Pittsburgh Rally Part of Global Divestment Days

February 20, 2015
by Kathy Zhao

Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14, marked "Global Divestment Days," two days devoted to the international movement calling for governments, universities and financial and religious institutions to remove their investments from fossil fuels.

In Pittsburgh, college students and community members came together to rally for local universities and financial institutions to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The rally was held on Friday, in Schenley Plaza in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Even in the freezing temperatures, dozens showed up in support of the cause.

Nick Goodfellow, a Pitt student, is the leader of the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition and was one of the organizers of the rally.

"Divestment is the opposite of reinvestment," Goodfellow says. "The University of Pittsburgh has a massive endowment comprised of shares of different companies and some of them are fossil fuel companies. What we want the university to do is sell those holdings in coal, oil and natural gas."

Furthermore, Leah Friedman, a fellow Pitt student, says that divestment involves not just removing existing investments, but also re-investing in other sectors of the economy.

"The money that [the university puts] into these companies allows them to do things that are harmful to the environment, specifically in Pennsylvania where all of us live," says Friedman. "We’re asking them to put their money somewhere else, preferably somewhere that is environmentally friendly with companies that are going to handle their money responsibly instead of harming the planet."

Other local environmental groups, including Sustainable Earth (CMU), Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) Pittsburgh and Citizen's Climate Lobby as well as staff members from the Thomas Merton Center also came to give their support. The members of these organizations are calling for the entire city of Pittsburgh to divest from the fossil fuel industry.

Sustainable Earth (CMU) and the Thomas Merton Center co-organized the event with the Fossil Free Pitt Coalition, and Gabe McMorland is a staff organizer with the latter. He says that fossil fuel divestment isn't just an environmental issue, and it's also closely linked with inequity.

"These issues are in the newspaper every day, whether it’s climate change or toxic pollution or the way that the fossil fuel industry lobbies politicians on issues far beyond environmental protection," McMorland says. "The fossil fuel industry spends millions of dollars keeping the minimum wage down and weakening protections for unions."

McMorland says that people may not realize the power they hold in influencing companies to change their existing practices. He says that the campaign is really about a way for people to get involved and make sure that their voices are heard, especially in Pennsylvania.

Pa. is historically known for its energy industry, from coal and natural gas. McMorland says some people may be concerned about the impact that divestment would have on the local or state economy, and the people who work in the fossil fuel industry.

"Another important issue that’s involved with this is the jobs of the working people who depend on the fossil fuel industry for living wages and family-sustaining jobs right here in our region," says McMorland.

"What we need to ask is what kind of economy do we all deserve? And how can we support their transition to still have good jobs with living wages but ones that protect their families and the environment that they live in and that we all live in, and the future of the planet?"

Photo by Kathy Zhao: Pittsburgh community members gather to hear speakers encouraging fossil fuel divestment.