To: City of Boise
Divest Boise
Boise residents take a stand and
Join forward-thinking cities nationwide in
Divesting from the fossil fuel industry and fossil fuel extraction
April 11, 2017
Boise, Idaho -- People will join together at Boise City Hall to submit a petition requesting the City to Divest.
"Banking locally just makes sense, I feel like many Boise City residents would love to have a say and I look forward to helping give them that option." Naomi Johnson, LMSW
The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) brought to the forefront the morally ambiguous practice of funding construction in dirty energy. The “Dakota Access” Pipeline (DAPL), a $3.8 Billion dollar pipeline from the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota to Patoaka, Illinois, was completed earlier this year with resistance from Indigenous nations and their allies on the shores of the Missouri River in North Dakota. DAPL crossed Lakota Ceded-Treaty Territory on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation transiting underneath the Missouri River; the longest river on the continent and also one of the largest fresh water rivers in the world. Construction of the DAPL has endangered a source of fresh water not only for the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation but 27 tribes downriver. The water for about 18 million people is at risk with this project alone.* DAPL has also impacted many historical sites that are sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux and other indigenous nations.
In response to the stand of the Water Protectors and the call that came forth to “do what you can in your own area”; a grassroots group in Boise was created, of socially responsible Idahoans, to put pressure on and encourage the local municipality to divest from corporations, banks, and other financial institutions that promote unethical and socially irresponsible lending to those who are a part of the fossil fuel extraction industry. They felt that by putting direct, nonviolent pressure on the lending corporations and those that do business with them the call for social and environmental responsibility would be answered.
Idahoans for Social Responsibility with their friends and allies 350 SW Idaho, Wildlands Defense, Idaho Stands with Standing Rock have asked the public to join together in submitting a petition to the City of Boise. The petition requests divestment of relationships with known lenders that finance unethical and socially irresponsible construction of pipelines and in turn other dirty energy corporations. The petition will be submitted to the City Clerk asking the City of Boise to join other forward-thinking cities in divesting from unethical and socially irresponsible financial institutions, while recommending reinvestment in local institutions, keeping our money local and dedicating it for local clean, renewable infrastructure investment and development. Currently the City of Boise’s finances are deposited to corporate headquarters in Minnesota and North Carolina, to name a few.
https://www.facebook.com/nexttodivestidaho/
https://www.facebook.com/IdahoStandswithStandingRock/
NoDAPLSolidarity.org
www.sacredstonecamp.org
*http://www.nodaplarchive.com/eiscomments.html
**https://www.cityofboise.org/
Why is this important?
The City of Boise touts quite proudly it’s emphasis on ‘sustainable policies, practices and partnerships’ promoting ‘lasting environments, innovative enterprises, and vibrant communities’.
Sustainable Boise: Energy, Air Quality, Water Resources, Material Management, Create Lasting Environments - Recognize, protect, and improve the health and sustainability of all our activities, our connection to one another, and our natural resources.**
Cultivate Innovative Enterprises: Business Retention and Recruitment, Promote Entrepreneurship, Enhance Work Force / Human Capital, Work with individuals, nonprofits, and businesses to encourage collaboration that will promote economic prosperity and improve lives.**
Build Vibrant Communities: Arts and Culture, Housing, Transportation Choices, Safe, Healthy, Caring Communities, Children and Youth, Parks and Open Space, Engage citizens and organizations to spark new connections, inspire exploration, and strengthen Boise’s rich community-minded spirit.**
Boise Environmental Education: Community Forestry, Boise WaterShed, Boise Urban Garden School, Foothills Learning Center, claiming, Explore our wild community, develop a new sense of place, and discover the lessons to be learned from nature.**
There is nothing lasting about the environment of oil-extraction, including its developers and corporations. Our investment, through financial institutions who lend to these businesses, runs contrary to the very qualities Boise City claims to uphold, as noted above, and we as residents have come to expect.
Video of the presentation to the City of Boise http://bit.ly/2owEkiT
How it will be delivered
The City of Attorney has 20 days to review the proposed petition. We will contact you once the petition is approved to obtain your physical signature and submit the petition to have it on the upcoming ballot.
