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Salt Lake City philanthropist Norman Kettner cleaned up his investments recently, ridding his portfolio of what he calls "dirty energy."

Instead of simply cashing out, the retired railroad attorney donated $100,000 from the sale of stock he held in fossil-fuel-based companies to Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

"They are concerned not only with clean air and water, but with the health aspects of that as well," said Kettner, 86, in a videotaped interview. "I was inspired to take this action by what the Rockefeller Brothers Fund did recently, and I urge others to emulate me in transferring some of their money out of dirty energy into clean, renewable energy."

Started on university campuses, the divestment movement encourages hedge fund managers, religious groups and other institutions to dump stock in oil companies and invest in wind and solar. More than 180 institutions have pledged to sell fossil-fuel assets, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an $860 million philanthropic organization managed by the heirs of Standard Oil billionaire John D. Rockefeller.

Kettner, a longtime supporter of the Lutheran Church, seems to be the first divestment advocate in Utah to direct his stock proceeds to an environmental group. Kettner is ailing and unavailable for an in-person interview.

His gift comes at a time when Utah Physicians, founded by anesthesiologist Brian Moench and other doctors in 2007, is emerging as an important voice in the debate over air quality and Utah's energy future. Until the recent hiring of Sierra Club veteran Tim Wagner as executive director, the group had operated without any paid staff.

Utah Physicians is among numerous advocacy groups that have coalesced in the past decade to tackle polluted air, including Utah Moms for Clean Air, Breathe Utah, Peaceful Uprising, Utah Valley Earth Forum, Utah Clean Energy and the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

HEAL Utah, the most established of the green groups with five paid staffers, has yet to receive a Rockefeller-style gift, according to executive director Christopher Thomas. But a benefactor once purchased shares in EnergySolutions and donated them to HEAL so the nonprofit's staff could attend shareholder meetings and comment on company initiatives. Thomas said he is pleased more groups are raising their voices on environmental health, each carving out a distinct niche on issues and tactics.

"It is amazing how air quality has risen in the public spotlight," Thomas said. "It's a big enough problem that a lot of us can work on it together."

Moench said the Kettner gift reflects growing public concern about Utah's embrace of coal and petroleum.

"With Utah's exploding population, planned oil refinery expansions, plans to build more oil pipelines through Utah watersheds and the use of billions of gallons of water in the mix of toxic fracking fluids — all are real and present dangers to a healthy environment for Utah families and families across the American West," Moench said. "Mr. Kettner's concerns, generosity and vision give us hope."

Kettner's legal career supported fossil fuel development, but now he believes continued reliance on such energy sources needs to be reversed.

"The world is awash in oil. There is more oil coming out of the ground than anybody knows what to do with. We don't need more oil and certainly not at the expense of potable water," Kettner said. "Without a major change in direction we will basically kill the planet. I would like to tell the world, 'Wake up, smell the roses. Don't smell the oil.'"