According to leading climate scientists such as James Hansen of NASA, 350 parts per million is considered to be the highest CO2 level the planet can safely sustain. The current levels are known to hover around 390 ppm, and in order to avoid a series of catastrophic climate tipping points it’s imperative that we start working toward reducing this escalating number immediately.
October 24 is The International Day of Climate Action or 350 Day. Millions of people across the globe will participate in the most widespread day of environmental action in history, attending over 3,000 simultaneous events in more than 170 countries. On this day, supporters of grassroots campaign 350.org are mobilizing to urge world leaders to support a clear solution to the climate crisis: creating a fair global climate treaty and reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.
The Wilderness Society highlighting the plight to protect our forests in a logging coupe in the forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria, just outside Melbourne. Photo by Andrew North.
Writer, activist, and co-founder 350 co-founder Bill McKibben says: “Civilization is what grows up in the margins of leisure and security provided by a workable relationship with the natural world. That margin won’t exist, at least not for long, as long as we remain on the wrong side of 350. That’s the limit we face.”
Sarah Rifaat, a 350.org youth climate organizer and the Cairo Cyclist club joined together to capture this photo in front of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. They cycled more than 20 kilometers from Cairo and back with 350’s affixed to their bikes, and educated people along the way about the need for climate action.
Poppy (11) and Jarrah (9) at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
From capitol cities to the melting slopes of Mount Everest, even underwater on dying coral reefs — people are holding rallies and visual demonstrations aimed at focusing attention on the 350 target. Highlights include over 200 events across China; major rallies at iconic landmarks like the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, the Great Barrier Reef; 350 scuba divers holding an underwater protest in the Maldives; 200 events across the Middle East; and 350 Masaii children hosting a traditional dance on their parched fields in Kenya.
Solar cookers destined for Africa are arranged in a 350 in Grenada, Spain.
350 Day is happening with six week to go until the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where world leaders will gather to discuss climate issues and hopefully sign a replacement for the Kyoto treaty. Check out the list of creative ways to take action, and get involved with a 350 event near you.
In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu “Climate change is a reality. Life depends on a sustainable environment. With no world, there can only be nothing — no birds, no animals, no trees, no us. That’s why getting involved in 350.org is so important — it’s an effective way to take action to turn around the climate crisis.”
Top photo: Climbers display a 350 flag atop Antarctica’s highest peak.
