This fall, as college and university students return to campus, we’ll hear more about divestiture—a demand by student activists that universities cease to invest in companies that produce energy from sources that add climate-warming carbon dioxide to our atmosphere.
Is divestiture a good idea? The coal, oil, and gas companies it targets merely feed our habit—the dependence of modern society on an energy-rich mixture of fossil fuels to maintain economic activity. Without consumer demand, oil sands development in Canada would cease.
If we really want to have an impact on carbon dioxide emissions, we should direct our efforts towards companies that generate power from alternative sources, like solar, wind, and tidal power.
Our prime focus should be electric utilities, which generate about 45% of our power from coal. The decision to switch a coal-fired power plant to natural gas cuts CO2 emissions by half. And adopting wind power reduces CO2 emissions by about 98%. What goes on in the utility board room will make a real difference.
We should also invest in companies that design and manufacture products that use less fossil energy, such as companies that manufacture solar panels, windmills, and an efficient grid to connect them. And, we’d recommend avoiding investments in certain automobile companies that have dragged their feet on transitions away from gasoline to newer and more efficient forms of locomotion.
Divestiture is symbolic, but what is really needed is a proactive allocation of invested funds towards activities that will make a difference.
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Photo, taken on July 20, 2012, courtesy of Black Rock Solar via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.