University of Wisconsin - Madison: Go Fossil Free!

For the good of our students and our nation, and to preserve the quality of life for this and future generations worldwide, we call upon you to divest the University of Wisconsin Foundation's funds from enterprises that extract, transport, process or distribute fossil fuels.
Specifically, we call upon you to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds.

Why is this important?

Experts agree that global warming from humans burning fossil fuels poses imminent and significant risks to us and other species. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming. We cannot safely burn even half of today's global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. Yet, we continue searching for still more fossil-fuel deposits in the Arctic, on fragile public lands, and in the deep oceans.  According to its mission statement, The primary purpose of the University of WisconsinMadison is to...discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help ensure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all. We find an intolerable contradiction between the University's mission and the UW Foundation's investing in companies that not only threaten the future for today's students, but which threatens human civilization as we know it.