Already we’re seeing hundreds of exciting and creative events registered for 24 October – and its no surprise that there’s lots planned in Australia, a hotbed for climate change activism. Read on for a sampling of actions in Australia native Emily Mulligan, and if you’re in Australia, check out this calendar for 350.org director Bill McKibben’s upcoming tour:
I love Australia, the island continent, the sunburned country, and the home of Steve Irwin. Its got everything, amazing lattes in its cosmopolitan cities, deserts that stretch for an eternity, rainforests that meet the sea, the home of finding nemo and that big rock thingy. It’s this diversity and the extremes that mean Australia is especially vulnerable to the threats of climate change.
What I really love about Australia though is its people. Already there are more than twenty 350 actions planned for all over the country. From planting trees to riding bikes, Australia’s got it going on.
People are getting creative, one planned action is having people dressed in red in a recently logged area to protest deforestation, another a human sign on one of Australia’s famous beaches. There are events using green food, green performance and human messages, from picnics to public transport, bright banners, kids events and street theatre, it looks like October 24 will be an epic day of action down under. Some people are using famous Australian landmarks, like the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a great way to make an eye-catching event. Others are running events aimed at education and networking. Either way the actions in Oz along with all of the actions that will take place on October 24 from Sydney to Santiago to Shanghai will send a clear message to the climate change negotiators at Copenhagen.
These exciting ideas from Australia are just examples of what can be achieved when we set our minds to it. There’s still plenty of time to start thinking about an action you could create, the options are endless!