fossil fuel investments shall not be held in the schools endowment or other investments.
Why is this important?
Ethically, California Institute of the Arts or Cal Arts must acknowledge the harm the fossil fuel industry does to present and future generations. It is our responsibility to confront complex and often politically charged situations and weigh the reality of the decisions we make today within the context of future inevitable consequences.
We should do our best to do no harm.
Climate change will create 200,000,000 refugees by 2050 and untold human suffering. Last year 22,000, 000 people were displaced from their homes due to the natural disasters, many that were caused directly by climate change. The byproducts of the fossil fuel industry cause suffering as a result of health problems beyond the $120,000,000 American healthcare bill each year as a result of fossil fuel related illnesses.
Fossil fuel pollution contributes to Cancer, Asthma, Alzheimer's disease, neurological disorders such as Parkinson's, Heart Disease, Stroke, neonatal developmental delays and even Epigenetic Changes that allow a variety of diseases to manifest in the human body.
It's time the fossil fuel industry loses their social credibility just as the tobacco industry has. We cannot knowingly play a part in perpetuating injustice with one solitary cent of our school's investments.
We, the Students, Faculty, Administration, Staff and Alumni of Cal Arts say..
Divest Now!
How it will be delivered
We will deliver this petition digitally and in person if possible.