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To: Chancellor Dr. Anne Ponder

University of North Carolina at Asheville: Go Fossil Free!

Because it is unconscionable to pay for our education with investments that will condemn the planet to climate disaster, we call on University of North Carolina at Asheville 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?

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 hope that the University of North Carolina at Asheville will immediately freeze any new investment in fossil-fuel companies, and divest within five years from direct ownership and from any commingled funds that include fossil-fuel public equities and corporate bonds. Active Students for a Healthy Environment is the university's longest running student organization, our members are committed to both environmentalism and academic excellence. It is our intent to educate the campus community on issues regarding the existing university endowment as well as the existing potential to divest from the fossil fuel industry. As the leading green campus in the UNC school system, we feel it is not only logical but necessary for us to continue to lead the way into a more sustainable future for us all. We believe such action on behalf of UNC Asheville will be a sound decision for our institution’s financial portfolio, and 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.

University of North Carolina at Asheville

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Updates

2014-06-20 14:42:58 -0400

100 signatures reached

2013-11-30 17:25:39 -0500

50 signatures reached

2013-11-26 14:58:52 -0500

25 signatures reached