October 24, 2009 was noted as the International Day of Climate Action in a visible statement of the number considered to be upper limit of parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is the safe limit for humanity. Current atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are measured to be 387 parts per million. That’s on the wrong side of 350. Author Bill McKibben knows something about the danger of these numbers, since he wrote one of the first books on global warming for the general public. So with some help from his friends, he instigated the initiative which is reported to be “the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history.”
The purpose? To inform people about the number and our current need for take action. Did it work? Well, around the world, 5,200 events in 181 countries made a powerful impact visually (with 19,000 photos disseminated) and in terms of education. The images will be presented to UN delegates and climate negotiators in Copenhagen in December. Playing by numbers is only one part of the action. What we do next is crucial. Find out more at: 350.org.
