June 2008
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FacebookWeb Review: www.350.org
A campaign is underway to impress a number into the hearts and minds of every person on the planet. Its’ goal is to raise awareness, garner support, and exert pressure on the people negotiating our collective future.
The number is 350.
As in 350 parts per million or PPM. It’s the number leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Why is it important that each of us know it? Because we need a common, measurable target as a way to motivate people everywhere. Climate change affects all of us and so we must work together to reduce the carbon in our atmosphere to safe levels.
We are currently at 387 PPM. That number is too high and rising steadily. But that doesn’t mean we’re too late.
As 350.org explains it, we’re like the patient that learns he has high cholesterol. He doesn’t die immediately - but until he changes his lifestyle and gets back down to the safe zone, he’s at more risk for heart attack or stroke.
The planet is in its danger zone because we’ve poured too much carbon into the atmosphere, and we’re starting to see signs of real trouble like melting ice caps and rapidly spreading drought. We need to scramble back to safety. Quickly.
350.org provides a tool for us to educate ourselves on climate change and share our efforts with others who are also concerned. The website is in eight languages and uses a wordless 90 second video as a universal rallying cry that bypasses language and cultural differences. The creators of the video – Free Range Studios – are the same folks that previously brought us enlightened and entertaining bits of animation like The Meatrix.
In addition to the video, 350.org shows us what people and communities around the world are doing to spread the 350 message.
In Cameroon an advocate of sustainable agriculture has planted “CO2 350 PPM” in flowers on a public embankment. He intends to plant 350 trees next.
In California a group of people supported Senator Barbara Boxer in her efforts to pass the US Senate’s first climate bill by using their bodies to form the number 350 for media and passersby.
In Italy they are showing a series of one-act plays about global warming called “Climate of Concern”. Bill McKibben, the creator of www.350.org, delights in the joining of the arts community to the fight to stop global warming.
The site and the 350 organization intend to influence governments as well as the United Nations, which is working on a treaty for a conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The current plans for the treaty are too weak to get us back to the safety of 350 PPM, but with enough demand for the use of this number as a target we may be able to get to where we need to be.
TAKE ACTION:
- Watch the 350 video and invite your friends to do the same. The 350 site is less than a month old and needs your help to make it known.
- Visit www.350.org. View the examples of actions that are being taken around the globe for inspiration about what you can do at home in Calgary. Submit your own action report.
- Talk to family, friends and co-workers about your ideas to raise awareness for the number 350 PPM. Involving people in the solution is the fastest way to generate momentum. Post a comment here to see how many other REAPsters are interested in joining you.
- Track your daily actions to fight global warming on REAP’s Action Tracker and see just how much carbon you are keeping out of our atmosphere. Forward this article to a friend to get everyone thinking 350 and tracking their daily actions.
