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Posts tagged ‘Bill McKibben’

Jan 20

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Bill McKibben “Does the Math” in Mead Chapel

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McKibben demonstrates the repercussions of burning fossil fuels using beer.

Bill McKibben brought his gentle charisma to Mead Chapel tonight on the final stop of his “Do the Math” tour to divest from fossil fuel companies. For McKibben, a Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Middlebury College and resident of Ripton, Vt., this concluding talk was especially meaningful.  On multiple occasions he called on Middlebury to take the lead on the divestment campaign.

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Dec 3

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‘Divest for Our Future’: Another Voice Calling For Action

This is a contribution sent in by student group Divest for our Future.  If you wish to publish an article or Op-Ed piece on MiddBlog, please contact us at tips@midd-blog.com. Click “Read More” to see their full letter to President Liebowitz. 

In response to questions about student groups taking action on divestment issues at Middlebury, we would like to introduce Divest for Our Future, a group composed of students of all years committed to making fossil fuel divestment a reality at Middlebury.  

Divest for Our Future has focused this semester, and plans to continue focusing on educating ourselves and the student body and coordinating with schools whose endowments are also managed by Investure, Middlebury’s endowment manager.  We have been working with the national movement led by Middlebury’s own Bill McKibben and 350.org.

We are also committed to dialogue with the administration and submitted the following proposal to President Liebowitz this fall. 

We hope to engage all of the Middlebury community on this issue and continue the conversations begun this semester.  Check out the proposal and come to an open meeting Tuesday, December 4th at 7pm in the Gifford Lecture Hall to learn more about the movement and discuss our path moving forward!

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Dec 18

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McKibben Named One of TIME’s “People Who Mattered”

Middlebury College Schumann Distinguished Scholar Bill McKibben has been named as one of TIME Magazine’s “People Who Mattered” of 2011. McKibben has been lauded for his work protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would funnel crude oil from Alberta, Canada to multiple locations in the States, including Oklahoma and Illinois.


McKibben remains involved with his climate crisis organization, 350.org and has made recent appearances at Occupy Wall Street protests. Earlier this fall, buses shuttled students down to the nation’s capital to join the Keystone Pipeline protests. The highly-contested nature of the pipeline has led President Obama to delay his decision on its construction until 2013.

Nov 15

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McKibben on Colbert Report

Last night, (Nov. 14th,) Bill McKibben (Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury) appeared on the Colbert Report to talk about the Keystone XL Pipeline that we posted on not too long ago.  Its a short clip, but always exciting to see Midd people on the show (remember Poli Sci Prof Alison Stanger on The Daily Show?)

 

 

Nov 10

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Keystone XL Pipeline Delayed

From the action last weekend.

After a series of demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience, Bill McKibben, 350.org (started by 7 Middkids,) and 1000s of others have contributed to the official delaying the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline for at least another year and half, a move that many say will effectively kill the project.  The White House announced today that they would send the proposal back to the State Department for re-review, as “this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process.” A full bus-load of Midd kids headed down to D.C. last weekend to participate in the action against the pipeline in which over 10,000 individuals surrounded the White House 3 times over.  Middlebury students also attended the two-week long action this summer in which over 1,000 individuals were arrested in front of the White House in protest of the pipeline.

From McKibben:

The American people spoke loudly about climate change and the president responded. There have been few even partial victories about global warming in recent years so that makes this an important day.

And I simply can’t say thank you enough. I know, because of my own weariness, how hard so many of you have worked. It was good work, done in the right spirit, and it has secured an unlikely victory. You are the cause of that victory; you upended enormous odds.

I’m going to bed tired tonight. But I’ll get up in the morning ready for the next battle, more confident because I know you’re part of this fight too.

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