HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/14/2020 Item 3, Zazanis In countless ways, the City of San Luis Obispo has proven its deep commitment to sustainability,
peace, social justice, and community health. Our city government has already shown immense
leadership on addressing climate change by divesting from fossil fuels. As a city committed to
sustainability and peace, however, we must also recognize tackling climate change requires
cutting our financial ties to war. By doing so we can continue to lead and demonstrate the power
of aligning our investment practices with our values of sustainability and social justice.
We applaud SLO City Council for its demonstrated leadership, but we also think it's important to
note that fossil fuel companies are not the only major driver of climate change. In fact, the
Pentagon is the world's largest polluter, emitting more greenhouse gases than 140 other countries
combined.� Despite this devastating reality, year after year over half of our federal discretionary
budget is funneled into Pentagon spending. In 2017 alone, the U.S. spent over $700 billion on the
Pentagon, and over $300 billion of that went to weapons manufacturers and war profiteers.
Investing in the U.S. war machine is not only contributing to climate change, doing so is also
depriving our social programs of desperately needed funds—funds we should be using to support
a green future. Our public dollars do not need to subsidize the corporations fueling war and
climate change; we have the choice to redirect our money to build upon our city's great strides in
social justice. San Luis Obispo has the opportunity to be a leader in peace and sustainability by
divesting our city funds from companies that profit from the production and export of weapons.
By cutting our city's ties to the war machine, we also affirm our commitment to investing in
life-affirming social programs that we really need.
If we move our investments away from weapons companies which are not only responsible for
death and destruction but also environmental degradation, we can reinvest our money into
sustainability, food, housing, education, community health, and other basic needs. We can invest
locally to combat gender, race, sexuality, and disability based discrimination, domestic violence,
sexual assault, and other public health issues our community faces. We can create jobs by
transitioning to clean energy and rebuilding our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Our city's
funding does not need to rely on investments in companies whose profits depend on killing,
destruction, and environmental degradation.
' Benjamin Neimark, Oliver Belcher, and Patrick Bigger, "U.S. Military Produces More
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Than Up To 140 Countries,"
https://www.newsweek.com/us-military-greenhouse-gases-140-countries-1445674
As community organizations and constituents committed to building an equitable and sustainable
city, we support Mayor Heidi Harmon and the City Council in divesting the City of San Luis
Obispo from weapons manufacturers. We can be leaders in climate justice and set a national
example by rej ecting the influence of the war economy and investing our money in socially
responsible, green, and life-affirming alternatives. We can grow a local peace economy right
here in San Luis Obispo.
Sincerely,
Please sign the letter through this form k��;��� ����u�ra�,,;;,���.��k������,���;I°����2�r�