350 Updates

Tackling Climate Change at the End of The World

jahying
Posted by jahying - 01/22/13, 5:56am

I was travelling in Taiwan this holiday season and dropped in on the End of The World Climate Camp, co-organised by our regional Power Shift partners, the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition and the China Youth Climate Action Network.

Along with similar events in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, the camp really sought to drive home the message that if we are worried about the end of the world, then we should really be worried about tackling climate change!

We started off with a presentation and debate on nuclear energy, whether we need it and what dangers come hand-in-hand. It was interesting to hear opinions from the Taiwanese youth, as well as youth from Hong Kong and Mainland China, each of whom had different perspectives on how to balance energy and environmental needs.

After the discussion, we proceeded to do an inter-city dialogue between youth from Taiwan and Guangzhou to connect and network with one another. We started with a phone conversation, where we shared our concerns and hopes for the climate movement in the upcoming year. Following that, we wrote postcards addressed to our friends abroad, to provide encouragement and support for their continued efforts in catalysing climate solutions on campuses and in communities back home.

The End of the World Climate Camp was also a great opportunity to catch up with local organisers whose first meeting was just last summer at the 350.org regional workshop in Indonesia! With renewed friendships, we're ready to working closely together towards building a new climate movement with the Global Power Shift!

 

 
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Powerful Words Call for Powerful Action

Bill McKibben
Posted by Bill McKibben - 01/21/13, 1:23pm

Dear Friends,

Here's what President Obama said about climate change during his address today:

(Click here to share this on Facebook)

With words like that, it's easy to let ourselves dream that something major might be about to happen to fix the biggest problem the world has ever faced.

But we know that even if the President is sincere in every syllable, he's going to need lots of backup to help him get his point across in a city dominated by fossil fuel interests. And, given the record of the last four years, we know that too often rhetoric has yielded little in the way of results.

That's why we need you -- very badly -- to take a trip to our nation's capital on Feb. 17. We'll gather on the National Mall, in what is shaping up to be be the largest environmental rally in many years.

Click here to join us in DC: act.350.org/signup/presidentsday

Together we'll send the message loud and clear: 'If you're serious about protecting future generations from climate change, stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. If you can do that, Mr. President, we can all work together to help build a climate legacy that will be a credit to your critical eight years in office.'

Look -- numbers count. If 20,000 of us show up on February 17th, it will be noticed. We need you in that number. The President may have given us an opening, but it's up to us to go through it, and we need to do it together.

Thanks for all you've done to bring us this far, friends. Let's keep it up -- this is our chance.

Bill

 
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Meet Yuliya, Tim, Nicolò and Emma - 350 Europe

Emma Biermann
Posted by Emma Biermann - 01/16/13, 2:55am

 

2013 has already kicked off as we hope to continue in Europe.  Alongside a huge amount of excitement for Global Power Shift (GPS) across the continent and sweet plans shaping up to confront the fossil fuel industry, we’ve had two new fabulous recruits to help us make our ideas a reality.  As Yuliya Makliuk continues to organise and help build the climate movement in the Russian speaking world, Tim Ratcliffe based in Berlin and Nicolò Wojewoda in London are joining us as European campaigners to help share and develop the stories of both climate change itself and your activities as part of the movement.  More introductions below!
 
This has given me more energy than ever, knowing I have both a rock-star team to collaborate with, combined with this ever-inspiring network of climate organisers like you fighting the good fight.  Here’s to fantastic year ahead!
 
Emma Biermann, European Coordinator

 

 
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18 Top Climate Scientists Call on President Obama to Reject Keystone XL

Daniel Kessler
Posted by Daniel Kessler - 01/15/13, 2:36pm

For immediate release

Jan 15, 2013

Nation’s Top Climate Scientists Urge President Obama to Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

OAKLAND CA -- Eighteen of the nation’s top climate scientists released a letter to President Obama today urging him to say no to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. 

“Eighteen months ago some of us wrote you about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, explaining why in our opinion its construction ran counter to both national and planetary interests,"  wrote the scientists. "Nothing that has happened since has changed that evaluation; indeed, the year of review that you asked for on the project made it clear exactly how pressing the climate issue really is."

Indeed the past year has shown that climate change is here. A few months after Superstorm Sandy flooded parts of the Northeast, NOAA announced last week that the average temperature for 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above normal and a full degree higher than the previous warmest year recorded -- 1988. 

The State Department is expected to soon release its supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) required for the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. The department’s previous pipeline EIS downplayed climate risks by arguing that the tar sands would be developed with or without Keystone XL and therefore the project had no responsibility for the additional greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning tar sands oil. 

But two of Canada's largest banks, TD Economics and CIBC, have recently said that without added capacity, "Canada's oil industry is facing a serious challenge to its long-term growth" and that “Canada needs pipe — and lots of it — to avoid the opportunity cost of stranding over a million barrels a day of potential crude oil growth.”

The Obama Administrations has promised action on climate change but if KXL is approved, the Administration would be actively supporting and encouraging the growth of an industry which has demonstrably serious effects on climate.

Thousands of concerned citizens will come to Washington, DC on February 17th, President's Day weekend, to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline. Rally information is at www.350.org/presidentsday.

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1. Full text of the letter: 

 
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Tuning up to kick off Global Power Shift

Hong Hoang
Posted by Hong Hoang - 01/13/13, 11:55am

Here's an exciting post by Nhi Thoi, the new copywriter from 350 Vietnam. Thanks to Susan Kim for her help with editing.

Dear 350 Gurus!

Are you ready to have an exciting 2013 with Global Power Shift (GPS)? The 350 Vietnam team has been jumping up and down with excitement, so much excitement that they’ve already hosted a music night in anticipation for GPS campaigning last Thursday night in Ho Chi Minh City!

Top Vietnamese singers and 350.org Goodwill Ambassadors like Thanh Bui, Pham Anh Khoa, Sy Luan, Thuy Hoang Diem, and PiBand, brought in over 400 audience members to rock the night away with their hits.  Our special guests went beyond performing their songs to comment on their shared love of nature, humanity, and the country, revealing personal stories concerning climate change through improvised rap.

In an endeavor to raise people’s consciousness about environmental crises, singer-musician, CEO of Soul Academy, and Vietnam Power Shift’s first partner, Mr. Thanh Bui shared with the crowd, “If we want to change the world, we have to, first change ourselves. I believe in the power of music because music is the best way to inspire and change people’s perceptions about the Earth’s problems.”

We were also able to welcome Mike Spine – a singer, recording artist, and music teacher on a six-month global humanitarian music tour to six continents raising awareness for social, economic and environmental justice.

All singers sing Heal the world

 
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Welcome the new East Asia coordinating team!

Will Bates
Posted by Will Bates - 01/04/13, 2:48pm

It gives me great joy to kick off 2013 announcing some new members of our 350 international coordinating team. Stationed in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Philippines, this all-star team of young organizers -- Rully, Hong, Jah Ying and Zeph -- will be taking on the challenge of coordinating a huge, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural region: East Asia. The team itself represents a diverse set of backgrounds, ranging from businesses and NGOs to academia and government. Stay tuned to see what new projects this exciting team will be launching in countries across East Asia! And here's a bit more of an introduction from each one...

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Left to Right: Jah Ying, Hong, Zeph, and Rully.

Zeph
In 2009, I worked with friends and initiated a candlelight protest that gathered 30 people in the community to join in the demand for a fair, ambitious, and binding treaty during the Conference of Party in Copenhagen. A week after, Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines, causing more than 450 deaths and over a billion USD in damages. The glaring reality of climate change sparked a fresh climate movement in 2010, and we held creative actions with bikers, mountaineers, runners and artists to create new climate solutions visible in our community. I then continued my work, engaging in the following campaigns - the youth-led Green Economy Summit in our Province, Moving Planet in 2011 - calling for bike lanes and promenades to be installed, a series of climate forums on the threat of coal, alternative solutions, reforestation initiatives with local partners, and Connect the Dots, which still continues in the Philippines.
 
I am eager to rejoin forces with 350.org as a member of the East Asia coordinating team, and look forward to working with the new challenges and opportunities we will face in the future!
 
Hong
For the last one and a half years, I’ve worked with 350.org in the role of national coordinator for Vietnam. Since then, I’ve connected a network of 7,000 environmental volunteers in 20 provinces in Vietnam, and engaged dozens of environmentally responsible business corporations as well as many local celebrities in climate change campaigns and projects. 350 Vietnam has become the largest grassroots climate change movement in the country, involving and benefiting thousands of people in both urban and rural areas. Our youth-led projects and campaigns focus mainly on reducing carbon emission through inspiring the people and corporates to take small and practical actions in daily life, as well as introducing greener alternatives, and providing support to climate change affected communities. 350 Vietnam's biggest projects and campaigns include the Moving Planet, The Sun in a Bottle, Climate Camp, Connect the Dots, Green Habitation, Vote for Nature, Strawless, Light Source of Future, White Roof - Green Wall.
 
Now I am continuing as a member of the new East Asia coordinating team, and coordinating with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar to lead climate change projects. I am excited about this challenging yet incredible opportunity, and look forward to working with the amazing regional and global networks of 350.org.
 
Rully
I first started working with 350.org in the 10:10:10 project, gathering more than 100 people to urge nations to come together and focus on climate change in Bandung, Indonesia. In 2011, I continued to raise climate change awareness locally, completing an 11 day long bicycle trip from Bali to Bandung, eventually reaching out to more than 10,000 people on Moving Planet action day.
 
Now as we continue the fight on fossil fuel subsidies, coal, emissions and climate and energy related issues, I will be working with 350.org in organizing and overseeing local activities in Indonesia. I am excited and hope to be working with all of you in our fight on climate change!
 
Jah Ying
I first joined 350.org in 2010 as a national coordinator in China. I worked with local partners to launch some of the largest climate change campaigns in China’s history, engaging over 10,000 young people to build creative local solutions to tackle the climate crisis! Some of our most memorable campaigns include a national day of action on 10/10/10, where 300 local solutions were launched, and the Great Power Race clean energy challenge that brought together thousands of students from China, India and the US in friendly competition.
 
After a one year hiatus, I am rejoining the 350.org team as the Northeast Asia Coordinator, and will be overseeing activities in China (mainland and Taiwan), Japan and Korea. I look forward to launching new initiatives in 2013 and empowering more young people to build creative solutions to tackle climate change in their home countries!
 
A big thanks to Chun See and the whole crew for helping compile this intro post.
 
 
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Vermonter of the Year: Guess Who?

May Boeve
Posted by May Boeve - 01/02/13, 7:35am

We were very pleased to see that the Burlington Free Press named Bill McKibben "2012 Vermonter of the Year." Vermont is a state chock-full of heroes and heroines, so we're especially happy to see Bill recognized in this way, by neighbors, so to speak.

Some of the accomplishments they list are well known to many of you: three days in jail protesting Keystone XL, the 21-city Do the Math tour, founding 350.org. Some others may be less familiar: Bill has written more than a dozen books.

As a variety of Vermont based colleges and universities, including my alma mater Middlebury College (where Bill is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar), consider divestment, this couldn't come at a better time. As the Free Press article mentions, Bill's, and 350's, message is certainly breaking through!

 
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RE-volv launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Community Solar

Daniel Kessler
Posted by Daniel Kessler - 12/26/12, 9:43am

Guest post from Andreas Karelas of Re-volv.

RE-volv just a few days ago launched its first crowdfunding campaign for community-based solar energy on Indiegogo, accessible at www.solarseedfund.org. After being blogged about by our friends at Solar Mosaic, tweeted about by Bill McKibben, and featured in an article on Clean Technica our crowdfunding campaign has taken off. With just a week into the campaign, we’ve already raised more than half of our goal.

350.org’s Do the Math Tour asks people and institutions to divest from fossil fuels. As more people divest from fossil fuels if we can increasingly invest in renewable energy, we could create a very powerful dynamic and signal for change.

RE-volv is a nonprofit organization empowering people to invest collectively in renewable energy. RE-volv has started a revolving fund for community-based solar energy called the Solar Seed Fund. Here’s how it works: The Solar Seed Fund raises donations through crowdfunding to finance solar installations on community-serving organizations such as schools, universities, hospitals, and places of worship. RE-volv recoups the cost of the solar installation and earns a return on the investment through a 20-year solar lease agreement. The lease payments go back into the Solar Seed Fund allowing the fund to continuously grow and finance an expanding number of solar installations. The communities RE-volv serves save money on their electric bill and are able to showcase solar energy to their community members.

What’s exciting about this model is that each person’s donation isn’t just for one solar energy system. A donation in the Solar Seed Fund is like planting a seed for solar energy. Each solar energy system we install produces a dramatic return on its investment and is able to finance an additional three solar energy systems over the course of the lease. When RE-volv has many installations up and running, the revenues will produce more and more solar systems each year, which bring in more revenues creating a self-sustaining ever expanding renewable energy fund.

Solar is now cost effective. It pays for itself over time and can be a profitable investment. RE-volv’s unique revolving fund model, rather than generating returns for investors, reinvests the returns it earns in the revolving fund allowing it to grow exponentially.

This way, people who donate get a tax deduction, are making a meaningful impact in reducing carbon emissions, are spurring the renewable energy industry, and are educating countless communities about the benefits of solar. We can use this movement to demonstrate that people are willing to support renewable energy in the United States out of their own pockets as part of a collective effort with lots of people chipping in a little bit.

 
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