UNL to Divest in Big Oil

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of seeing Bill McKibben, a well-known environmental author and activist, speak at an event hosted by Bold Nebraska. "Do the Math" was a ten-day tour by 350.org that urged a grassroots movement to raise awareness of the global issue of climate change. Their main campaign was called Go Fossil Free, which takes aim at the fossil fuel industry by asking universities to divest in big oil.

di·vest  (d-vst, d-)
tr.v. di·vest·ed, di·vest·ing, di·vests

1. To free of; rid

2. To sell off or otherwise dispose of (a subsidiary company or an investment).

Divesting is simply the opposite of investing. Instead of putting money into stocks, bonds, and investment funds, you take your money out of companies such as Exxon and BP to put pressure on their unethical and environmentally dangerous practices.

Divestment campaigns have been successful in numerous areas such as wars in Darfur and against the Tobacco Industry. However, the most successful campaign was the divestment campaign to end Apartheid in South Africa. Divestment was first advocated to end Apartheid in South Africa in the 1960's. By the mid-1980s, 155 campuses—including Columbia University, MSU, and Stanford University—had divested from companies doing business in South Africa. Twenty-six state governments, 22 counties, and 90 cities, including some of the nation’s biggest, took their money from multinationals that did business in the country. The South African divestment campaign was crucial in aiding the end of apartheid in South Africa and forming a new democracy and an age of racial equality.

The Fossil Fuel industry needs to be stopped. It feeds our addiction to oil while creating political, health, and environmental turmoil. 

Currently, there are 182 universities that have joined the Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign. The University of Nebraska will be joining the movement soon! If you would like to get involved please contact Sustain UNL at sustainunl@gmail.com