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Bill McKibben and the folks at 350.org have decided to target the pernicious financial influence of the fossil fuel industry and its front groups. On the day following the election, they kicked off a 21-city “Do the Math” tourto “mount an unprecedented campaign to cut off the industry’s financial and political support by divesting our schools, churches and government from fossil fuels.”
Divestment is a fine strategy, but we all know that it won’t starve Big Oil, Coal, and Gas of needed capital. The goals of the divestment campaign are to make a statement and to get people to engage in the fight.
With those goals in mind, I want to set out another challenge to everyone who recognizes the need to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Moving our investments from a mutual fund that holds shares in ExxonMobil to some kind of socially responsible investment fund is important, but it’s just a baby step.
We also need to invest our capital (both financial and sweat) in community-owned, distributed, and small-scale renewable energy. Why? Because we must fundamentally remake th... Read more
