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

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350 Updates

Stand with the President of the Maldives -- Sign the Global Survival Pact

By joe@350.org
• 12 November, 2009 - 16:45
Stand with the President of the Maldives -- Sign the Global Survival Pact

Just minutes ago, we hit the button to share this blast with thousands supporters around the globe -- to make sure you get the latest movement updates, sign up here.

Dear Friends, 

Since October 24, when you helped lead thousands of events around the world calling for climate action, we've seen new political momentum behind the climate solutions that science demands.  After meeting with dozens of delegates during the last round of UN climate negotations in Barcelona, I can tell you first-hand that your local climate leadership is making a real difference--and helping clear the political space for national leaders to take ever-bolder stances on the climate crisis.

Earlier this week, President Nasheed--the leader of a low-lying nation faced with the very real threat of imminent extinction due to rising seas--delivered a powerful speech at the opening of the "Climate Vulnerable Forum."  In his speech, he calls for a survival pact in a plea so eloquent that you need to read it for yourself and sign the survival pact today.

The "Climate Vulnerable Forum" included many of the nations on the very front lines of the climate crisis, nations that are grappling with the impacts of the climate crisis here and now.

The focus of President Nasheed's speech was to bring attention to the dire consequences of ending the Copenhagen Climate Talks this December with a weak or non-binding agreement.

I'll let President Nasheed's words speak for themselves:

"We are gathered here because we are the most vulnerable group of nations to climate change."

"Some might prefer us to suffer in silence but today we have decided to speak...we will not die quietly."

"Members of the G8 rich countries have pledged to halt temperature rises to two degrees Celsius. Yet they have refused to commit to the carbon targets, which would deliver even this modest goal."

"At two degrees we would lose the coral reefs. At two degrees we would melt Greenland. At two degrees my country would not survive."

"As a president I cannot accept this.  As a person I cannot accept this."

"I refuse to believe that it is too late, and that we cannot do any about it. Copenhagen is our date with destiny.  Let us go there with a better plan."

Nasheed called on all nations to push for carbon neutrality in order to ensure the survival of his country and all the most vulnerable people around the world:

"After all, it is not carbon we want, but development.  It is not coal we want, but electricity. It is not oil we want, but transport. Low-carbon technologies now exist, to deliver all the goods and services we need. Let us make the goal of using them."

Finally, he made the distinction between what might be considered a good deal in Copenhagen, and one that would ensure the end of his people:

"At the moment every country arrives at the negotiations seeking to keep their own emissions as high as possible.  They never make commitments, unless someone else does first."

"This is the logic of the madhouse, a recipe for collective suicide."

"We don't want a global suicide pact.  And we will not sign a global suicide pact, in Copenhagen or anywhere.  So today, I invite some of the most vulnerable nations in the world, to join a global survival pact instead."

These are bold words, bolder than most people understand.

Here's the backstory: President Nasheed and other leaders of some of the the world's most vulnerable countries  are already being pressured to back down from their commitments to strong action. For example, when African countries stood up at the UN Climate Talks in Barcelona last week and demanded rich countries commit to strong climate targets, European politicians placed immense pressure on them to back off, so much so that the chair of the African negotiating bloc was forced to leave the negotiations.

Leaders like Nasheed need our support. Your actions on October 24th opened the door for bolder leadership. And the deliveries of photos from Oct 24 events to over 110 countries in Barcelona (and cities all over the world) are helping turn grassroots action into political momentum.

Now, with just a month to go before Copenhagen, we must stand together.  All of us, from presidents and politicians to scientists and citizens, must seize this moment and take this movement for survival to the next level.

Please join us.

Onwards,

Teresa Niño and the 350.org Team

P.S. Please help increase the volume of this important call to action--share it with your friends on Facebook with literally two clicks.  Sharing the call on twitter is even easier--please take mere seconds out of your day to grow this movement.

P.P.S. We're still committed to offline, grassroots organizing, and we're gearing up for some historic events on the weekend of December 12th.  Plans are still evolving, but for now clear out that weekend--it's the midway point of the Copenhagen climate conference, and at that critical time we'll need all hands on deck to make this movement soar.

Greenpeace Climate Defenders Camp to Obama: Stop Deforestation

By Jamie
• 12 November, 2009 - 14:42

We're often in awe of our friends over at Greenpeace -- when it comes to creative and hard-hitting actions, they're the pros. On October 24, Greenpeace organized stunning actions around the world for the 350 International Day of Action. Check out this latest update from a Greenpeace "Climate Defenders Camp" in Indonesia (cross-posted from Greenpeace.org): 

Greenpeace Indonesian banner: Obama you can stop this

This morning, an international team of Greenpeace activists issued an urgent call to action to President Barack Obama from the heart of Indonesia's threatened rainforests by unfurling a banner in a freshly destroyed area of forest that reads "Obama: you can stop this."

As Rolf wrote last week during the Barcelona climate talks, the United States continues to block progress in advance of critical UN climate negotiations that will take place in Copenhagen next month. The banner hang was meant to urge Obama to join with other world leaders and help avert a climate crisis by ending global deforestation, one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to lower carbon emissions and combat global warming.

Global deforestation is responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. Greenpeace estimates that ending global deforestation requires industrialized countries to invest $42 billion annually in forest protection.

While the banner was being deployed this morning, several other Greenpeace activists locked themselves to four excavators owned by Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL), one of Indonesia’s biggest pulp and paper producers, to stop the company from destroying more rainforest to make way for tree plantations.

President Obama, who will meet two days from now with 20 other Heads of State in Singapore to discuss Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), has promised to take decisive action on climate change. Yet his administration is actively undermining and stalling global climate change negotiations while the US Congress delays its vote on an inadequate bill.

It’s time for leadership. Help us send this message by signing our petition telling President Obama that it’s Time To Sign a fair, ambitious, and binding climate treaty.

Today’s action took place on the Kampar Peninsula on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where Greenpeace has set up a Climate Defenders Camp. Rainforest and peatland destruction in Indonesia emits huge quantities of CO2, causing the country to become the world’s third largest climate polluter after China and the US.

Greenpeace activists are also working to reduce carbon emissions by constructing dams in the area to stop paper companies from destroying the rainforest’s carbon rich peat soil, which contains approximately 2 billion tons of carbon. They will continue to protect the rainforest peatlands in coming weeks as December’s UN climate summit approaches.

To find more info and resources on deforestation in Indonesia and climate change, click here.

On behalf of the people of Palau, "thank you"

By Will
• 12 November, 2009 - 14:10

Last week at the UN climate negotiations in Barcelona (the final meeting before the BIG one in Copenhagen) we could not quite keep up with all the great stories from country delegates approaching the 350.org booth excited to talk about the 350 movement back home.  Well, the video below is perhaps one of the greatest moments of all.  It was a great honor to get to meet Joseph Aitaro, a delegate from Palau, who issued this thanks to everyone who organized and participated in the 350 actions around the world...

 

350 in the Hands of US Senators

By Jamie
• 12 November, 2009 - 12:08
350 in the Hands of US Senators

Here's an update from our friend Julie Erickson who is working with the Avaaz DC Action Factory, an awesome group that's keeping the heat on the US Senate. Since October 24, we've been working to translate grassroots action into political momentum and the US is no exception! 

The US is the biggest obstacle to global progress in getting the world back to 350 ppm. More specifically, the Senate is the institution most blocking progress within the US government. And within the Senate, the Finance Committee, is probably the biggest barrier to passing ambitious climate legislation.

That’s why I decided to go the US Senate Finance Committee’s first hearing on the US climate bill this week. Along with other members of the DC Action Factory, I greeted Senators in the hallway as they went in and out of the hearing. I helped present them with photos from 350 actions in their home states, and, as an added bonus, 350 neckties.

Senator John Kerry accepted our gift of a 350 tie, which he took with him into the hearing room along with a photo of one of the many 350 actions that took place in Massachusetts. I'm from Colrain, Mass., so I thanked him personally for his work authoring the Senate CEJAPA bill, and encouraged him to continue standing up to industry lobbyists who want the legislation weakened. He paused for a minute to and turned to two other activists from my group who were dressed up as “astroturfers” - coal industry lobbyists who pretend to represent real grassroots activists, but who are pouring millions of dollars into fighting against climate action. “You guys are (already) getting $10 million... I hope you to know that.” Kerry said, scolding them.

Our encouragement helped.  During the hearing, Senator Kerry aggressively questioned a panel of climate deniers and industry spokespeople who just didn’t seem to know their facts and who refused to speak honestly about the role the US must play in the global effort to fight climate change.

We reminded him that his constituents want bold and courageous action on climate change, and are willing to organize events in their communities to make that happen.

Salt Lake City Senator Orin Hatch of Utah, a notorious climate denier was notably impressed when we handed him a picture of a 350 action that took place in Salt Lake City (left), so big props to Utah Climate activists! Your photo made it into the Senator's hands. Likewise, Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state appreciated the beautiful 350 aerial photo from Seattle.

Senator Thomas Carper seemed amused by the photo from his state of Delaware, but refused the tie, claiming, “that is the ugliest tie I’ve ever seen”. I guess it can be tough to have a good sense of humor when you’re a senator. At least he was honest?

The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Max Baucus of Montana, refused the 350 tie altogether, which surprised me, given that he willingly accepts millions of dollars in campaign contributions from energy lobbyists. Alas, we have much work still to do.

Even as an activist group in DC, it is sometimes difficult to get Senators’ attention if you're not a constituent or a wealthy lobbyist. This week though - thanks to all the 350 actions - we were able to print out photos from 350 actions from every state in order to send a clear message to Finance Committee members as they begin to consider climate legislation: no matter where you’re from, your constituents want you to work toward 350 and a safer climate. Thank you to all the local 350 organizers for making October 24th the largest day of grassroots action in history! As a result of your work, we can easily deliver our message directly into the hands of decision-makers.

North America

Video: Peace Corps volunteers tell their climate stories

By Bill McKibben
• 12 November, 2009 - 09:23

Among the many who turned out on Oct. 24 in Washington DC were returned Peace Corps volunteers, Americans who had gone abroad to do development work in many countries--and seen the toll climate change was already taking on those places. They give you some sense of the urgency. Climate change is not a future threat, it's a very present reality:
 

Leadership is contagious!

By Will
• 12 November, 2009 - 08:14
Leadership is contagious!

Just yesterday President Nasheed of the Maldives gave one of the most powerful speeches on climate change there has ever been.  And it certainly seems to have had a positive effect.  Today 10 more countries are joining with the Maldives in voluntarily committing to be carbon neutral!  Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania and Vietnam -- they are 11 of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, now also the "Climate Vulnerable Forum" or the V11.

The declaration they adopted today is an unprecedented display of what real government leadership looks like.  And the 350 science is right in there as well -- a beautiful example of how your citizen leadership has helped make this possible.

Now it's time for the countries that have caused all this mess to catch the leadership bug.  And now we all have 11 strong examples to point towards.  Fantastic!

You can visit the Climate Vulnerable Forum website to find the full declaration text.  Photo: Mauroof Khaleel 

Asia

Getting to 350 in Rural China

By Jamie
• 11 November, 2009 - 09:37
Getting to 350 in Rural China

When people ask me the best way to get back to 350 ppm, my first answer is always: "Organize!" That's because citizen action is key to passing the type of national legislation and creating the international treaties we need to solve the climate crisis. But a constant obsession with top-down solutions -- the big treaties or government programs -- can sometimes distract us from the local solutions that are all around us.

Here's a great video made by some friends in China (you can see one of the filmmakers, my buddy Bo Chung, holding a 350 sign on October 24 in the picture to the left) on one local solution: small scale biogas generators:

I love this video not only because it shows a compelling green path to rural development, but because it talks directly with the people who are managing and benefiting from the biogas generator. The upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen this December will be dominated by diplomats and politicians. Yet, as October 24 showed, the real leaders on climate change are the millions of average citizens around the world who are going out of their way to chart a new course towards green development.

Getting to 350 will require new technologies, mega-wind farms and fields of solar panels. But it will also require small scale solutions and community action. As our friend Van Jones says, "We're going to need the PHD's and the PH-Do's." This video is a great look at some of the do-er's on the ground in rural China.

Devon, UK

By Bill McKibben
• 10 November, 2009 - 13:54

Here's a report from some friends in England:

Dancing for climate action in the heart of Devon.
Devon put on at least 12 events, one of the most colourful and well attended took place in the beautiful surroundings of the Teign Valley.

Children from three local primary schools (Hennock, Dunsford and
Doddiscomsleigh) dressed in pink, red and orange T-shirts danced on a lush green parish field ending up in a 350 formation.  It was a simple dance executed with the commitment and verve adult dancers would have been proud of. Impressively, the children understood that the importance of the 350 lies in the necessity of bringing carbon levels in the atmosphere down from 390 to 350 parts per million.

Ann Daniels, Devon Polar explorer, who opened the event, updated the audience with the latest findings from the Catlin Arctic Survey. She said that the Arctic Sea would lose its summer ice in ten years and we would all witness the changes.

She addressed the children directly, telling them they were the future.

“People are more important than leaders, there are more of us and what we do can make a real difference. When I see people coming together for an event like this, I feel optimistic.”

The dance theme was continued by Kalash ATS, a troupe of vividly adorned belly dancers who performed in front of a beautiful 350 banner made by the children of Doddiscombsleigh School.  The afternoon finished with a riproaring performance by Jackie Juno, comedienne and poet from Bovey Tracey.

This was the first major event put on by Greener Teign, a climate action group formed in July.

Super pictures from Mumbai

By Bill McKibben
• 10 November, 2009 - 13:49

One of the world's great cities, where the ocean is already near the top of the seawall at the highest tides!

Comments: 1

From Belgrade, Serbia

By Bill McKibben
• 10 November, 2009 - 06:28

Taking part in the International day of climate action, members of
citizen initiative "Protect Zvezdara forest" Belgrade, Serbia; from
youngest to oldest, after collecting 350 acorns as a symbolic way to
show that the trees of future are planted today.
We have also distributed flyers containing basic facts about forest
and its beneficial impact on environment and quality of life, and
informed citizens about global climate change and meaning of 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Photo by: Lidija Trandafilović

"Greetings Olgeta,"

By Bill McKibben
• 10 November, 2009 - 06:24

This is a very special picture, which just arrived from Papua New Guinea--from the community where some of the world's first climae refugees, driven from the Carteret Islands by rising waters, have resettled. Here's the report:

Greetings Olgeta (all of you in local pidgin)... A beautiful day dawned here in Tinputz Community, the centre of the regions Climate Action Day in partnership with 350.org on 24'th October 2009.

Ursula Rakova, event organiser and director of Tulele Peisa, led the day’s actions which included the planting of mangroves and garden drops for food security, the ringing of the Church Bell 350 times and the formation of 350 by the school children of the community. She then addressed the larger community about the significance of the number 350 in relation to climate change. From there, lunch and live bands and traditional dances, to continue to welcome the Carteret’s Islanders into the Tinputz and build and strengthen the community spirit to support the tough transition facing the worlds first climate change refugees.

350 means no more mountaintop removal

By Jamie
• 9 November, 2009 - 17:50
350 means no more mountaintop removal

I just opened a touching email from Mike Harman in West Virginia, thanking us -- but really all of you -- for taking action to stop mountain top removal. 

Last week, an email went out to 350.org supporters and organizers in the United States to call public officials and demand an end to mountaintop removal mining to protect Coal River Mountain in West Virginia and hundreds of other sites throughout Appalachia. Thousands of you took action and together with our allies we sent over 50,000 messages to the Environmental Protection Agency and other key officials in Washington. And there were actions across Appalachia for October 24, including the one from West Virginia pictured in this post.

Mike wrote: 

Thanks for the latest from the "350.org" crew...re coal issues in West Virginia. My drinking water is from the Coal River (supplying the municipal water system for St. Albans) so I am very concerned about what happens in that watershed, where most coal is mined by mountaintop removal and local well water is being ruined.

And here's an excerpt from an oped Mike published in the Charlestown Gazette last week: 

Over the past 38 years, I have personally seen what coal mining can do to individuals, in terms of the health impacts, and I have seen what coal mining does for a major portion of southern West Virginia communities. It's hard for me to understand where coal mining leads to prosperity. Where is that taking place today? Jobs in the coal industry have been steadily on the decline ever since strip mining began to eat into employment in underground mines, and ever since state and federal laws and regulations have been either weakened by politics or ignored by crumbling, understaffed and underfunded enforcement agencies.

Getting to 350 will mean defining a new type of prosperity for communities around the world. We're proud to be working with people from Appalachia to Albania who are doing just that.

Bringing Down Carbon

By MattFitz
• 9 November, 2009 - 17:26

November 9th marks twenty years since the Berlin Wall came down. On October 24th, Germans stood united for 350.

Peasants and Youth in the Philippines

By Jamie
• 9 November, 2009 - 15:57
Peasants and Youth in the Philippines

Here's an update from Marj, one of our 350.org organizers in the Philippines: 

The first picture came from the Environmental Youth Camp in Bulacan. Youth environmental leaders spent 3 days with the farmers in Bulacan learning firsthand about sustainable agriculture and other related related issues such as climate change. The country's food supply will be greatly affected by climate change if the government will not take steps to protect it from the effects of climate change. The call for 350 coincides with the implementation of sustainable farming practices such as abandoning the use of chemical pesticides which are heavily dependent on oil for processing. It is also among the policies which should be included in the drafting of plans to build a climate resilient Philippines since protecting the food supply will enable the Filipinos to adapt with climate change.

The next picture is from General Santos in Davao. Like the farmers from Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) support the 350 call. The peasant sector is among the grassroots that will be worst hit by the effects of climate change since they are dependent on the environment for livelihood.

Guest Post: Where We've Been, Where We're At & Where We're Going

By joe@350.org
• 9 November, 2009 - 15:12
Guest Post: Where We've Been, Where We're At & Where We're Going

Below is a guest post by Joe Galliani, Organizer, of the South Bay Los Angeles US 350 Climate Action Group. Read on to learn about the South Bay Los Angeles Oct. 24 success and how they're making sure the 350 message is heard by bringing photos directly to their local politicians. Thank you Joe - We're extremely grateful for your hard work and the great efforts of your community!

It's exactly two weeks to the day since we surprised a whole lot of folks with an Amazing Waving Human Tide Line on our South Bay Los Angeles beach that stretched much further than any of us could see from the start of the line at the Manhattan Beach Pier. 

It was indeed amazing, it was most definitely waving and it was filled with hundreds and hundreds of humans showing the world that we Southern Californians are anything but mellow or laid-back when it comes to demanding a 350 ppm CO2 target and the actions necessary to protect our children's' future survival.

The energy, buzz and sheer power of the 1,300 strong and very potent mix of people of every age, from every walk of life and from every rung on the ladder who made history on our beach is still reverberating throughout the community and down every hall of power on the local, regional, county, state and federal level.  And we have no intention of letting those vibrations subside.

Our event generated heat and we stoked those flames and kept them burning over the last two weeks through the continual release of photos and slide shows, news articles, radio and TV broadcasts, and video after video shot by the multiple camera crews we had covering our event.   We share and distribute each new piece of content through a consistent and zero cost combination of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, a Wordpress blog, a PBworks Wiki and email blasts to our volunteers, supporters and the local media. 

We're doing it in person too.  This Thursday we're holding a big potluck dinner and celebration for all our volunteers and supporters and everyone is excited about seeing each other again and seeing our photos and videos projected on a big screen.  As many virtual tools as we use every day, nothing matches the bonding power and sheer joy of gathering together to share a meal and the vision for what's next.

Now that we've helped our community smell the coffee, we're feeding them the facts, showing them what's at stake, and making this issue very personal for everyone who cares about their moral obligation to leave this world a better place than we found it.  We're finding people are hungry for the straight story which they have not been getting from the mainstream media.

We are not shy about equating the threat we face with the threat the Greatest Generation responded to during World War II when they sacrificed whatever they had to and summoned courage they never knew they had, in order to give people who were born in the post war boom - baby boomers like me - the greatest quality of life in the history of mankind. 


We did more than just mark the spot where sea level rise will bring the waves with our Amazing Waving Human Tide Line, we drew a line in sand and declared that those who crossed that line with us and stood at our side were ready to do whatever it takes to stop destroying our children's future.

Another thing we don't have any problem doing is holding our elected officials to the commitments they make.  We staged an extraordinary rally at our event with over a dozen elected officials publicly endorsing the 350 target and calling for the tough action necessary to achieve those emission reductions.  Here in California I'm proud to say we don't have to chase our politicians after the fact to show them what we did on October 24, because so many of them were there standing side by side with us.

Republicans and Democrats alike, we had support from our Congresswoman, our State Senator, Our State Assemblyman, the entire Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the 16 cities of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments and the City Councils of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance.  We have their powerful 350 commitments on video and we'll be delivering those sound bites, along with our photos from the event and our appreciation, to our elected officials during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday season in the United States. 

We'll also be delivering our photos and videos to our California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has already proven a powerful leader in driving exactly the kind of greenhouse gas reductions, energy efficiency standards and renewable energy generation that will get us to 350 ppm.  Through his signing of our state's Global Warming Solutions Act we know the Governor should be a natural ally of the 350 movement and we will actively solicit his endorsement and support as we share our October 24 album - and the media spotlight - with him.

Our job now is to use our people power to keep rapidly growing our movement and to leverage our strength and momentum in unrelenting waves of dramatic action.  It's critical for us to understand that 350 has some mojo now and that this is the diem we need to carpe with a force and determination that is impossible to ignore.  This is no time to have your finger in the air waiting to see which way the wind is blowing - this is the time to BE the wind. You best understand that this is the day you are called upon to dig deep into your soul and find the better angels of our nature.

We've got 27 days until Copenhagen and for the next four weeks we need to keep our eye on the prize - and that prize is a specific and binding 350 target in the climate treaty.  The time has come to strap it on, draw your own line in the sand and understand that this is your moment and you're not going to get another.  You can't put it off for next year or hope someone else will step up in your place. 

The stakes have never been greater, the odds never stacked higher against us and the time left for action never shorter.  Yet the way is clear, the solutions are already in our hands and I believe that if we are unyielding in our efforts and are relentless in our actions that our leaders will have no choice but to commit to a treaty that takes us back to 350.    

That's what can happen in 27 days if we keep on working. That's what is possible if we deliver our photos and the voices of our people to the representatives at every level who need to see them, hear them and feel the sense of urgency it's our responsibility to fill them with. We are ready to keep on rocking and rolling nonstop for all 27 days.  Let's all play together, crank that volume way up and make our music impossible to ignore.