Shake Harvard free of fossil fuel investments – Opinion | Bill McKibben

Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff/file

Harvard students staged a sit-in in February at Massachusetts Hall to protest the school’s decision not to divest from fossil fuels.

By Bill McKibben April 07, 2015

To understand why prominent Harvard alumni are joining students to demand their alma mater divest its fossil fuel stock, consider how the university has behaved.

Here was the scene last fall. In New York, 400,000 climate protesters marched down 6th Avenue, the largest demonstration about any issue in the United States in years. Also, the World Council of Churches, representing 580 million Christians, announced plans to divest its fossil fuel holdings. Then members of the Rockefeller family — the first family of fossil fuel — took the same step.

And in Cambridge? After huge majorities of Harvard students asked for divestment, and after a letter signed by much of the faculty backed the request, the Harvard Corporation septupled its direct investments in fossil fuels. Most of Harvard’s investments are secret, but in the relatively small portion of its portfolio that it discloses, it increased by a factor of seven its investment during the third quarter of 2014. Talk about sending a message.

…(read more).

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Faculty Invitation: April 17 Forum on Divestment

Monday, April 6th, 2015

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to the “Open Forum on Fossil Fuel Divestment,” to be held on Friday, April 17, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm, in Harvard Hall 104.

Composed of faculty from numerous schools and departments, our group believes that Harvard’s ongoing investment in fossil fuels is inconsistent with the university’s ethical and intellectual values and represents a missed opportunity for leadership in the face of the climate crisis. We have therefore called upon the university to end its investments in the fossil fuel industry, and have sought to promote dialogue and debate on this subject.

The Open Forum will begin with remarks by our four panelists:

• James Anderson. Philip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry
• Robert Massie, ’89. CEO of Ceres, 1996 to 2003. President of New Economy Coalition, 2012-2014
• Chloe Maxmin. Founder, Harvard Students for Divestment
• Bill McKibben ’82. Author, The End of Nature and Earth. Founder, 350.org

This will be followed by what we hope will be a vigorous and wide-ranging exchange involving the audience. The event will be moderated by Jane J. Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values. Please attend if you can — to listen, ask questions, or share your thoughts. And please encourage colleagues to do the same.

We very much hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

James Anderson, FAS
Janet Beizer, FAS
Joyce Chaplin, FAS
Eric Chivian, HMS
Harvey Cox, HDS
Norman Daniels, HSPH
James Engell, FAS
Bruce Hay, HLS
Alice Jardine, FAS
Duncan Kennedy, HLS
Niall Kirkwood, GSD
Nancy Krieger, HSPH
Jane J. Mansbridge, HKS
Stephen Marglin, FAS
Naomi Oreskes, FAS
James Recht, HMS
Nancy Rosenblum, FAS
Mark Schiefsky, FAS
John D. Spengler, HSPH
Richard Thomas, FAS
Nicholas Watson, FAS
Tim Weiskel, HES
Daniel Wikler, HSPH
Shoshana Zuboff, HBS

It’s time to rewild the child – George Monbiot

The Guardian

Published on Apr 8, 2015

George Monbiot argues that the more time children spend in the classroom, the worse they do at school because our narrow education system only rewards a particular skill set. He says that when you take failing pupils to the countryside, they often thrive – yet funding for outdoor education is being cut.

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TheTruth About Your Food with FOOD, INC. Filmmaker Robert Kenner

TheLipTV

Published on Jul 17, 2012

Food-Matters
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Analyzing complexity – the inadequacy of meta-analysis

RichardLevins

Uploaded on Jun 11, 2010

Richard Levins is John Rock Professor of Population Sciences at Harvard University.

See:

• http://www.richardlevins.com
  and
• https://www.youtube.com/user/RichardLevins/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=0

Food-Matters
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Lester Brown – Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress

WGBHForum

Published on Aug 7, 2012

Lester Brown discusses his book, “Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble,” at Cambridge Forum. He outlines a rescue plan for a world facing oil and water shortages and disruptions caused by global climate change. http://forum-network.org

Food-Matters
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Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization

UChicagoCIS

Published on Sep 18, 2013

November 17, 2009

A talk by author and Earth Policy Institute founder Lester Brown.

As fossil fuel prices rise, oil insecurity deepens, and concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy are replacing oil, coal, and natural gas, at a pace and on a scale we could not have imagined even a year ago. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, we have begun investing in energy sources that can last forever. Plan B 4.0 explores both the nature of this transition to a new energy economy and how it will affect our daily lives.

Lester R. Brown is founder and President of Earth Policy Institute. He is considered a pioneer of the concept of environmentally sustainable development. His books have been published in more than forty languages. He has been honored with numerous prizes, including a MacArthur Fellowship, the United Nations Environment Prize, and Japan’s Blue Planet Prize.

Cosponsored by the Program on the Global Environment. From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series.

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Lester Brown – World on the Edge: Preventing Environmental and Economic Collapse

WGBHForum

Published on Aug 15, 2012

Environmentalist Lester Brown discusses his book “World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse,” at Cambridge Forum. He explores both challenges and potential policy solutions. More lectures at http://forum-network.org

This talk took place on February 9, 2011.

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The Environmental Crisis and Capitalism

Enaa

Published on Mar 12, 2013

The environmental damage being done to the earth has reached crisis proportions. Many causes have been proposed: too many people; industrial society; human ignorance or inability to control themselves; human nature (greed); and a “perpetual growth philosophy.” Discussion will be focused on how the inner logic and normal functioning of our economic system is contributing to this crisis.

Fred Magdoff is professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont. He is author of numerous articles and books on agriculture, world food problems, and the environment. He is coauthor with John Bellamy Foster of What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism (2011).

Lawrence Susskind, Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Director, MIT Science Impact Collaborative; Co-Director, Water Diplomacy Workshop

Part 2

Enaa

Published on Mar 12, 2013

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Richard Levins on Dialectics

Enaa

Published on Jul 29, 2012

Dialectics is a way of dealing with complexity and change in the natural and social sciences.

Richard Levins is an ex-tropical farmer turned ecologist. He has engaged in activist and theoretical struggles for Puerto Rican independence, against wars and imperialism, for ecological agriculture in Cuba and against reductionism in science.

Part 2

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