Tag Archives: boeve

Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons 150 miles from Standing Rock.

Nearly 684 institutions and 60,000 people representing $5 trillion globally have committed to divestment from fossil fuels in the last 15 months, according to a report out today from Arabella Advisors, a B-corporation that focuses on “effective philanthropy.”

Trump’s election could, if anything, have an unintended effect on environmental activists’ divestment campaign. What began largely as a grassroots effort on college campuses has grown into a global movement that’s reached South Africa, Japan, and Australia in the year since the Paris climate conference.

The difference today is that Arabella finds divestment is gaining ground for more than just moral reasons: “Now, diverse legal scholars, businesses, and investors are warning that fiduciaries who fail to consider climate change risks in their investment analyses and decisions may be at risk of breaching their legal duty as fiduciaries.”

Trump’s recent selection of a climate-denying cabinet further demonstrates most environmental progress in the next few years will be locally driven.

Lindsay Meiman of the activist group 350.org told Grist that divestment has provided “a really powerful on-ramp” to climate activism. “In the face of intensifying climate impacts, and regressive and anti-climate governments like the Trump administration, it’s more critical than ever that our institutions — especially at the local level — step up to break free from fossil fuel companies,” added 350’s May Boeve.

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Pipeline spills 176,000 gallons 150 miles from Standing Rock.

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Lawyers told House Science Chair Lamar Smith his subpoenas are trash.

Smith will spend Wednesday morning leading a hearing that “may as well be sponsored by ExxonMobil,” according to 350’s executive director May Boeve.

Smith hopes to affirm his power to subpoena the Union of Concerned Scientists, environmental groups, and the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general, who have criticized Exxon for allegedly misleading the public on climate science. He claims investigations into Exxon are “a political agenda at the expense of scientists’ right to free speech.”

Legal scholars happen to disagree with Smith’s interpretation of the constitution.

“The Subpoenas, and the threat of future sanctions, themselves threaten the First Amendment—directly inhibiting the rights of their recipients to speak,” 14 lawyers and legal organizations wrote in a letter published Monday. “These Subpoenas violate the separation of powers, exceed the committee’s delegated authority, abridge the First Amendment, and undermine fundamental principles of Federalism.”

Ouch.

In July, Smith issued subpoenas to green organizations and the AGs of Massachusetts, and New York because of their investigations into Exxon. A total of 15 AGs are considering action against the oil company.

As for Wednesday’s hearing, it will probably look similar to all other House Science hearings that focus on so-called important issues.

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Lawyers told House Science Chair Lamar Smith his subpoenas are trash.

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