University of California to Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies

The University of California has voted to divest from fossil fuel companies. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, two top university investment officials said it was the long-term risk posed by fossil fuel investments, rather than concerns over the environment, that led them to pull some $150 million in fossil fuel assets from the university endowment. Nonetheless, climate activists are hailing the move. 350.org founder Bill McKibben tweeted that the presidents of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, the University of Michigan and others should follow suit, adding, “If the biggest system in the country has decided it must sell its oil stock, the pressure on these guys will go way up.”