Dear Mayor Schneider and City Council Members,

The eyes of the world are on Santa Barbara as the consequences of the oil spill at Refugio become more dire by the hour.

This is our community’s responsibility to take a stand against the industry that brings us coastal destruction, poisoned water from fracking, exploding oil trains, and the exacerbation of climate change.

We call on you to stand with us in support of divestment from fossil fuels — an action that, while unlikely to bankrupt the industry financially, will help to bankrupt it morally and, eventually, politically.

We ask the Santa Barbara City Council to join many other cities, colleges and universities, philanthropies, and religious institutions in the divestment movement.

Please introduce and pass a resolution asking our state’s public pension funds, CalPERS, CalSTRS, and the UC Pension System, to divest. Our public employees must not be dependent on these companies for their pension security, when the actions of those same companies imperil the very lives of our children and grandchildren.

Thank you for all you have done for our environment and we hope you join us on this important issue moving forward.