Getting Involved

 Over the past few weeks I have immersed myself in the world of anti-fracking and wider climate change activism. On the 16th of October, I attended the launch event for UCL Fossil Free (http://uclu.org/policy/up1231/fossil-free-ucl), a divestment campaign modelled on recent similar and successful movements in the United States. I also got involved at an anti-fracking demonstration on October the 23rd, organised by Frack Off London (http://frack-off.org.uk/local-group/frack-off-london/). Thankfully it was very peaceful and no kettling was involved!

 Events like these are commonplace, with much interest generated through social media and through the  extensive student network. They aim to bring the fracking process under greater scientific  scrutiny and express  the concern of  wider members of the public who have been bombarded with negative, and often contradictory, media coverage.

 UCL Fossil Free is a student body aimed at shifting over £10,000,000 of UCL investments in the fossil fuel industry to holdings that better represent UCL's ethical commitments. Within 6 months the campaign aims to withdraw all of UCL's investments from oil, gas and coal companies. These include Shell, Exxon and Rio Tinto. With some prominent speakers, such Dr. Simon Lewis from UCL's Geography department, the wheels were set in motion to begin a high-profile and high-impact campaign.

Pekka Piirainen, an event organisers for UCL Fossil Free, had this to say:

 'I question UCL's position as "a leader in tackling global challenges" whilst it is actively funding an industry that directly contributes to climate change. Take note of the hypocrisy of direct investments in projects that directly undermine the university's own research on anthropogenic climate change.

At current UCL continues to foster investments in companies whose ethical practices are circumspect at best. Our aim is to get UCL to adhere to its own self-professed values and climate change research. We are part of a wider global campaign aiming to put political pressure on the fossil fuel industry to stop ravaging the planet. An avalanche starts from a snowflake, and equally a social movement arises from the work of individuals.'

 UCL Fossil Free's petition, calling for UCL to review its investment policy regarding fossil fuels, can be found online at:
 (http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/ucl-divest-from-fossil-fuels)

I also had a chance to get more directly involved with an anti-fracking campaign, going along to the October 23rd demonstration outside the Shale Gas Environmental Summit. The summit, labelled a 'greenwash' was, unsurprisingly, not highly regarded by the Occupy London movement (http://occupylondon.org.uk/greenwash-shale-gas-environmental-summit/). A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the Regent's Park Holiday Inn to protest against the controversial fracking industry. The following link shows some pictures of the event: (http://www.demotix.com/photo/3037442/london-frack-protest-outside-climate-deniers-fracking-conference). Organised by Frack Off! London, the demonstration aimed to highlight the environmental concerns associated with shale gas extraction. The main points raised related to the high carbon-footprint of fracking and the possibility of large scale environmental disasters, such as methane leaks and groundwater contamination. Particular attention was paid to the necessity to preserve the ecological viability of the British countryside.