You might have seen Bill McKibben’s post below about how we crossed the landmark "4000" action mark. Just as important is the latest: that Brunei has come aboard, making it 170 UN-recognized countries to have 350 actions! This is unbelievable, and it looks like the International Day of Climate Action is shaping up to be the most widespread coordinated political event on anything. Ever.
In the last week alone, we’ve had: the following additions: Andorra, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Qatar, Palau, Nauru, Gabon — though some of them have been a little late to officially register their actions on 350.org, they assure us that they will register soon and that their events are certainly happening on Saturday.
This is amazing news–the list of countries we don’t have actions is dwindling—but we shouldn’t give up hope for these hold-outs. If you think you can help find organizers in "The Missing 23," please click "read on"…
Below you’ll find a list of the UN-recognized countries where as of yet there is no action registered. Do you know someone in any of these countries. Does your church or synagogue or mosque or temple have contacts there? What about your professional society? University alumni group?
Would you be willing to send an email like this to them, explaining 350 and asking them to join in by organizing some event, large or small, for the 24th of October?
Can you imagine the kind of message it would sound if every country on the planet joined in actions on Oct. 24th?
Let’s use the web to wire a truly global movement. Let us know if we can help: [email protected]
The Missing Countries
1. Angola
2. Bahamas
3. Turkmenistan
4. Comoros
5. Djibouti
6. East Timor
7. Equatorial Guinea
8. Eritrea
9. Guinea
10. Guinea-Bissau
11. Kiribati
12. Lesotho
13. Liechtenstein
14. Luxembourg
15. Mauritania
16. Micronesia
17. Monaco
18. Namibia
19. North Korea
20. San Marino
21. Sao Tome and Principe
22. Seychelles
Sample E-Mail you can forward to people who live in the countries listed above
I know that you’re concerned about climate change–and I happen to know that you’re in the perfect place to take extremely powerful action.
You see, on October 24 of this year (in just a few days!) 350.org is sponsoring a huge day of global events to ask for progress on climate change that gets the planet back to 350 parts per million of CO2 – the number that scientists agree is a safe level for climate polution our atmosphere. It looks like October 24th might well be the most widespread day of environmental action ever. Already there are 1,400 events scheduled in over 100 countries on Earth.
But not everywhere. Not yet. Which is where you come in.
350.org can make it extremely easy to organize something for that day. It doesn’t need to be a huge rally, just some kind of public event that shows you and your fellow citizens’ concern about climate change. If you email us back, we’ll send you the materials you need to get started, and provide all the support we can. Even if you’ve never organized anything like this before, we can help make the process fun and simple.
It will help the cause enormously to be able to say: for the first time, people in all countries are united around the same goal, and asking for the same action. It will be a day of great power, and we hope very much you’ll be willing to be a part of it. Many decision-makers don’t know there’s a truly global climate movement, and so they don’t feel a sense of global pressure to make a strong deal at the United Nations Climate Meeting in Copenhagen this December. We can show them how broad and diverse the movement is on October 24!
To help you get started, if you´re the first person to sign up in your country, 350.org will send you a little 350 organizing pack – some stickers and a t-shirt to help you initiate building the movement in your country. Whether you’re a veteran organizer and environmentalist, or just getting involved, they can help you every step of the way. And they are very responsive by email and phone, so you can contact them if you need to.
Want to lead the way in your country? Here’s how:
1. Make sure there are no actions already registered in your country: visit www.350.org/action-list, use the menu to select your country name and press the "search for actions" button.
2. Register your action at www.350.org/oct24 There are just three things necessary for an action – that it be a public event of some kind (a march, festival, or workshop for example), that it make the number 350 visible in some way, and that you document your action with a photo to upload to 350.org and show the world that your community is ready for climate action. Here are some additional ideas, an list of action you can organize quickly, and a simple 9-step plan for action: www.350.org/ideas – www.350.org/quick – www.350.org/9steps
3. – Plan your action. Check out the 350 site for downloadable guides, promotional materials, and more and be in touch with us with any questions!
Thanks so much for becoming a leader for climate action — together, as one global movement, we can make October 24th a day to change the course of our planet.