At this moment, an international team of over 20 grassroots activists is hastily trying to ignite the global climate movement During the summer of 2010, international news headlines have been riddled with natural disaster reports, from the calamitous flood crisis in Pakistan to ferocious fires in Russia and torrential downpour in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Their mission, says the San Francisco-based campaign 350.org, “is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.”
350 Parts in Carbon Dioxide
The organization takes their name from the 350 parts per million CO2, a number that scientists detect is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide. The world has now surpassed this limit, meaning that 350 is the target number to return to if we want to avoid severely detrimental effects of climate change.
In 2007, global warming author Bill McKibben and a circle of friends organized Step It Up, a state-to-state campaign that pleaded with Congress to cut carbon by 80% by 2050. Among the politicians to sign on to the promise were John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
By 2008, McKibben had launched 350.org, which has since been expanding its team to include galvanizers from across the globe. In 2009, 350.org coordinated over 5000 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries to raise awareness of climate change and encourage drastic carbon cuts. CNN called the rallies “the most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.”
Climate Solutions that Science and Justice Demand
Their tactics lay in creating a grassroots movement that is spread across the globe but linked through the web. This way, 350.org can actually put their hands in the dirt of global gardens and start planting seeds. On October 10, 2010 (10/10/10), 350.org will organize a Global Work Party, which encourages worldwide communities to erect solar panels, cut-out bike paths and dig communal gardens for plants and vegetables.
As America continues to be the leading nation of CO2 production and per capita emissions, 350.org is determined to tackle the US policy that has kicked climate change activism to the curbside. And their theory of change is quite simple: “if an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to the latest climate science, we can start the global transformation we so desperately need.”
How to Help
Interested people can visit www.350.org to find more information on participating global communities, guidelines for a 10-step Organizing Plan, and to receive the latest news on climate change campaigns and petitions. Current campiagns include: A Crude Awakening: A Response to the BP Oil Disaster, aiming to take a stand against offshore drilling, and Put Solar On It!, which asks people to install solar panels in their home and community, and extend the invitation to world leaders by signing a simple petition.
People can also register a local event or find a local event .
Melanie Sevcenko - Melanie Sevcenko was born in Toronto, Canada and has worked for a number of international film festivals in programming, as well as with ...
