Cornell on Fire Post 9/26: Three transmissions
Dear Cornell on Fire,
We write to transmit three tidings of mixed import (bad news/good news), and to invite you to our next meeting:
1. Cornell is raking in millions from fossil fuels / but Fossil Free Cornell is here to do something about it. Congratulations to the team of steadfast undergraduates who produced this powerful report covered by The Guardian! The authors wish to convey this message to our readers:
“The professional and monetary ties with the fossil fuel industry that Cornell has kept a steadfast grip on has been inaccessible for far too long. Said connections threaten Cornell's institutional integrity, and grant fossil fuel corporations legitimacy, upholding their harmful, extractive practices. Cornell has an obligation to students, staff, and community members to align its actions with the sustainable ideals it preaches, and to be transparent in doing so. It's time to dissociate."
2. Cornell might let fossil fuel money lead them around by the nose / but there is compelling new evidence that we can change that: Never Doubt that A Small Group of the Committed Can Change the World. Members of the UC San Diego Green New Deal, a grassroots climate justice organization, were critical to reorienting the climate policy of a very large institution and the 10-campus University of California system, as well as winning important climate actions at UC San Diego itself. That small group happens to be among our allies and our greatest inspirations! Cornell on Fire is honored to have contributed in small part to their research.
3. Cornell is advocating for fake plastic grass on the basis of fake science / but climate justice advocates including Cornell on Fire are challenging this with a legal petition. Cornell’s proposed Meinig Fieldhouse, named for a fossil fuel tycoon, would expand artificial turf fields at Cornell. Artificial turf is a product sector strategically seeking to expand fossil fuel markets, where “the financial incentives of manufacturers to promote adoption of their products make this a prime target for manufactured doubt and scientific obfuscation" (Murphy & Warner, 2022). Cornell has hired pro-industry lobbyists to submit skewed “research summaries” and misleading testimony before the Ithaca Planning Boards to push their proposal through. We’re calling foul.
Watch the proceedings today as the City of Ithaca Planning Board decides whether to honor their obligations to conduct an informed environmental determination based on integrous process. Join in person at City Hall, via Zoom, or over YouTube, starting at 6pm.
To help build upon the “good news” side of these equations, join our bi-weekly meetings at our home Zoom link (next meeting: Wednesday, October 2, 1:00-2:30pm) or drop by Office Hours on campus every Friday from 11-12:30pm. This week, look for us on the Ag Quad, where we'll once again experiment with a greener location.
To good news,
Cornell on Fire
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Plurivocality: CoF Posts are written by a revolving team of writers. Our movement is diverse, so are our thoughts, and so will be our posts. If you receive a CoF Post that you think is wrong headed, can we still walk together? (We, like you, sometimes write things we later laugh at!)
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