Posts by Jen Ann Simmons
Wynne Furth: Climate Activist & Former City Attorney Calls for Fossil Fuel Divestment
Retired city attorney and long-time activist, Wynne Furth is also a direct beneficiary of CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which invests approximately $30 billion of its $400 billion, in oil, gas, and coal producers. Wynne: “I’m a CalPERS retiree, and my husband was at the University of California where they have divested from…
Read moreLynne Nittler: Youth Mentor & Former English Teacher Wants Teacher Retirement Fund to Divest
Retired secondary English teacher and life-long environmentalist committed to a low-carbon lifestyle, Lynne Nittler advocates for a society freed from its dependence on burning fossil fuels. Lynne: Why are we in this extreme trouble now worldwide? What’s behind the climate change that we’re facing? It traces back to just one thing, it is not a…
Read morePaul Trudeau: Climate Activist & Education Advocate Finds Purpose in Climate Action
Paul: “So we care about each other, we care about the world, there is a chance to turn this around, and now is the time to do it, I think everybody wants to have good challenges and a meaningful life and we won the raffle on that one, we get to be involved in one…
Read moreLeonard Sklar: Geology Professor, CalPERS Beneficiary, & Divestment Activist
Professor of Geology Leonard Sklar, advocates for his pension fund, CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, to divest from fossil fuels because on climate change, finance and geology are connected. Leonard: “I have a great textbook that we’re using but it doesn’t talk about the linkage between resource extraction and climate change and how…
Read moreTo Mitigate Wildfires, Divest from Fossil Fuels
Sun-cloaked orange skies paint a worrying picture of a present climate, changed, and a worsening climate-changed future, if humans continue to burn fossil fuels at the present rate – the United States, representing 4% of the world’s human population, was responsible for 15% of the world’s carbon emissions in 2018. The same year (2018), California set a record…
Read moreEnvironmental Justice, AB345, and CalGEM
Communities Say NO to Oil Drilling, YES to Community Health Governor Newsom recently issued executive orders and statements about his administration’s intention to fight climate change, focus on the impacts of oil extraction in the transition away from fossil fuels, and protect the health and safety of our communities. Despite this, a true commitment from…
Read morePaula Buel: Retired Teacher Urges Teachers to Mobilize for CalSTRS Divestment
Career California school teacher Paula Buel recently spoke with a friend in the northwest U.S. forced to make sudden, heart-wrenching decisions about her horses during a wildfire evacuation, one example of how climate disruptions cause novel and traumatizing last-second decisions. Paula: “Look around you…. these climate disasters are happening all around us and we have…
Read morePark Guthrie: Grade School Teacher, CalSTRS Member, Wildfire Evacuee
At one school community in northern California, students and educators have adapted to five climate-related emergencies in four years (four forest fires and a flood), all causing mandatory evacuations and countless traumas. COVID-19 has only complicated the equation with distanced learning. Park Guthrie, a long-time California educator of 11 and 12-year-olds, says his Zoom class…
Read moreJoint Puente-FFCA Fundraiser
This month, we are highlighting the frontline work of Puente de la Costa Sur, an organization serving coastal communities affected by the wildfires. From now until September 30, all donations to Fossil Free CA will be shared 50/50 with Puente. About Puente Puente de la Costa Sur (Puente) is an integral and active member of…
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