Jan 16 discussion to look at fossil fuel divestment

Jill MacIntyre Witt, a local Climate Reality project leader, will discuss climate change and fossil fuel divestment as part of the Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, in Communications Facility 125 on the Western Washington University campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

In her talk titled “Climate Reality and Divestment,” Witt will describe the connections between extreme weather events and climate change, with a focus on divestment from fossil fuels as part of the solution. The questions of why divest, what to divest, and how to divest will be explored. Audience members will also gain a thorough understanding of the 350.org divestment campaign that has been growing across the country, as well as how to take action in their own lives.

Witt, who holds a degree in Environmental Biology, has made a lifelong journey of empowering others to protect our planet. Through her experiences in health education in the Peace Corps, environmental education/wilderness instruction, and community organizing on environmental issues, she has come to believe that each of us can make a positive difference through our actions.

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate. The Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact Jen VanderWeyden at Western’s Huxley College of the Environment at 360-650-2554.