Dear Friends,
Well, no one said it was going to be
easy.
Last year, thanks to many of you, we built up enormous
momentum for climate solutions. The global day of rallies you pulled off on
October 24th turned out to "the most widespread day of political action in the
planet's history," according to CNN, with 5200 actions in 181
countries.
And in Copenhagen that translated into 117
countries--most of the world's nations--supporting a tough 350 target.
But it didn't translate into political victory. The biggest
polluters wouldn't go along. So we still have work to do.
In fact,
our slogan for 2010 is "Get To Work." Get to work to start changing our
communities, and get to work to make our leaders realize that they actually need
to lead. We've sifted through thousands of your emails from all over the world,
and come up with an action plan for this year that we think may break the logjam
and get us moving. But only, of course, if we act together to make it
happen.
The first date to mark on your calendar: October 10.
Working with our friends at the 10:10 campaign, we're going to make the tenth
day of the tenth month of the millennium's tenth year a real starting point for
concrete action. We're calling it the 10/10 Global Work Party, and in
every corner of the world we hope communities will put up solar panels, insulate
homes, erect windmills, plant trees, paint bikepaths, launch or harvest local
gardens. We'll make sure the world sees this huge day of effort--and we'll
use it to send a simple message to our leaders: "We're
working--what about you? If we can cover the roof of the school with solar
panels, surely you can pass the legislation or sign the treaty that will spread
our work everywhere, and confront the climate crisis in time." 10/10/10 will
take a snapshot of a clean energy future -- the world of 350 ppm -- and show
people why it's worth fighting for. It's not too early to sign up here: www.350.org/oct10
Every
nation is not created equal in this climate crisis, of course. If we can't get
the biggest polluters and the biggest economies to change, then we'll never win.
So we're going to focus some particular attention on China, the United States,
and India with a Great Power Race--college and university campuses will
compete to see who can come up with the most, and the most creative, climate
solutions. We hope friendly competition will help governments see that they have
a lot to gain by diving into clean energy--and a lot to lose by missing this
opportunity.
And we'll keep figuring out ways to apply political
pressure where it counts--in the U.S. Senate, say, where we're joining a group
of our best allies in backing the proposed Cap-and-Dividend approach that
would stop letting big polluters pour carbon into the sky for free. In
other parts of the world, we'll hold more of the climate leadership
workshops that produced so many great leaders last year.
And as
the next UN conference approaches in Mexico in December, we'll stage the
largest piece of public art in the planet's history--a reminder that we have
to bring passion to bear along with science and economics if we're going to move
this process.
We know, from the calls and emails we've been getting, that
people all over the world are ready to go to work. We think this plan can
increase the odds of real action. We know that we have no choice. When, years
down the road, the next generation asks what we did to save the planet, we want
to be able to say: "We rolled up our sleeves and got to work." There's no
guarantee we can beat the rich and powerful interests that we're up against--but
thanks to you we've got enough momentum to have a real chance. Let's use it
now.
Onwards,
Bill McKibben and the 350.org
Team
P.S. We've learned that there's great power in pictures, and so
we decided to make an audio slideshow that walks through our plan for 2010 and
how we got here. Please watch it here,
and share the piece with family & friends by spreading this link: www.350.org/audio-slideshow.
Also, please forward this message far and wide--2010 needs to be a year of
unprecedented growth for this movement.
P.P.S. We want to know what your
reaction is to the plan for 2010--will you share your ideas and thoughts with
the Global
350 Facebook Community by leaving a comment in the latest message? (www.facebook.com/350.org)
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You
should join us on Facebook by becoming a fan of our page at facebook.com/350org
and follow us on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350 350.org needs your help! To support our work, donate securely online at 350.org/donate You are subscribed to this list as lbuzzell@aol.com. Click here to unsubscribe 350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, we will ensure that the world creates bold and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. 350.org is an independent and not-for-profit project. What is 350? 350 is the number that
leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our
atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million"
(ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as
possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a
different kind of PPM-a "people powered movement" that is made of of
people like you in every corner of the planet. |