Approved by the WWALS Board by email 17 October 2013.
From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
18 October 2013
To:
Mr. John Crawford
Vice President for Advancement
and Trustee
jdcrawford@valdosta.edu
VSU Foundation
and Board of Trustees
1500 N. Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA 31698
WWALS Watershed Coalition, a
nonprofit group working for conservation of the
Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River
Systems, supports
the fossil fuel divestment request of
Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.).
In addition to the points made
by S.A.V.E., WWALS would like to add that oil and
gas leaks
run downhill in our watersheds,
fracking for natural gas
pollutes groundwater, and
fossil fuel energy plants use
massive amounts of water that could go for agriculture or
drinking. Divestment from fossil fuels by VSU by itself
won’t stop leaks or end fracking or shut down coal
plants. But it will send a clear signal that our regional
state university is leading the shift from fossil fuels to
renewable solar and wind power with efficiency and
conservation.
Fracking may seem distant, but
right now there is
a proposed natural gas pipeline from
Alabama to Florida that threatens Georgia’s
environment and Georgians’ property rights.
We
don’t want an exploding pipeline
like just happened in Oklahoma.
Perhaps like
Harvard President Drew Faust
some don’t want to get academic VSU
involved in politics. But all
our investments are political,
and
there’s nothing neutral about funding climate
wreckage. As S.A.V.E. put it in their letter:
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WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. would like to draw your attention to some issues related to rezoning VA-2014-07 Brooks Turner LLC at the corner of Baytree and Azalea Drive. As you are aware, flooding in Sugar Creek has been a problem for many years. The proposed development of lots between Baytree and Pinetree will result in the removal of approximately seventy (70) mature pine trees, increase paving percentage (the lots are mostly grass with clearly less than 50% covered by rooftops and hard paved surfaces), and most dramatically replace Continue reading