Posts by Robert Silvey
Coal divestment advances
JUNE 24: Today the California coal divestment bill, SB 185, cleared another hurdle. The Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security voted to send the bill to the Assembly Appropriations Committee by a vote of 5 to 1. With this success, much remains to be done. You can help by signing this petition and contacting your…
Read moreNext step for SB 185: contact your Assembly Member
Following passage by the California Senate, the coal divestment bill (SB 185) is now being considered by the California Assembly. The first hurdle is the Committee on Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security, which will vote next Wednesday morning, June 24, whether to send SB 185 to the floor of the Assembly. The bill would ban investments in thermal coal…
Read moreCalSTRS rally for teachers and students
On June 12, the Fossil Free California rally at CalSTRS headquarters drew 50 protesters, an extraordinary number for an 8:15 am gathering on a weekday in West Sacramento. Thanks to the organizational efforts of Jane Vosburg, FFCA CalSTRS coordinator, people came from all over Northern California. Among them were many active and retired teachers who wanted…
Read moreMake carbon polluters pay
The real cost of carbon pollution is paid by everyone. It should be paid by those who sell and burn the carbon. If a factory leaves a toxic residue of chemicals on its abandoned site, the factory owner is liable for cleanup. If someone dumps an old car in the river, he will be charged…
Read moreState Senate passes SB 185 to divest coal
Today the California State Senate made history, passing SB 185 by a large margin, 22–14. The bill calls for the nation’s two largest state pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), to divest from thermal coal. The bill now moves to the California State Assembly. Senate President pro Tempore…
Read moreRally for CalSTRS divestment
On Friday, June 12, the Investment Committee of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) meets in West Sacramento. Divestment activists will rally at CalSTRS headquarters to urge that the committee begin the process of divestment from fossil fuels. It’s about time. Over the years, CalSTRS has established an enviable record of concern for the environment. The…
Read moreWhy coal divestment is important
Our goal at Fossil Free California is to reduce investments in all fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—and to publicize their destructive effects. But some institutions, resistant to total divestment, are willing to consider divesting only from coal. Is that a position we can support? Emphatically yes! A giant step Divesting from coal is a giant step…
Read moreMore from the campaign launch
Fossil Free California is ramping up on many fronts. Our initial emphasis is on the state’s two big pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalPERS). That’s why we held this rally to launch the campaign at the CalPERS headquarters in Sacramento. Here are some additional…
Read moreWatch the campaign begin!
We launched Fossil Free California on Global Divestment Day, February 13, 2015, in Sacramento. Divestment activists from all over Northern California gathered at CalPERS headquarters to urge CalPERS and CalSTRS to stop investing in fossil fuels and to sell their Old Energy investments within five years. The campaign begins! You can read the three stirring speeches here:…
Read moreShould we campaign for reinvestment?
Divestment from fossil fuels sends a clear message: if we support coal, oil, and gas companies in any way, we are contributing to the destruction of the habitable environment. When our money — or the money of our institutions, like CalPERS or the University of California — is invested in those companies, our contribution to climate chaos…
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