We live in a world that is unwilling to accept responsibility for climate change. Our country and, more importantly, our University is willing to talk about climate change, but both have failed to actually address the impending threat.

The United States’ actions do not match its promises. President Barack Obama has been willing to make bold statements such as, “I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing,” but hasn’t taken bold action. If Obama is talking up the cause of climate change, we should expect to see more proactive action from the executive branch.

A quick search of the Environmental Protection Agency’s website will enforce this. Although the EPA talks about developing new carbon emission standards, there is not a single concrete proposal under the Obama administration that actually addresses rising carbon emissions, one of the main causes of climate change.

We are being let down by our government, but this is hardly a surprise. Time and time again, people have looked upon the wall of resistance and taken action into their own hands.

University students are equally proactive. UIUC Beyond Coal, a registered student organization pressuring the University to divest endowment funds from coal, has led an aggressive campaign to prevent the University from investing millions of dollars into the coal industry.

The University currently has $5.1 million indirectly invested in coal producing businesses, and for UIUC Beyond Coal, that is $5.1 million too much.

However, they too have hit the wall, and that wall is the University of Illinois.

The University has made efforts to appear environmentally friendly. For example, the solar farm being built this spring will be one of the largest on-site university solar arrays in the country. Recent construction on campus, such as the Electrical and Computer Engineering building, has also embraced environmentally conscious design.

Despite these efforts, the University has failed to completely embrace environmentally-friendly values. As mentioned, the University still invests $5.1 million of its endowment into coal companies. Through that investment, the University endorses coal companies and perpetuates unclean emissions. Divesting, on the other hand, would send a clear message to the world that the University takes environmental issues seriously and is willing to put its money where its mouth is.

Further, in last year’s referendum, 1,730 out of 2,020 student voters supported divestment from coal companies, but still today this vote in support of divesting has not been heeded.

Despite this support from students, no steps have been taken toward divestment.

Cary Shepherd, director of communications for Beyond Coal and student in LAS, went to the Board of Trustees six months ago to remind the University of the students’ passed mandate against coal investments. Shepherd said his pleas were met with disinterest.

Obvious apathy has manifested itself in University policy.

“Chancellor Wise is a scientist. She understands the threat climate change poses, but she has failed to take action,” Shepherd said. “We have campus support, and that’s not translating to administrative action.”

Beyond Coal has changed its strategy and has seen some success — 48 faculty members have signed their open letter demanding University divestment. Beyond Coal hopes to gain traction with the administration through professors’ support, and Chancellor Wise should take note.

This is our school, and more importantly, this is our future. The University administration was hired to represent our school, and has failed to represent our decision to divest.

Thomas is a freshman in LAS.

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