Our local government has a responsibility to divest from an industry that’s destroying our future, and reinvest in solutions to climate change. We can not count on the federal government, even as extreme weather events like the record rain fall in the Duluth area last Spring overwhelm local budgets. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. The bottom line is this: divestment is the only moral choice for governments that care about their citizens. Solving the climate crisis is the only practical choice for governments that care about their solvency. It's time to divest from fossil fuels now!

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a leader in climate justice. This year, the final divestment report will be given at the General Assembly online this June 24-28. This was the resolution: Delegates at the 2014 General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) meeting in Providence, RI, today passed a resolution calling for divestment from fossil fuel companies in the UUA Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF). The resolution requires the UUA to: Cease purchasing securities of CT200 companies as UUCEF investments immediately. Continue to divest its UUCEF holdings of directly held securities of CT200 companies, reaching full divestment of these companies within five years. Work with its current and prospective pooled-asset managers for the purpose of creating more fossil fuel-free investment opportunities, with the objective of full divestment of UUCEF indirect holdings in CT200 companies within five years. Invest an appropriate share of UUCEF holdings in securities that will support a swift transition to a clean energy economy, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency-related securities. Report, via the UUA President and the Treasurer, to each General Assembly from 2015 through 2019 on our Association’s progress on the above resolutions.

Like Apartheid and nuclear energy, fossil fuel companies are a bad investment! They're destroying our home (planet Earth) by increasing the mass over-consumption of fossil fuels and thereby perpetuating climate change. Their business plan requires burning as much fossil fuel as possible and they're currently making record profits to no end. Since profiting off the destruction of the planet is immoral and inhumane, these companies need to stop their work, and divesting from fossil fuels is a great way to send the message!

Fossil fuels threaten the future of our planet and pollute the air, causing hundreds of thousands of cases of childhood asthma and killing tens of thousands of Americans each year. The industry spends billions to prevent adoption of policies for clean energy and clean air. Hospitals and health systems should draw the line and refuse to profit from or lend their financial support for these destructive practices. Divestment by healing institutions helps develop the social consensus that this must stop and weaken the political power of Big Oil.

We need to eliminate our support for the use of fossil fuels in order to reduce the coming climate catastrophe due to global warming. For example, Palo Alto is close to sea level and a rise in sea levels will lead to massive flooding. We have made a good start by going carbon neutral in our electricity supply. Let's take the next step by defunding fossil fuels.

The nations of the world (including ours) have pledged to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) - because any warming beyond 2 degrees will recklessly endanger human civilization. Regrettably, they are struggling to develop a meaningful plan by which to make good on this pledge. Meanwhile, the world's fossil fuel companies already have assets in hand (i.e., coal, oil and gas currently in the ground, awaiting extraction) that -- if extracted and burned -- will make it impossible to limit the warming to 2 degrees. In fact, their assets in hand are 5 TIMES MORE than can be safely used if we are to limit the warming to 2 degrees. The Board of Investment Trustees for the Montgomery County Employee Retirement Plans recently stated that, as of December 31, 2014, over $65 million in the pension funds it oversees are invested in 65 of the top 200 fossil fuel companies. The current fossil fuel portfolio of the MCERS includes over $10 million invested in such oil and gas companies as BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, and millions more in companies engaged in mountain-top mining of coal such as ArcellorMittal and Arch Coal. Montgomery County can do better. Studies show that divestment will not adversely affect the pension fund yields. Moreover, because people are likely to wake up at some point and put the brakes on fossil fuel use, most of today's vast known fossil fuel reserves will remain in the ground, causing a significant drop in company valuation. Thus, divestment not only makes moral sense, but financial sense as well. Our aim is to have Montgomery County sell off its multi-million dollar fossil fuel investments. Why? Because divestment works. For example, in the 1980s divestment was a major factor forcing South Africa to abandon apartheid, a previously immovable object. Similarly, the fossil fuel industry has overwhelming influence in Congress, preventing our representatives from passing crucial laws to limit climate change. The industry wears the guise of respectability, despite the fact that their business plan seeks profit from the destruction of our environment. Through our divestment campaign, we are announcing to the world that we do not wish to be associated with the fossil fuel industry. We can strip it of that illusion of respectability. Our goal is to make that industry a pariah. Our Members of Congress will become sensitized and will find it more embarrassing to be associated with fossil fuel companies. With that, the influence of these companies will decline, and our chances for essential legislation will strengthen. At the same time, fossil fuel companies may finally decide to develop renewable energy sources. Even as extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy, floods, droughts and fires threaten to overwhelm local budgets, federal action to solve this crisis is all but stalled. We have the solutions, but we won’t see any political progress on the issue until we can weaken the power of the fossil fuel industry. The bottom line is this: Divestment is the only moral choice for institutions that care about the planet and its residents. Solving the climate crisis is the only practical choice for governments that care about their solvency. Let's do this in Montgomery County! Please: (1) sign the petition; (2) encourage other adults in your household to sign; (3) broadly share the petition with other MC residents via Facebook, list serves, etc.; and, most importantly, (4) target at least five of your like-minded friends via a personal contact to sign the petition and ask them to do the same with their friends.

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 $50bn 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. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Hamilton College 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 Hamilton College will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Allegheny College to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest by the year 2020 from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. This should occur at the same time as our goal of becoming climate neutral by 2020 and will serve to reinforce and solidify the goals that the college has already made towards leadership in sustainability. We are proud of our institution's dedication to solar, wind, geothermal heating, and efficiency retrofits as well as a dedicated interest in systems of sustainable agriculture, but feel strongly that as long as we continue to support the fossil fuel industry in such a direct manner these actions lose their weight and the college will lose credibility as a progressive and forward-thinking institution that actively demonstrates the ethics and values that it teaches. We believe such action on behalf of Allegheny College will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by the inherent injustices that come with an industry that has been scientifically proven to create issues of health, societal injustice, and loss of biodiversity on a global scale.

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 $50bn 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. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on the Claremont Colleges 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 Claremont Colleges will not only be a sound decision for our institutions' financial portfolios, but also for the wellbeing of their current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

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 $50bn 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. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on University of Redlands 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 University of Redlands will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

Climate change is accelerating. We are witnessing the increasing impacts of a warming planet more and more consistently; 2013 was the fourth hottest year in recorded history. There was record-breaking heat, droughts, floods and hurricanes across the globe which impacted hundreds of thousands of people and cost countries hundreds of billions of dollars. In 2013 extreme weather cost Canada $3.2 billion from insurance claims. Trent University is contributing to this destruction by investing in the fossil fuel industry. This is immoral and unacceptable; especially for a school that prides itself on sustainability, and for a school that has made world breaking research through its Environmental Studies/Science program. Trent University should show leadership by investing in progressive companies that will lead us to a clean energy future. Scientists 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 need to keep at least 80% of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground if we are to stand any chance of avoiding irreversible, catastrophic climate change. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on Trent University to immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and to divest from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds within five years. We believe such action on behalf of Trent University will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio and public reputation, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.

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 $50bn 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. As public pressure to confront climate change builds, we call on University of Wisconsin - River Falls 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 University of Wisconsin - River Falls will not only be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, but also for the wellbeing of its current and future graduating classes, who deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.