I am energized about SJSF’s current campaign. And, walking around campus in the unseasonably warm weather having conversations about the campaign with strangers & friends, I meet a lot of people of diverse perspectives who support it as well. Right now the government spends billions of dollars of our tax money a year to the fossil fuel industry, an industry which we know works against our own wellbeing by harming our health (through pollution) and our futures (through climate change).
Talk about wasteful spending! The fossil fuel industry needs no extra money to keep it running. These dollars are coming out of our pockets and going directly toward strengthening an industry that makes us sick, lies to us, and compromises our future. And billions of dollars more are spent each year subsidizing the fossil industry than is spent subsidizing alternative and renewable sources.
The 2013 federal budget is up for review currently, and we are asking our senators and representatives to vote for a federal budget with subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. And we are asking YOU to voice your concern to your own federal senators and reps. Call today and let us know you’ve done so at https://docs.google.com/a/brandeis.edu/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEtiZ2lpWlpiLU1CamVIaG14Q25QR1E6MQ#gid=0.
On Brandeis campus, we are getting out there and talking to the student body. College campuses have a unique advantage in federal influence in that we have a cross-section of the country. Students at Brandeis and at other schools around MA come from all 50 states and by making calls, they help us establish contact on this issue with congresspeople from all areas of the country.
There’s a lot of work to be done! Congress should be creating its 2013 budget plan by mid April, and so now is the time. We’ve learned that 350.org has just last week launched a similar to strike fossil fuel subsidies from the budget. SJSF is tackling the issue using its unique strengths, mobilizing our peers around a federal budget free of fossil fuel subsidies.
Check out the rest of our site for more details on the campaign! Find out how your campus can get involved by sending us an email @ info@justandstable.org.