An exciting update from Bob and Joan Holt about their divestment efforts in Cape Cod, showing us it’s never too late to start working for the climate.
Bob and Joan Holt
We are aging activists who live in Truro, MA on Cape Cod. Bob has been researching energy and climate issues for years. Joan shied away from getting actively engaged out of fear of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. But on Bob’s 95th birthday in December 2012, when he told the family that he intended to devote what remains of his life to work on the Climate Crisis, Joan finally screwed up her courage and read Bill McKibben’s “Terrifying New Math…” Together we entered “save the planet” mode.
As members of our Democratic Town Committee, we started there. It didn’t take long to activate other like-minded members. Some wrote letters, some did information gathering, and we were off and running. In July the Massachusetts Democratic Convention will be devoted to updating the State Party’s Platform. The Truro Democratic Town Committee will have at least nine people going to the convention as delegates and observers. We have proposed a new section on the Climate Crisis for the Platform including a call for divestment of the State’s pension fund and other State funds from holdings in fossil fuel companies. Updating and amending the Platform involves a long and complex process, including testimony from Platform hearings across the State. We sent our proposed plank to over 300 Massachusetts Town Democratic Committees and got the endorsements from several of our neighboring towns. The process is now in the hands of the Platform Drafting Committee and we are hoping our plank gets included. If it does and gets approved by the convention delegates, it will give Massachusetts Democrats and other climate activists a tool we can use to push for divestment and other measures.
Next we wrote a resolution on the Climate Crisis and, by petition, got it into the Warrant for our Annual Town Meeting. Our Board of Selectmen unanimously supported the resolution, which includes a call on the Governor and the State Treasurer to undertake divestment of state funds from fossil fuels companies. The identical resolution was placed on the Town Meeting Warrant of our neighboring town, Provincetown. The voters in both towns passed the resolution handily.
We are delighted to be part of a movement started by students several generations younger than us. With young people at the helm, the planet stands a chance!
Bob and Joan Holt
Truro, MA