Chloe Maxmin

Hippo contributor and Divest Harvard member Chloe Maxmin was a guest on the Bill Maher show in October. See her fabulous backstage interview here! 

The background: On November 19, 2014, seven Harvard students organized under the name “Harvard Climate Justice Coalition,” sued the Harvard Corporation, without lawyers, to compel it to withdraw its investments from fossil fuel companies. The group alleged that the Corporation’s funding of global warming harms its students and future generations, and that Harvard’s leaders have a duty to divest the university’s endowment from the reckless activities of the oil, gas, and coal industries.

Divest Harvard members contend that climate change has arrived and “unless and until institutions like Harvard act to address the root causes of global warming, we will remain addicted to a system of energy production and economic injustice that guarantees catastrophe…our lawsuit simply asks Harvard to live up to its centuries-old promise to promote ‘the advancement of youth.'”

The case, Harvard Climate Justice Coalition v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, is currently in the Suffolk County Superior Court of Massachusetts. You can read the summary of their claims here. In addition to Chloe’s Bill Maher show appearance, the New York Times has covered the story and the law students published a brilliant piece in the Boston Globe. Also, be sure to check out Chloe’s piece on Hippo, Can Divestment Combat Climate Change?