"SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Student activists at more than 200 colleges are trying a new tactic in hopes of slowing the pace of climate change: They are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies."
"The Fossil Free campaign argues that if it's wrong to pour pollution into the air and contribute to climate change, it's also wrong to profit from it. The strategy, modeled after anti-apartheid campaigns of the 1980s, aims to limit the flow of capital to fossil fuel companies by making their stocks morally and financially unattractive. In theory, that could lead to a slowdown in how much fossil fuel is burned and indirectly speed investments in renewable energy.
The students say it's hard for colleges and universities to ignore the arguments when scientists are teaching about the threats of climate change, and when the core mission of such institutions is to prepare young people for the future.
'We know this is something that's going to really matter in our lifetimes,' said Sophie Harrison, an 18-year-old freshman at Stanford University. 'The world that we're going to be raising our kids in is going to be very different from the one we were born into.'"
Kevin Begos and Joann Loviglio report for the Associated Press May 22, 2013.
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