POTSDAM -- A demonstration in front of the Potsdam Post Office Friday will highlight the argument that moving away from extraction and use of fossil fuels is a necessary part of avoiding catastrophic climate change.

The North Country 350 Alliance will join hundreds of communities all over the world by holding a rally to demand institutions and individuals do what is necessary for climate action by divesting from fossil fuels. The rally will take place at noon Friday in front of the post office on Elm Street in Potsdam.

The North Country 350 Alliance argues that a divestment campaign highlights a conflict that most politicians are reluctant to address. If the world is to avoid catastrophic global warming, most known fossil fuel resources need to stay in the ground, they said in the announcement of the rally.

Yet, they say, “fossil fuel companies not only plan to extract and sell their existing reserves but are exploring ever more sensitive territory to find new ones, thus ruining any chance of securing a safe planet. Through divestment, we are directly challenging the social license of these corporations who have become rogue entities seeking profits at the expense of people and planet.”

They say they want public money moved out of fossil fuels, and they call on others to do the same. “Together we will directly challenge the social license of the fossil fuel industry and break the climate deadlock before it’s too late. Together, we will begin to make fossil fuels history.”

NC350 is made up of community members from across the North Country working to promote policies and practices in support of a climate safe for human habitation.