To the Editor:
In 2006, a group of Brown students came together to form emPOWER, a campaign to push the administration to adopt strong carbon emissions reductions and limit our climate impact. At the time, the dangers of global warming and the need for strong leadership on climate were well understood. We were proud of our school when the Simmons administration unveiled in early 2008 one of the most ambitious climate commitments among its peer institutions. We, the former leaders of emPOWER, urge the Paxson administration to renew that commitment by divesting from the coal industry.
Coal is the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, and coal is destructive to human health and the environment at every stage of its life cycle. These devastating impacts are evident in the ecological, social and economic wastelands that surround Appalachian mountaintop coal-removal sites, in the thousands of asthma-related hospitalizations linked to coal plant emissions and in the coastal cities and towns threatened by rising seas. Coal is dirty and antiquated, and it should be left in the ground.
For Brown to maintain investments in the coal industry is antithetical to the spirit of progress and leadership that we love about our alma mater. Now is the time for Brown to be a leader on climate once again. We therefore urge President Christina Paxson and the Brown Corporation to move to divest our endowment from coal immediately.
Paige Kirstein '12
Executive Director 2011-12
Ari Rubenstein '11
Executive Director 2010-11
Ryan Chan '10
Executive Director 2009-10
Julia Beamesderfer '09
Leadership Committee 2007-09
Tess Hart '09
Leadership Committee 2007-09
Kirsten Howard '09
Leadership Committee 2007-09
Aden Van Noppen '09
Founding Leadership Committee 2006-09
Zindzi McCormick '09
Founding Leadership Committee 2006-09
Nathan Wyeth '08
Founding Leadership Committee 2006-08
