350.org

What=20 is 350?

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On 24 October, people in 181 = countries came=20 together for the most widespread day of environmental action in = the=20 planet's history. At over 5200 events around = the=20 world, people gathered to call for action on the climate crisis. = Over=20 22,000 photos have been submitted so far! See them=20 all on Flickr =C2=BB

To make this global call to action count, = it must=20 be impossible to ignore. Sign=20 up for a local photo-delivery today = =C2=BB

I am ready for an ambitious, = fair, and=20 binding global climate deal. I call on world leaders to pass climate = policies=20 grounded in the latest science and strong enough to get us back to = 350.

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Thanks for making the pledge!

Thanks for adding your voice to the climate pledge--your name will be = added=20 to a global call to action from millions of people all over the = world.

We'll deliver this pledge to the United Nations and world leaders at = the=20 Copenhagen Climate Summit. Please get everyone you know to sign on in 10 = seconds=20 or less--just click here=20 to share the call to action on Facebook, and here to spread the word on=20 Twitter.

Submit Photos from an = Action =C2=BB=20 Check out our Media = Room =C2=BB

About=20

See = the FAQs=20 about 350 =C2=BB

Check=20 out the video from the International Day of Climate Action = =C2=BB=20

What does the number 350 mean?

350 is the most important number in the world=E2=80=94it's what = scientists say is the=20 safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Two years ago, after leading climatologists observed rapid ice melt = in the=20 Arctic and other frightening signs of climate change, they issued a = series of=20 studies showing that the planet faced both human and natural disaster if = atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remained above 350 parts per = million.

Everyone from Al Gore to the U.N.=E2=80=99s top climate scientist has = now embraced=20 this goal as necessary for stabilizing the planet and preventing = complete=20 disaster. Now the trick is getting our leaders to pay attention and = craft=20 policies that will put the world on track to get to 350.

Is 350 scientifically possible?

Right now, mostly because we=E2=80=99ve burned so much fossil fuel, = the atmospheric=20 concentration of co2 is 390 ppm=E2=80=94that=E2=80=99s way too high, and = it=E2=80=99s why ice is=20 melting, drought is spreading, forests are dying. To bring that number = down, the=20 first task is to stop putting more carbon into the atmosphere. That = means a very=20 fast transition to sun and wind and other renewable forms of power. If = we can=20 stop pouring more carbon into the atmosphere, then forests and oceans = will=20 slowly suck some of it out of the air and return us to safe levels.

Is 350 politically possible?

It=E2=80=99s very hard. It means switching off fossil fuel much more = quickly than=20 governments and corporations have been planning. Our best chance to = speed up=20 that process will come in December in Copenhagen, when the = world=E2=80=99s nations meet=20 to agree on a new climate treaty. Right now, they=E2=80=99re not = planning to do enough.=20 But we can change that--if we mobilize the world to swift and bold = climate=20 action.

What is the day of action?

On October 24, the International Day of Climate Action will cover = almost=20 every country on earth, the most widespread day of environmental action = in the=20 planet=E2=80=99s history.

There will be big rallies in big cities, and incredible creative = actions=20 across the globe: mountain climbers on our highest peaks with banners,=20 underwater demonstrations in island nations threatened by sea level = rise,=20 churches and mosques and synagogues and ashrams engaged in symbolic = action, star=20 athletes organizing mass bike rides--and hundreds upon hundreds of = community=20 events to raise awareness of the need for urgent action.

Every event will highlight the number 350--and people will gather at = some=20 point for a big group photo depicting that all important message. At = 350.org,=20 we'll assemble all the photos for a gigantic, global, visual = petition.

The thousands of events on October 24 will drive 350 and all that it=20 represents into the human imagination, and change the negotiating = environment as=20 we head towards the crucial UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen in = December of=20 2009. Copenhagen may well be the pivotal moment that determines whether = or not=20 we get the planet out of the climate crisis, and your actions on October = 24 will=20 help our leaders realize we need a real solution that pays attention to = the=20 science.

How will this make a difference?

October 24 has finally put the focus where it needs to be: on the = science and=20 the citizens, not the special interests and the backroom deals.

People have sent in thousands of images of citizens gathering at = important=20 places around the world=E2=80=94from the melting peaks of Mt. Everest to = the sinking=20 beaches of the Maldives=E2=80=94displaying the number 350 in a creative = way. 350.org=20 staff will display these photos on the big screens in Times Square and=20 projecting them at the UN headquarters. Those photos are appearing in = newspapers=20 large and small=E2=80=94the same newspapers that politicians all over = the world use as a=20 barometer of public opinion. We're also delivering copies of the = images=E2=80=94and the=20 stories that go with them=E2=80=94to national delegates, environment = ministers, and=20 heads of state the world over.

But more importantly, grassroots global action will be useful to put = pressure=20 on the huge UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen. Together we can remind our = leaders=20 that they need to take physical reality=E2=80=94and not political = expediency=E2=80=94into=20 account when they're making decisions about our collective future. 350 = is a=20 clear and specific goal (unlike vague demands to "stop global warming") = that=20 helps move the negotiations in the direction science and justice demand. = We'll=20 make sure your voice is heard, and this debate is re-framed in time to = make a=20 difference.

350 Updates

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Chinese and American Citizens: Ready for Action

By Jamie

=E2=80=A2 17 November, 2009 - 09:50 =

As President Obama is wraps up his trip to China today, he and = President Hu=20 should be looking at Chinese and American civil society for an example = of how=20 their countries can work together in tackling the climate crisis. On the = 350=20 International Day of Climate Action, over 300 events took place in = China=20 along with nearly 2,000 across the United States, making October 24 the = largest=20 day of climate action either country had ever seen.

It's clear that the US and Chinese public are ready for climate = action.=20 Now, it's time for our leaders to step it up. In case they needed some = extra=20 inspiration, here's a slideshow of October 24 photos from both = countries:

President Obama's trip was an incredible opportunity to foster a new=20 partnership between the US and China based on building a clean = energy=20 economy that can tackle the climate crisis. The past few days have seen = a few=20 small steps in that direction including announcements=20 about a joint clean energy research center, agreements on energy = efficiency, and=20 some good words (at least) about China and the US working = together in=20 Copenhagen to make progress on a "comprehensive agreement."

But as many of us know, the time for small steps is over. The Inte= rnational=20 Energy Agency -- which provides the data which many countries and = top=20 businesses use to shape their energy policy and investments -- estimates = that=20 every year we delay tackling climate change will cost the world = $500=20 billion. If we wanted small steps, Chinese and US citizens = would=20 have organized 10 or 20 rallies on October 24, not hundreds and = thousands.

That said, Obama's trip has helped laid a solid foundation for future = collaboration between the US and China. It looks like the leaders are = beginning=20 to finally catch up with their citizens!

Our=20 friends at Bird's Eye View

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 17 November, 2009 - 05:32 =

are running a great=20 campaign to get 350 on rooftops and other places best observed from=20 above--in fact, they hope to have the number in strategic places in = Copenhagen=20 so those arriving for the conference will see it even before their plane = lands.=20 Ryan, Laura Marie and others have done amazing work, and we'll keep = featuring it=20 here. Mostly, of course, such isntallations are in urban areas. But look = at this=20 image they found from Nord-Kivu in the Congo

3D""=20

Europe

A 360 Degree 350 Photo from Girona, Spain

By Jeremy

=E2=80=A2 17 November, 2009 - 04:11 =

It's a testament to how big the 24th really was that we keep on = discovering=20 new beautiful photos, videos, and stories of the actions that people = took on=20 that day.

This one I just discovered as our Spanish/French 24th Coordinator = kept=20 sending it to me saying, "You have to look at this!" The idea of a = 360=20 degree photo (one which captures the scene in a full circle) might = boggle the=20 mind a little bit, but it also makes for incredibly creative photography = and=20 events. I'll post the static photo here, but to get the real power = of it,=20 check out this webpage and play around - http://vistes360.com/350/.

Thanks to Quim, Teixidor, and everyone who made this = possible!

Last = night

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 16 November, 2009 - 20:00 =

on Boston Common, about 2 a.m., when the police arrived to arrest or = cite a=20 couple of hundred college students from across Massachusetts who were = sleeping=20 out to protest the coal-fired power that heats their dorms. They've = pledged not=20 to sleep inside till the Copenhagen conference starts, and it was a = great=20 privilege to be with them last night, even if the police were none too = happy.=20 These young people, in the Leadership Campaign are = an example=20 to us all.

It was a great day all around, that began with the annual conference = of the=20 Massachusetts Climate Action Network, one of the oldest and best = regional=20 groups in the United States. Then we marched by the hundreds from = Cambridge to=20 Boston, chanting "What do We Want? 350. When Do We Want It? Now!" =

I left in the morning for a talk in St. Louis, but the college = students=20 descended on the State House to lobby for their plan to shut down all = the dirty=20 power plants in the state by 2020. Good for them! 3D""=20

Mr. President: Time to Quit Fibbing and Spinning

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 16 November, 2009 - 12:56 =

Here's a piece that was just published at Mother Jones, a great = magazine=20 based in the United States.

Two caveats. First, early in the primary season, when I was asked to = join=20 Environmentalists for Obama, I signed on immediately. I knocked doors, = made=20 phone calls, gave money, and celebrated his victory=E2=80=94I think = he=E2=80=99s the best=20 president of my lifetime.

Second, Obama has done much that=E2=80=99s right about climate, = including surround=20 himself with a stellar staff of advisers. From auto mileage to green=20 stimulus spending, he=E2=80=99s done more to deal with global = warming than all of=20 the presidents combined in the 20 years that it=E2=80=99s been an = issue.

But that=E2=80=99s a pretty low bar. And the announcement yesterday = from the APEC=20 meeting in Singapore that next month=E2=80=99s Copenhagen=20 climate talks will be nothing more than a glorified talking session = makes it=20 clear that he has, at least for now, punted on the hard questions around = climate. The world won=E2=80=99t be able to get started on solving our = climate problem,=20 and the obstacle=E2=80=94as it has been for the last two = decades=E2=80=94is the United=20 States.

3D""=20 And=20 in fact none of this should come as a surprise to anyone paying = attention. For a=20 year now it=E2=80=99s been clear that the president is not=20 particularly focused on applying the political pressure that would = have been=20 necessary to reach any kind of pact, much less one that approaches what = the=20 science demands. Despite the deadline of the Copenhagen conference, = Obama placed=20 energy second on his priority list, guaranteeing that health care would = occupy=20 most of the year. He talked very little about climate, tending instead = to talk=20 about green jobs and energy security, and in the process left the door = open for=20 climate deniers to have a field day. And then=E2=80=94as with health = care=E2=80=94he left it=20 pretty much entirely up to Congress to write the necessary legislation. = That=20 kept him from having to bear the blame for a Byzantine bill, but it also = meant=20 that the Senate=E2=80=94the body from which he came, and whose culture = he had to=20 know=E2=80=94could work in its usual style, without White House = pressure. Which at the=20 moment means that Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham are essentially = rewriting the=20 legislation, to what end no one really knows.

Click=20 here to read more of the article at Mother Jones

"Survival" Making News in the Maldives

By Jamie

=E2=80=A2 16 November, 2009 - 11:08 =

Ever wonder if your actions are really being heard? Last = week,=20 thousands of us signed a Survival Pact in support of President Nasheeds' = call=20 for climate action on behalf of some of the most vulnerable countries in = the=20 world. It was just the type of support that will help climate champions = like=20 Pres Nasheed stay strong in the face of attempts to delay and weaken = necessary=20 action. Over the weekend, a Maldivian paper published a great article on = the=20 campaign, echoing the words that we've heard from supporters in the = Maldives and=20 the world, "Thank you for joining us in saying that survival is not=20 negotiable."

350.org = call on=20 public to sign President's "Survival Pact"
Minivan = News, 15=20 November 2009

350.org has posted an online petition on its site to support = President=20 Mohamed Nasheed=E2=80=99s survival pact, announced at the Vulnerable = Climate Forum, last=20 week.

At a congregation of 11 of the world=E2=80=99s most climate = vulnerable countries, the=20 president invited participants to choose survival over suicide and = commit to=20 drastic cuts in emission at the landmark UN climate change conference in = Copenhagen this December.

=E2=80=9CAt the moment every country arrives at the negotiations = seeking to keep=20 their own emissions as high as possible. They never make commitments, = unless=20 someone else does first.

=E2=80=9CThis is the logic of the madhouse, a recipe for collection = suicide. We don=E2=80=99t=20 want a global suicide pact...So today, I invite some of the most = vulnerable=20 nations in the world, to join a global survival pact = instead.=E2=80=9D

In an email to Minivan News today, Bill McKibben, the man behind the = 350=20 campaign, which is calling for reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide = to=20 350ppm, said they had received tens of thousands of signatures in = support of the=20 pact.

On the speech, McKibben said, =E2=80=9CI thought it was the best = speech by a head of=20 state about climate change in the 20 years I=E2=80=99ve been working on = the issue.=20 Finally someone dropped the language of political convenience and = replaced it=20 with the language of scientific necessity.=E2=80=9D

Over on Nasheed=E2=80=99s Facebook page, readers have praised his = speech.

=E2=80=9CThank you President Nasheed for having the courage to tell = it like it is,=E2=80=9D=20 said Laura Lamond, while Susan Blayney from Canada said the speech moved = her to=20 write to her MP.

Bruce William Oswell Haynes wrote that the speech was the = =E2=80=9Cmost powerful use=20 of the spoken word I have heard for a long time.=E2=80=9D

On the V-11 summit, McKibben said it showed that most vulnerable = nations=20 would =E2=80=9Cnot go quietly to the gallows=E2=80=9D.

=E2=80=9CIt set them up to be the moral leaders at Copenhagen and = beyond. Far more=20 than the big global environmental groups, these nations now represent = the=20 cutting edge of the debate.=E2=80=9D

Although the climate change talks are less than a month away, = negotiations=20 have virtually reached a standstill.

At the last round of negotiations in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this = month,=20 the divide between rich and poor countries remained more pronounced than = ever.

While the developing world are demanding broad cuts in emissions from = the=20 developed world, the latter are reluctant to commit. Another issue of = contention=20 is how much aid rich countries should given poorer ones to help them = adapt to=20 climate change.

In the declaration signed at the V-11, participants agreed to show = moral=20 leadership and begin the process of greening their economies but stopped = short=20 of committing to going carbon neutral.

In March, Nasheed announced his intention to make the Maldives the = first=20 carbon-neutral country in the world and at the summit, called on other = countries=20 to join him.

Other countries at the summit included Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, = Kiribati,=20 Barbados, Bhutan, Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya.

Although they are among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gas = emissions in=20 the world, they share between them the worst impacts of climate change = including=20 desertification, drought, floods, storm surges and vulnerability to sea = level=20 rise.

The declaration further called for cuts in emissions that would = ensure global=20 temperatures remained below 2.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial = levels and=20 that atmospheric carbon dioxide was returned to the safe threshold of = 350=20 ppm.

On 24 October, 350.org led a world-wide protest for this reduction in = carbon=20 dioxide levels. People in 181 countries participated by holding over = 5,200=20 events.

McKibben told Minivan News the campaign would now help organise a = series of=20 candlelight vigils around the world on 12 December, especially targeted = at US=20 embassies and consulates.

=E2=80=9CIt has become clear that even in the age of Obama, the = United States still=20 represents the fundamental roadblock to change,=E2=80=9D he said.

To sign the Survival Pact cli= ck=20 here.

Actions Keep=20 Coming

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 16 November, 2009 - 10:24 =

These pictures jsut arrived from Abikaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, = where=20 there was already a huge tree-planting on Oct. 24. One local organizer, = Okezie=20 Kelechi, was on state tv and radio for an hour this weekend discussing = the most=20 important number in the world.

3D""=20

North America

No Legally Binding Agreement in Copenhagen--but the movement = marches=20 on...

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 15 November, 2009 - 13:10 =

What disappointing news today, with the Obama administration and = other world=20 leaders ann= ouncing=20 that they weren't going to make substantive progress in Copenhagen, = that=20 there will likely be no legally binding treaty at the end of December's=20 UN climate talks.

It's too bad that citizens all over the planet are so far in advance = of their=20 leaders, but it makes it very clear that we will need to keep growing = our=20 movements quickly--nothing else can counterbalance the power of the = vested=20 interests that have so far been able to delay action.

The next good chance will come on the weekend of Dec. 12, when there = will be=20 candlelight vigils and rallies around the world. Many will take place at = American embassies and consulates, because we continue to = believe--perhaps=20 against the evidence--that the Obama administration will rise to the = occasion=20 and really lead in finding solutions to the crisis that it more than any = other=20 nation has caused. More on this soon--for now, clear out that weekend = (Friday,=20 Saturday, and Sunday) and we'll do our best to keep you posted as plans = shape=20 up.

Onward.

Comments:=20 11

Sending a Letter to the Right Person

By Bill McKibben

=E2=80=A2 15 November, 2009 - 12:03 =

A 350-foot long letter! These pictures are from earlier today in=20 Bangladesh--they're at least a little antidote to the sadness of hearing = that=20 our political leaders, including Barack Obama, have announced they're = not going=20 to do much of anything in Copenhagen

3D""=20

Bangladesh Agriculture University Mymensingh, Vice Chancellor of the=20 university started the letter signing; later on every professor, = lecturer, and=20 student signed on the letter. Before the signing program there was a = rally =20 on the university ground where the Vice Chancellor of the university = said =E2=80=9CWe=20 very lucky and proud that this letter signing program starting from our=20 university on the occasion of National Agriculture day. We are part of = this=20 world, agriculture is essential for us and for this off course need a = stable=20 climate.
We hope the decision makers will think about us to think = about them=20 also."
The presenter of the program = Professor Zakir=20 Hussain
described climate issues. Director of Design = Bangladesh
MD.=20 Mahmudul Karim read out the message from 350.org by Bill McKibben: = =E2=80=9CAs I have=20 been traveling around the world and showing pictures of the = International Day of=20 Climate Action, none have moved people more than the photos from=20 Bangladesh.
They demonstrate that the people who have the most to = lose from=20 global warming have put aside their daily worries and joined in common = cause=20 with people around the world. This is deeply inspiring, and has helped = many=20 nations move closer to a Survival Pact for Copenhagen--one that demands = that the=20 world's rich nations cut their own carbon emissions steeply enough to = give=20 countries like Bangladesh a chance."

3D""=20

Europe

Ukraine=20 Delivers!

By Jeremy

=E2=80=A2 15 November, 2009 - 07:57 =

Our friends in Ukraine are fast becoming an organizing powerhouse on = climate=20 change and 350. Last week, they took their action photos from the = 24th and=20 devilered them to the Environment Ministry in Kiev. And not only = did they=20 deliver them, but they delivered them in fine style, complete with a = rendition=20 of a climate dance that has been traveling around the youth climate = world -=20 "It's Hot in Here!" It's wonderful to see the team there having = fun in=20 their organizing - it's one of the core principles that will sustain = this=20 movement over time. But don't think it's all fun and games - = delivering=20 photos to public officials is one of the best ways to make sure the = momentum=20 from the actions on the 24th translates into the halls of our ministries = and the=20 negotiating halls in Copenhagen this December.

Enjoy this short video of their delivery, and thanks to our friends = in=20 Ukraine!

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