Students Push Universities to Stop Investing in Coal, Oil and Gas
2020-02-25
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1Students who are worried about climate change want universities to cut investments in energy companies that deal in fossil fuels.
2The effort is gaining attention at well-known schools like Georgetown University in Washington D.C.,
3Harvard University in Massachusetts and Yale University in Connecticut.
4The effort began nearly 10 years ago. Student activists increasingly have learned methods from each other on how to act to push for changes.
5They also have grown increasingly concerned as predictions of the effects of climate change become more troubling.
6Georgetown University's board of directors announced this month that it will end its investments in coal, oil and gas companies within 10 years.
7Some professors at Harvard have called for similar measures.
8In recent weeks, demonstrations were held at several schools, including Gonzaga University in Washington state, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Pittsburgh and Cornell University in New York state.
9Some schools have stopped investing in energy companies.
10However, critics question whether such actions slow the effects of climate change or hurt the profits of energy companies.
11Many schools defend their investments.
12They say they have a responsibility to grow the money they receive from donations.
13They also say it is easier to effect change as an investor, so they can help change company policies or find answers to climate problems through research.
14For student activists, however, it is about taking a moral and political position.
15Yale University, for example, has an endowment valued at $30.3 billion.
16An endowment is money that was donated to support a university and that is invested to grow and support future goals.
17Recently, some Yale professors agreed to discuss the university's moral obligations related to fossil fuels.
18The issue got attention when student protests interrupted the yearly Harvard and Yale football game.
19"Yale has to take it seriously. We forced them to take it seriously," said Ben Levin.
20He is a student leader with the Yale Endowment Justice Coalition.
21Yale said it has supported shareholder proposals that companies report on what they are doing to fight climate change.
22Yale has asked supervisors of its investments not to invest in companies that do not work to reduce gas emissions.
23But, student activists want a clean break.
24The actions are part of a larger movement to get insurance companies, large investors and governments to end fossil fuel investments.
25Environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben is a leader of the movement to stop investments in fossil fuels.
26He said students have played an important part because they keep pressure on university officials.
27McKibben is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont.
28The school announced last year that it would sell all its investments related to fossil fuel companies.
29The Independent Petroleum Association of America has answered with its own campaign.
30It argues that pulling back from fossil fuel-related investments will be very costly for universities and it will do little to affect climate change.
31I'm Susan Shand.
1Students who are worried about climate change want universities to cut investments in energy companies that deal in fossil fuels. 2The effort is gaining attention at well-known schools like Georgetown University in Washington D.C., Harvard University in Massachusetts and Yale University in Connecticut. 3The effort began nearly 10 years ago. Student activists increasingly have learned methods from each other on how to act to push for changes. They also have grown increasingly concerned as predictions of the effects of climate change become more troubling. 4Georgetown University's board of directors announced this month that it will end its investments in coal, oil and gas companies within 10 years. Some professors at Harvard have called for similar measures. 5In recent weeks, demonstrations were held at several schools, including Gonzaga University in Washington state, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Pittsburgh and Cornell University in New York state. 6Some schools have stopped investing in energy companies. However, critics question whether such actions slow the effects of climate change or hurt the profits of energy companies. 7Many schools defend their investments. They say they have a responsibility to grow the money they receive from donations. They also say it is easier to effect change as an investor, so they can help change company policies or find answers to climate problems through research. 8For student activists, however, it is about taking a moral and political position. 9Yale University, for example, has an endowment valued at $30.3 billion. An endowment is money that was donated to support a university and that is invested to grow and support future goals. 10Recently, some Yale professors agreed to discuss the university's moral obligations related to fossil fuels. The issue got attention when student protests interrupted the yearly Harvard and Yale football game. 11"Yale has to take it seriously. We forced them to take it seriously," said Ben Levin. He is a student leader with the Yale Endowment Justice Coalition. 12Yale said it has supported shareholder proposals that companies report on what they are doing to fight climate change. Yale has asked supervisors of its investments not to invest in companies that do not work to reduce gas emissions. But, student activists want a clean break. 13The actions are part of a larger movement to get insurance companies, large investors and governments to end fossil fuel investments. 14Environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben is a leader of the movement to stop investments in fossil fuels. He said students have played an important part because they keep pressure on university officials. McKibben is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont. The school announced last year that it would sell all its investments related to fossil fuel companies. 15The Independent Petroleum Association of America has answered with its own campaign. It argues that pulling back from fossil fuel-related investments will be very costly for universities and it will do little to affect climate change. 16I'm Susan Shand. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 18Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. 19____________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21fossil fuel - n. a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals 22board - n. a group of people who manage or direct a company or organization 23obligation - n. something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise 24endowment - n. a large amount of money that has been given to a school, hospital, etc., and that is used to pay for its creation and continuing support 25shareholder - n. someone who owns shares in a company or business