One of the great challenges of our generation is climate change. Human fossil fuel consumption is the principal cause of this accelerating change. This warming has been linked to an increase in natural disasters that cost billions and take a profound toll on human life. If we do not do something now to curb this pollution, we risk the livelihood of future generations. Further, when we do not act as good stewards of God’s earth, we risk our spiritual health. Whitworth must make a tangible and proactive contribution to caring for God’s earth and for humanity’s future. Divestment, that is, removing investments in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds with fossil fuel extracting and producing companies, provides an opportunity to do just that. It is a strong political statement that has worked before. In the 1980s, many colleges and universities divested from South African companies; this political posturing helped end apartheid. It's time for Whitworth University to realize how incompatible these investments are with a safe climate future and with fulfilling our Christian obligations, and to take meaningful action to go Fossil Free.

At the moment Durham University has an investment policy that states that they won't invest in arms or tobacco companies. But no such policy against investing in fossil fuel companies exists. Carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels results in the heating of the atmosphere. A rise of more than 2˚C in global temperatures is enough to put the world beyond the acceptable limits as outlined by scientists. Fossil fuel companies already have proven reserves of five times the amount needed to take us past this limit. At the moment the share price of fossil fuel companies is based on the idea that all the reserves held by fossil fuel companies will be burnt. This situation is of course not viable given the severely detrimental impact it will have on the environment. This disparity between the safely useable reserves and the proven reserves results in fossil fuel companies being not as safe a long-term investment as they are held up to be. Given the massive amounts of damage fossil fuel companies do to the lives of people around the world, the obvious environmental costs of the industry and the long term instability of fossil fuels as an investment, Durham University People & Planet Society are calling on the university to divest any money it has invested in fossil fuel companies and to add fossil fuels to the list of things in which it will not invest in the future.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. After learning about the extreme impacts from climate change and, more importantly, the way it will affect future generations, a group of us banded together to form a club on campus. Our soul purpose was to work towards real change to create a better future. We need change NOW, because vulnerable communities are already facing the consequences of our continued use of fossil fuels. This problem is easily the most important of our time, and we need to stand together to put a stop to the destruction of the planet for corporate benefit. This is your fight too, to protect the planet and climate for future generations to come.

Almost all governments have agreed that a warming rise in 2 degrees celsius would create an unlivable planet. We have already raised the temperature of the planet .8 degrees, making it entirely unlike the thriving earth that once existed. The threat that climate change poses accelerated greatly by humans is huge and dire. The acceleration of climate change by human beings is largely tied up in corporate control of natural resources like gas, coal, and oil. These companies that extract endlessly at the expense of human life and the natural world have five times as much carbon reserve than is safe to burn. They will continue to burn these assets until institutions like colleges and universities raise their voices and cause big oil to reconsider how they do business. As a college, St. Michael's has the opportunity to pave the way for other Vermont schools to do the right thing. For a college supposedly entrenched in social justice principles, it only makes sense to stand with communities at the front lines of climate change by divesting our endowment from the corporations that are making this planet unlivable for us all and most directly impacting groups whose voices are often silenced. As alumni, SMC relies on our donations to grow the endowment. By signing this petition, you are pledging to hold back on donating until the school divests. We have enormous power as alumni to steer the school in a positive direction economically, morally, and environmentally.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.

To put the University of Leeds at the forefront of the global movement to reject our reliance on fossil fuels. To follow the successful example of the University of Glasgow, who have recently achieved a divestment policy. To achieve transparency, so that students (current and prospective) know where their money is going, and all members of the University know its position on environmental issues. From tar sands to Arctic drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for shale gas - the fossil fuel industry is scraping the bottom of the barrel and causing huge environmental and human devastation in the process. Withdrawing our institutions’ financial and moral backing for this climate-wrecking industry is crucial to tackling climate change. For more information: http://peopleandplanet.org/fossil-free http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/08/glasgow-becomes-first-university-in-europe-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels https://www.facebook.com/groups/pandpleeds/?fref=ts https://www.leeds.ac.uk/secretariat/documents/socially_responsible_investment.pdf

Lesley University prides itself on preparing its students to be “socially responsible... catalysts [for] shaping a more just, humane, and sustainable world.” We believe that by investing in fossil fuels, we are not honoring our mission. If we stray from our core beliefs, we then jeopardize the integrity of our institution. We are excited to work in solidarity with you and the Board of Trustees on realigning our investments with our values. 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 join a growing movement of schools around the country that are committed to preventing a more extreme climate by moving Lesley’s endowment beyond fossil fuels.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and wild fires which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the University of Western Australia 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. We believe such action on behalf of the University of Western Australia will be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio because it is financially (and morally) unjustified to invest in assets that will become stranded and guarantee dangerous climate change. In addition it is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn both the planet to climate disaster and current and future graduating classes to a future defined by climate chaos. 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 join a growing movement of schools around the country that are committed to preventing a more extreme climate by moving the University of Western Australia endowment beyond fossil fuels.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; in this last year alone our country experienced record-breaking heat, droughts, and hurricanes, which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. Hurricane Sandy alone caused $50 billion in damages. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years.

Climate change is accelerating. With increasing frequency and severity we are witnessing the impacts of a warming planet. Experts agree that global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify these tragic climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming; we cannot safely burn even half of global fossil-fuel reserves without dangerously warming the planet for several thousand years. As an institution that educates students on global environmental concerns, Memorial University has a particular responsibility to lead by example and be a pioneer in the movement for a sustainable future.

Climate change is accelerating, and we here on the Louisiana Gulf Coast are already feeling its impact. Louisiana coastal wetlands are eroding at the rate of one football field per hour as sea levels rise. Oil drilling in the gulf contributes to this land loss. The most recent National Climate Assessment report warns that Louisiana will see billions of dollars in increased disaster costs as early as 2030. This is the effect of a rise in global temperatures attributed to the burning of fossil fuels. According to the United Nations coalition of scientists, in order to prevent a global climatic catastrophe, no more than one-third of the earth’s carbon reserves owned by fossil fuel companies and governments can be extracted from the earth. Although aware of this fact, major fossil fuel companies continue to extract fossil fuels. These fossil fuel emissions disproportionately impact people of color, indigenous communities, and low-income neighborhoods. Through its investments in these companies, Loyola is supporting their efforts and injustice. Loyola students who pay tuition, as well as its donors are unwitting accomplices in perpetuating the social injustices that arise from climate change. Divesting is an ethical obligation for our community, and the future of our planet.