Monday, February 9th, 2015
Stephan: This is very positive news. The evolution of non-carbon energy into not one but several alternatives that are both non-polluting and cheaper coupled with the divestiture movement is proceeding change faster than anyone foresaw. Both trends represent the success that is possible by taking the most compassionate and life-affirming option of those available. This is also a story illustrating how a small group of individuals without official position, power, or personal wealth can create life-affirming social change.
Norway holds particular interest in all this for me because it is an entire country pursuing a wellness-oriented social order. It has made Norweigan culture one of the most impressive in the world, and it is reasonable to ask: why aren't other nations following suit?
“Norway made all its money on oil, but now it’s dumping its fossil fuel stocks. It’s the Rockefeller of countries,” says Bill McKibben.
Credit: Fossil Free
Back in 2012, Bill McKibben with fellow activists including Naomi Klein, Winona LaDuke, Josh Fox and Reverend Lennox Yearwood began a nationwide tour to promote fossil fuel divestment—that is, selling off your shares in fossil fuel companies–in an effort to combat climate change.
With action in Congress impossible, McKibben saw college campuses—known for being laboratories of democracy—as ground zero in the campaign for divestment. With his ‘Do the Math’ campaign in sold-out concert halls across America, McKibben and others were able to launch Fossil Free, an international network of divestment campaigns. It’s a project of the larger organization 350.org. Flash forward three years and the movement has made impressive strides.
Fossil Free lists divestment commitments from […]