No, I don’t mean I am going to divest by selling all my shares of ExxonMobil stock.
If we really want to get fossil fuel companies to “leave it in the ground,” the only way we are going to do that is by stopping buying and burning the stuff, not by selling their stock to someone else who will just get a slightly higher return on our fossil fuel habit.
For the past few years my Earth Week observance has included giving up all direct use of fossil fuels — anything I have a choice about. So, for the next week, no gasoline or diesel powered transport (not even the bus), no natural gas appliances, no buying any fossil fuel generated electricity. Since I have a renewable energy contract for my electricity, there is no problem keeping the lights on, using the electric hot water kettle, and charging my electric car and motorcycle.
The first problem is to figure out when Earth Week starts. Earth Day is this Friday, the 22nd. But there doesn’t seem to be any official start or finish to Earth Week. Based on a google search for Earth Week 2016, the consensus of college campuses seems to be that Earth Week starts either today or tomorrow. Since it’s never too soon to go fossil free, I am today to be the first day of Earth Week 2016.
After declaring the start to earth Week, I had a discussion with my spouse about shutting off the natural gas and how it would be a good idea to take a hot shower right away with the water that was already in the water tank before it cooled down too much. My spouse, Robin, is wonderfully supportive. Actually, I think she managed to be traveling during all of my previous fossil free Earth Weeks.
So I got up, shut off the gas to the water heater, took a hot shower, made a waffle breakfast that couldn’t be beat and set off to enjoy a fine and fossil free April day. Project number one: slap a couple more solar panels on the side of the house . . .
Live! Sustainably! Now! 