On the first ever Global Divestment Day, the campaigns we know well were joined by thousands of new divestment supporters around the world who stepped out into the streets and plazas of their communities for the first time. These community divestment campaigns call on local governments, pension funds, or religious institutions to make their investments fossil free.
If you flip through the photos at Global Divestment Day: North America, you might discover the divestment movement in places you never expected.
With friends old and new, they got together for discussions and presentations, but most simply got outside, where they started to change the conversation in their community about climate, energy, and investments.
The message was the same everywhere: Fossil fuels are history and renewables are the future. For many who participated in Global Divestment Day, it is easy to see how going fossil free will protect the people and places we love.
In Waco, Texas, a group called together by Waco Friends of Peace showed us what it means to stand up to Big Oil in Texas by taking their message to one of the busiest corners in town.
Residents of Waco, Texas call on investors to “Divest From Oil” on February 14, 2015.
Alaska Climate Action Network is on board for a renewable future, and gathered at the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. According to Danielle Redmond, an event organizer, she and her neighbors can already see the impacts of climate change on rising seas, loss of snow on the ski slopes, and receding glaciers. She says it’s time for Alaskans to have “some very serious, if uncomfortable, conversations about the future of Alaska and our relationship with the fossil fuel industries.”
In Juneau, AK, at the US Forest Service’s Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center.
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but when local and state governments are financing dangerously rising temperatures, everyone should know about it. For this occasion, local activists joined together to start Fossil Free Vegas.
Supporters of a Fossil Free Vegas share their message with neighbors on Global Divestment Day.
What may have been the coldest Global Divestment Day event was in Potsdam, NY,where it was – 12 degrees F when people arrived. With New York State recently saying no to fracking, New Yorkers are also calling for the State Comptroller to stop investing billions of dollars in companies responsible for extreme energy extraction everywhere.
Potsdam, NY, where the cold temperatures couldn’t stop these supporters of a fossil free future.
In Leesburg, Virginia, the weather report was less predictable. Just moments before this photo shoot, our friends were hanging out in below-freezing temperatures discussing their brand new campaign to divest the Town of Leesburg and the entire Virginia Retirement System. Transported unexpectedly by time machine to the year 2050, they found themselves experiencing a very changed climate.
Members of 350 Loudoun County on Global Divestment Day in Leesburg, VA.
No matter where you go, you will find that people are ready to move beyond fossil fuels.
So if you have been organizing to divest your community for awhile, know that these and many others have your back. In fact, there were over 150 events for Global Divestment Day in North America alone. We will be hearing more from these leaders in the future because our network of community campaigns is growing. Wondering how to get started on your own campaign? Check out this handy resource.