The following is a Letter to the Editor for the Opinions section.
I would like to begin with a short science lesson. Do you know how energy is made? Energy, actually, is not made. According to the law of conservation of energy in physics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed — it can only change form. This is an important distinction that must be made in order to highlight the severity of using fossil fuels. While energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it has the ability to create or destroy the things around it.
Fossil fuels are one of the most unsustainable forms of energy known to humankind today. It takes millions of years for a large source of fossil fuels to form — oil, gas, petroleum; however, it only takes mere minutes to burn through it. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable because they must be used faster than they can be created. However, it was the energy source that led to the boom of the industrial revolution, allowed for advancements of technology at a faster than precedent rate and allowed humans to discover new forms of living and learning. Despite the achievements reached using fossil fuels, the same source of energy that has led to this level of development has reached its peak — and reached it a long time ago.
The University of Denver is currently a proponent and seemingly adamant supporter of fossil fuel companies. They have shown this through their actions; despite protests, DU insists on investing their money into various fossil fuel companies. This is millions of dollars in contribution to the destruction of humanity.
The impact that fossil fuels have on our lives is declining as we speak, from a positive impact to a negative impact. The more time that passes, the more that fossil fuels are hurting our chances at human survival and thriving.
I am not saying that fossil fuels are inherently bad. They are not. Without them, we would not have the technological advancements we have today, nor the economic structure we have created. However, a majority fossil-fueled economy will crumble, because fossil fuels are a non-renewable source. This is what makes fossil fuels so destructive. As the global population is booming, growing and needing more resources, more fossil fuels are being used. What happens when they run out? Where will we be as a human race?
I believe it is of the utmost importance that the University of Denver secede from investing in fossil fuel companies that contribute to the decimation of our world. As a university, DU should be able to recognize the facts behind the information that shows fossil fuels are not a good thing for long-term energy use.
By continuing to support fossil fuel companies, it is like DU is showing that they are not a reputable institution of education— if they are unable to use facts to make logical decisions, how can they educate students?
This decision also hurts DU’s reputation. Instead, it makes more sense that DU would support more modern, clean and sustainable companies for energy. There are many companies that have been created surrounding the information that fossil fuels are destroying our planet. These companies have shown forward thinking and innovation. The University of Denver would be privy to follow their example by reallocating investments from fossil fuel companies, to clean resource companies. This would show forward-thinking by the Board of Trustees.
Not only do I ask the Board of Trustees to reconsider their decision, but I have also asked students at DU to speak their truth and to encourage the board to make a wiser decision. Students at the University of Denver have been using many forms of protest and communication to send this message to their board: writing letters, staging protests, boycotting classes. Currently, students are bearing the brunt of the battle of the path to divestment from fossil fuels. If the University of Denver cares about the wishes of their students, they will divest from fossil fuels.
There is nothing that the board has to lose from this switch to investing in sustainable forms of energy. Other U.S. universities like Harvard, Yale and Michigan have also made the decision to divest. Why shouldn’t DU? If this is not logical, please disregard this letter. But I do believe that what I have said is factual and based on science and logic.
If you are a board member reading this letter, I truly hope you are considering the facts, and the impacts of your decision. This is much bigger than the dollars that are going into your pockets, or into the fossil fuel company’s pocket. This is much greater than you or I or any single person. This is about doing what is morally right. If you have read this letter and you can sleep soundly at night, consider your soul missing. If you cannot agree that DU should divest, then you have allowed money and greed to control you.
If you are reading this letter and you are a student, or anyone other than a board member, please consider this a call to action. If you do not speak up, your silence will be tantamount to being on the side of the antagonist. We need your help. When we grow up, graduate college and have careers of our own, this world will be ours to live in, live from, and to protect. When we have children, this is the home we are giving them. We must use our youth, our knowledge, our voices, to encourage change for the good of humanity. Write letters to the board. Protest. Boycott products. Contact CEOs. Incite rebellions. Get on the news. The time is now to make a change. We must work relentlessly now to make a change, now, now now. We must do this now, before it is too late.
