We have all asked, or been asked to answer, that elusive question. “What can I do about climate change?” Although it’s easy to feel powerless beside large corporations and nations that seem hellbent on destroying our planet, there is no underestimating the power in numbers.
The 10:10 campaign was started in the UK, and at the NYC global premiere of the film The Age of Stupid, director Franny Armstrong introduced the initiative to a worldwide audience. In a very contagious can-do manner, she put forward her plan of expansion: if everyone watching the film that evening (an estimated one million people) signed up, told their friends who told their friends who told their friends, then by the same time next week the whole world should be pledged to the cause. Perhaps a tad optimistic, but you never know, right? 10:10 necklaces made from recycled aircraft metal were handed out to those who used the on-site computer stations to sign up on the spot.
Jaqueline Cramer, Dutch Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, signs up for 10:10 at the global premiere of the film The Age of Stupid.
The plan is simple: by working together to cut our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, everyone can make a meaningful difference. Within 48 hours of the UK launch over 10,000 people, business, schools and organizations had signed up, making it one of the most successful campaign launches in history. Let’s keep that momentum going with the worldwide campaign!
Add your name to the list of supporters, and download the 10:10 Family Checklist — carbon-saving tips that you can put on the fridge and tick off once they’ve been accomplished (there are separate checklists for businesses, organizations and schools). The most important thing you can do? Fly less.
“It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting everyone around immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables us all to make a meaningful difference.” Do your part.
Top photo by Jeff Moore, via The RSA, Creative Commons.
Johanna Björk
October 9, 2009
Great artice by Chris Goodall from The Guardian: How to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%.
“If you are signed up to 10:10, you need to cut about 1.4 tonnes of your carbon emissions by next year. It could be easier than you think…”