On October 24th, 2009, The International Day of Climate Action is taking place throughout the world, in search of global support towards the reduction of Carbon Dioxide levels through political action. There are going to be conventions in almost every country across the planet this Saturday, to push the number 350 into peoples minds.
350 is the magic number for Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere for reduction of climate change and for sustainability. As of now, our atmospheric level is too high causing the melting of polar ice caps, and other major environmental crisis. Currently, we stand at 390 parts per million which is significantly above the healthy level which has been determined by NASA. High Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere are the leading cause of global warming which is an environmental crisis taking place right now. Our current Carbon Dioxide level of 390 parts per million is a global epidemic that will eventually destroy our planet if left unchanged for too long.
This Saturday, San Francisco is having a huge convention to make an impact, and to get our voices heard for the upcoming Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December. World leaders will be voting on political action which can either make or break our future if action is taken to actively reduce Carbon Emissions or not.
The Copenhagen Convention can be a turning point for humanity in changing the direction of our future towards a more socially responsible way of life. We must work together to make our voices heard because this is our chance to make a real change. In December, the Climate Conference in Copenhagen will consist of government officials from approximately 170 countries around the world. The goal for the Conference is to get a majority of votes toward a Copenhagen Protocol to prevent global warming and climate changes for the future.
This year many of us have learned about our personal carbon footprints, and little ways to reduce them with every day habits, and taking responsibility for our actions. However we all know that the answer for our globe lies on a much larger scale, and our own personal actions are not enough to change the devastating climate change. This Saturday is a great opportunity to be a part of something bigger, to get our voices heard, to take a stand for what we believe is right, and to make a difference.
7 comments:
Hey Ellie,
I agree with you when you say that our own personal actions are not enough. I do however think that as environmentally conscious people, we still need to reduce our personal carbon footprints despite the small affect that it might have. I think our first step to making this big change is to educate those who are unaware of this crisis. The International Day of Climate Action is a perfect way to advocate this problem to people who may not be aware that our actions have a direct affect on the climate. It's sad to hear that we have already passed 350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide. We definitely ALL need to change our habits so that the current number of CO2(390) will go back down to 350.
Hey Jill,
I completely agree with you that our own personal action is very important in changing our mindset as a culture. I believe that personal action has the potential to impact others in positive ways as well, and to open the imaginations of people toward thinking more green. I also agree with you that education is a key component to solving this climate crisis. The more educated people are, the more opportunity they will have to be socially responsible. Once people know more about climate change and the increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere, it is in our hands to turn our knowledge into action which is the biggest step. Just as Wendell Berry put it in "The Unsettling of America", there is a huge gap between our thoughts and our actions, and this is what needs to change the most.
Hi Ellie- and everyone else,
I finally checked out 350.org, the official website behind the international day of action. If you have not visited this website yet, I urge you to do so. It is incredibly inspiring, especially the photo gallery. People from all over the world- China, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Germany etc- are sending in photos that convey their commitment to this issue.
Talk about a changing paradigm; I wonder how many people had any idea what "350 parts per million" even meant before this ambitious grassroots effort started gathering steam?
Jill, I appreciate your mention of Wendell Berry's essay- any hope for meaningful change demands that we take reponsibility for our own behavior.
Thanks for such a relevant and timely post, Ellie. The fact that we are currently at 390ppm is even more frightening when we recall, as Dr. Seeley mentioned in class, that until the last century, carbon levels never rose much above above 280ppm.
As yesterday was October 24th, I joined the large group of USF students who went to the 350 event being held near Fisherman's Wharf. We donned our green and gold and left campus around 2. We took the 5 and made it to the site in time to hear most of the speakers. Some of them recited poetry, while others just spoke passionately on the subject of global warming or the upcoming Copenhagen Convention. Many other people also dressed up for the event. I even saw someone dressed in snorkeling gear (to save the coral reefs) and someone in a polar bear costume. Needless to say, the experience was something to remember and I am glad that I chose to go. We stayed at the event until it ended and then congregated on the grass to take a final photo, an aerial shot of us all forming the number 350. Afterward, I left my group and walked back to the 5 by myself, all the while considering what I had just been a part of. I feel like a small part of the global action and the event inspired me to get further involved with the cause. In the future, I hope to attend more of these types of events because I want to do my part and make a difference. I want to act rather than just stand by and wait futilely for everything to get better.
Tiffany, I'm so glad you got there, and Ellie, I know you would have been there, too, if your team hadn't had to travel this weekend. It's always so inspiring to join forces in such huge numbers to make a collective vision seen and common message heard around the world. It helps us know that one person may not be able to change the world, but we don't live in the world alone. In acting together on a global scale, committed people CAN create change. Ellie, thanks, too, for making clear the meaning of 350 and the reason for its urgency.
Wow. I wish I had known this earlier. I really wanted to join the convention, but I was with family. I didn't know the level was currently 390! I'm interested to know how they determined the healthy 35 parts per million as well as the current standing levels. About how much, percentage wise, is the largest contributor to the rising carbon dioxide levels? I'm interested to see how the confrence in Copenhagen goes and hopefully something can be done to help stop and reverse the damage done.
This really is pretty inspiring stuff. I'm typically very quick to write off these kinds of efforts as too ideological and futile, but it's hard for me to dismiss such world-wide organization and positive action. While its hard for me to buy into the whole "one at at time, we can make a difference" ideology, this type of action that includes simultaneous events staged in many countries across the globe is hard for me to write off as useless, and thats saying something coming from someone as cynical as myself. It seems that this really is a step in the right direction. However, part of me can't help but speculate that the majority of these events took place in first world countries and sometimes it seems that there's a general contradiction underlying efforts like this. For example, San Francisco is renowned as probably the most progressive city in the nation, yet is houses the most billionaires AND homeless people than anywhere in the United States. To clarify, I'm certainly not discrediting valiant efforts such as the 350, I'm just saying I can't help but feel uneasy about contradictions in this whole movement.
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