So, that’s what victory looks like
Divest UMass supporters are close to victory. [“Scene Here: #DivestTheRest,” April 21-27, 2016.] What kind of victory? Well, as you explained in last week’s issue, a $5 million divestment from “dirty-energy companies”. Meanwhile, Berkshire Gas has a pipeline running to the UMass central heating plant, which operates annually on $94 million according to its line item in the UMass FY16 budget. Surely, not all of that money is used to buy natural gas, but much of it is, tens of millions of dollars annually. UMass runs 24/7 on fossil fuel purchased from a “dirty-energy” company. The protesters have a cozy campus during the cold months of the year. They benefit from the use of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the divestment campaign will not stop the use of even one molecule of fossil fuel.
Yeah, that’s the plan. Divest a trifle, a measly $5 million on a one-time basis, and buy tens of millions of dollars worth of fossil fuels on an annual basis. Let’s call that a victory.
David Fitzgerald
Granby
Commented on
StageStruck: Collision Course — Race relations, as seen from outer space.
Sure wish I’d seen this extraordinary sounding kaleidoscope of the story of racism in the valley and on the planet. Thanks for this synopsis that brings the play as close as I will sadly get this time around.
— Tom Weiner
Atom splitting madness
Here’s a messed up thing: Nuclear power. When as a youth I first heard (read) about it, I couldn’t believe that they would take the chance that the resulting chain reaction could destroy all life on Earth. Subsequent reading told me that they didn’t know, only guessed, that gravitational force would gradually slow, and eventually stop the devastation. Well, guess what? The chain reaction hasn’t stopped. The power of an Atom, split in half, would be more accurately termed schizophrenia. Let’s stop this madness! E pluribus unum! We still have time to keep it together.
Michael D. Joyce
Wendell
