International Climate Action Day

Photos by: Scott Taggart	Click on photo to zoom

People in 181 countries came together on October 24th, 2009 for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

Thanks to the efforts of Barbara Hopkins and Green Sanctuary, UUSS was able to participate in this world wide event.

So why are these UUSS'rs holding a 350 sign?

350 is what many scientists and climate experts are now saying is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere.

For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Parts per million is simply a way of measuring the concentration of different gases, and means the ratio of the number of carbon dioxide molecules to all of the molecules in the atmosphere. 275 ppm CO2 is a useful amount — without some CO2 and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for humans to inhabit.

Beginning in the 18th century, humans began to burn coal and gas and oil to produce energy and goods. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere began to rise, at first slowly and now more quickly. Many of the activities we do every day directly or indirectly emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. The latest figures show that the atmosphere contains 390 parts per million CO2 and this number is rising by about 2 parts per million every year.

Scientists are now saying that's too much — that number is higher than any time seen in the recorded history of our planet. We're already beginning to see disastrous impacts all over the world. Glaciers are melting and disappearing fast. Drought is becoming much more common, making food harder to grow in many places. Sea levels have begun to rise. The oceans are growing more acidic because of the CO2 they are absorbing. And the list goes on.

In response to this environmental crisis, environmental author Bill McKibben gathered an international group together to find a way to raise awareness of this environmental crisis. They created 350.org and using the power of the internet to coordinate a planetary day of action.

But standing behind a sign for a photo is only a start. We all need to become smarter about global warming and do what we can to get CO2 levels heading back down below 350. 

Click here for more information about 350.org.