350 Updates

350.org Partners Win Prestigious Awards

Jamie Henn
Posted by Jamie Henn - 04/21/09, 10:35am

One of the great pleasures of working on 350.org is getting to partner with inspirational organizations and individuals all over the world. This week, we're celebrating with two of our 350.org partners in Asia who just received major environmental awards.

Congratulations to our friends at the Green Long March in China for winning a prestigious award from the Leading Group for the Protection of the Mother River. Yu Jishun of Beijing Forestry University accepted the prize on behalf of the Green Long March crew--who are gearing up for this summer's third series of expeditions across the interior of China to highlight environmental successes--and to carry the message of 350 to one of the places that will play such a decisive role in December's Copenhagen talks.

And a standing ovation for Yuyun Ismawati, from 350.org partner Balifokus in Indonesia, who won this year's Goldman Environmental Prize. Yuyun is working to fight pollution and poverty at the same time, implementing hundreds of community-based waste and sanitation management programs that empower local communities to protect their environment and improve their economic livelihood. We look forward to seeing what creative 350 actions Balifokus and our other partners across Indonesia will be doing this October 24.

 

 
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Caribbean Youth at the OAS Summit: Did our leaders get the message?

Anonymous
Posted by Anonymous - 04/21/09, 7:39am

Thanks to all of you who sent messages to the 34 heads of state assembled at the 5th Summit of the Americas urging them to make climate change a primary focus.    With the economic crisis looming, climate change could have been left out of the discussion if we didn't raise our voices - with just myself (Kelly), Mariama, and the leaders of CYEN Trinidad and Tobago present at the Summit, it was enormously helpful to know there were hundreds of supporters around the region standing with us.  It was a tiring, but exciting week what with high security, traffic snarls, and long, long days.  We've done our best to ensure that all of our voices were heard loud and clear, and are excited to share the results with you.

We put out our call to action just a week ago, and in just a few days we received an outpouring of hundreds of messages from over 15 different countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean detailing the important work being doing locally on climate change, how climate change is impacting our lives already, and why our leaders need to take urgent action to put our planet back on track to 350ppm.  Messages were sent in photo, video, and written form - here is a sample of them: http://www.350.org/oascampaign

And some photos from the week:

Read more after the jump!

 
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Riding the Climate Movement

Jeremy Osborn
Posted by Jeremy Osborn - 04/21/09, 3:25am

Pop quiz: What do Fox News, the MetLife Pro-Am Cycling Team, and 350.org have in common?

This news article: MetLife Returns For A Second Year As Professional Cycling Teams Title Sponsor

The team is part of a growing group of professional athletes who are making headlines with their commitment to spreading the 350 message.  Pro athletes from nordic skiers in Norway to American football players in the US are using their notoriety to tell people to get involved.  These are people who are used to working hard, and now they're working hard to steer us back towards 350ppm CO2.  Check out all the athletes pushing 350 here.

As for the MetLife team, what could be better for fighting climate change than riding bikes all the time?  The cycling team uses their work to talk about how good bicycling is for fighting climate change.  Under the organization Project Cycling, out of Boston, USA, they will be spreading the good word on their chosen mode of transportation, and how to turn the corner to get us back towards 350. So, get out on your bicycle, or better yet, start training for that 350km ride you're going to organize for October 24! 

Happy cycling.

 
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Fasting for Our Future

Will Bates
Posted by Will Bates - 04/20/09, 6:16am

I am joining over 200 people around the United States and in 6 countries today in Fasting for Our Future.  We're not eating -- for one day, two days, a week, or some people longer -- as a call for strong US federal action on climate change.

The fast begins today as members of US Congress return to Washington D.C. from their spring recess, and some people will be continuing the fast for up to 40 days or more.  The 40 day mark will symbolize the need for the United States to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% (below 1990 levels) by the year 2020.

Why fast?  Mahatma Gandhi called fasting, "the sincerest form of prayer" -- a phrase I can appreciate as my mid-afternoon hunger persists and grows.  To speak for myself, I am fasting as a personal statment -- a physical act that to whomever might hear of it might better understand some aspect of my own passion and sense of urgnency on this issue beyond simply what I can express through words.  I am fasting in order to stand in solidarity with those who will carry on the fast for the full 40+ days.  I am fasting as a means of concentrating my own mind and intentions on this crisis as well as on my hopes and visions for a better world. 

And so for me, this is a joyous act, one that I encourage other to join if they feel so moved.  I will be fasting for just 2 days (or roughly 350 minutes...8 times over), but for me and for many others this movement continues on day to day in many forms.  And if you don't join us this time around, there are ample opportunities for getting involved as we move on.

Here's to our future...

 
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Oil Drilling -- from Local to Global

May Boeve
Posted by May Boeve - 04/16/09, 2:58pm

A few of us from the 350.org San Francisco office just returned from a hearing with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. The topic at hand was off-shore oil drilling along the California coast, and Secretary Salazar witnessed public comment on the issue of lifting a decades-long ban on offshore oil drilling.

With the issue of climate change looming over us all the time, it felt meaningful to be part of such a local effort to stop it. An oil spill in Santa Barbara in 1969 helped spark the modern enviornmental movement. But today, the offshore drilling ban reversal is in serious threat of becoming permanent. It goes without saying that drilling for more oil will dig us deeper into the climate crisis, harm ecosystems, and risk contaminating local waters. We at 350.org got a chance to speak up about the connection between local struggles like this and the challenges faced all over the world. Especially when it comes to the world's oceans and its climate, we're entirely connected. A hearing in San Francisco has impacts that will be felt in a place as far away as Cambodia. We felt grateful to bring a global perspective to today's hearing, and hope that message gets out to other issues as well.

 

 

 
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Columbia University Announces 350 Conference

May Boeve
Posted by May Boeve - 04/16/09, 10:51am

We're really pleased to share the news about an upcoming conference in New York City. You may be wondering, "I don't live in New York City...so why should I be interested in this?" It's an entire conference dedicated to the challenge of getting back to 350. The keynote speaker is the world's leading climate scientist, and good friend of 350.org, Dr. James Hansen. We're excited to share the findings, results, and anecdotes from this conference with all of you, and we'll do that here on our blog.

The conference will be comprised of presentations and panel discussions on various themes related to reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, including: Post-Kyoto negotiations, economic and legal implications of implementing carbon dioxide reductions, green jobs, environmental justice, carbon sequestration and storage, climate change education, and alternative energy solutions. Featured speakers include Majora Carter from Sustainable South Bronx, and a leader in the movement for a green economy that lifts people out of poverty, and Richard Heinberg, noted scholar and advocate on the issue of peak oil.

If you do happen to live in New York City, or nearby, by all means consider attending! It will take place on  Saturday, May 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Rotunda of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University Morningside Heights campus. Registration is available online at: www.350conference.org.

 
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Taking on Coal: North Carolina says no to Cliffside

Jamie Henn
Posted by Jamie Henn - 04/15/09, 1:45pm

350.org is proud to partner with grassroots activists around the world who are doing the essential work of resisting the expansion of dirty energy and advocating for clean, green solutions. Here's an update from our friends in North Carolina, USA who are working on stopping the construction of a new, coal fired power plant:

It’s time to come and help North Carolinians do their part to reach 350.

The Stop Cliffside Coalition is asking for your aid in amping up the pressure on Duke Energy, Jim Rogers, Gov. Bev Perdue, and the Legislature in North Carolina by participating in Call to Conscience: Cliffside Climate Action.
 
On Monday April 20, hundreds of North Carolinians and others from across the Southeast and the USA will converge on Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte,
North Carolina to stop their climate change time bomb, the obscenely expensive $2.5 B Cliffside coal plant. If built, Cliffside would emit 6 million tons of CO2 each year, and would be fueled by coal extracted through mountaintop removal.

Bill McKibben says "This plant is a relic before it's even built, a leftover from the days before we realized that coal is filthy in every way. It's hard to imagine that the technologically savvy Tarheel State really wants to get stuck with yesterday's technology."

We invite you to come and bear witness as responsible citizens. 
We can no longer remain silent as Duke poisons our air, destroys the Appalachian Mountains, and fans the flames of climate change for the sake of profit.

 
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Action Spotlight: The Actions of Individuals

Jeremy Osborn
Posted by Jeremy Osborn - 04/15/09, 7:17am

With all this buzz about how quickly things are building for the 24th of October (479 actions in 50 countries!), it's hard to remember sometimes that there is a significant amount of time between now and then.  In that time, there are already ideas moving forward to help catapult the 350 symbol into public awareness, moving it from those of us concerned about climate to anyone in the world with a pulse and a way to connect to the world (newspaper, radio, computer, local café...).  I'd like to highlight two such actions - unique because they were thought up and will be carried through by individuals. 

Jonathan is a marathon runner.  You know how runners always have their number pinned to their shirt in a race?  Well, Jonathan's pinning on the number 350. He works with The Global Ecovillage Network, an incredible connector between many of the communities throughout the world that are implementing the changes we need to get to 350, and Findhorn, an ecovillage in Scotland.  As such a strong representative for the possibilities for low carbon living, Jonathan thinks they could help at the Copenhagen talks to tell their stories and explain how good the 350 life can be, so he's using the London Marathon as a launchpad for fundraising and awareness-raising.  Good luck, Jonathan!

Trevor is a pillar of his community.  Or so we assume, since he emailed us a week ago to say that he was considering volunteering for community service to support the 350 idea.  There are two things that are remarkable about Trevor's idea, which he's still deciding whether to pursue.  One is that he's considering committing to 350 hours of volunteering in his community - a monumental commitment, and one to be admired.  The second is that he's 10 years old.  Phil, who opened the email, was so astounded that he emailed it around to all of us as inspiration, and I hope it serves to inspire you all as well.

Stories like this make me realize that the actions we do this year will grow exponentially.  Each individual, with their story, inspires others, and these stories get told over and over person to person, newspaper to newspaper, radio to radio, blog post to blog post, face to face.  And think, with stories like Jonathan's and Trevor's, what this day in October will look like when it finally comes around.  Thanks to both of these individuals, and for all of you who will pass these stories on and make them grow.

 
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