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Name: 350.org and Bill McKibben
Nominated Category: Organization & Individual
URL: http://350.org
Area: Advocacy, Environmentalism
About:
The 350 in 350.org represents 350 parts per million, or the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere scientists have identified as the safe upper limit. (We’re currently at 387 ppm.) The 350.org mission is tell the world and most importantly, world leaders the urgency of that number, coordinating action through online grassroots methods. This December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to sign a new treaty on cutting CO2 emissions but the treaty as it stands doesn’t pass the 350 test, and the folks at 350.org are hoping that an International Day of Climate Action will change that.
To unite the public, media and political leaders behind the 350 goal, 350.org has planned an Day of Climate Action for October 24. There are plans for rallies in big cities, and creative actions around the world: mountain climbers on our highest peaks with banners, underwater demonstrations in island nations threatened by sea level rise star athletes organizing mass bike rides declares the 350.org web site. At the end of the day, 350.org plans to take photos of the actions around the globe to create a giant, visual petition.
Right now, the 350.org web site is all about the Day of Climate Action the top right corner features a countdown to October 24; there’s sidebars tracking talk of 350.org and the action day on Twitter; links to connecting with 350mobile (350.org brought to your mobile phone), an online toolbox for action organizers, and links to 350.org‘s accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. It’s a multi-platform media ambush to get the 350 mission out there. The web site’s main page has running news updates about what people are planning to do for the Day of Climate Action, or what people have already done such as school children in the Maldives forming a giant aerial-view 350 in a stadium.
There are, of course, also ways to click-and-donate on the web site, and the site’s media page has information on how bloggers and people involved with new (and traditional) media can spread word about 350, including joining the 350 bloggers network.
350.org was founded by Bill McKibben, an American environmentalist and writer who frequently writes about global warming and alternative energy. Among other major actions, in 2006, McKibben led a five-day walk across Vermont to demand action on global warming; and in 2007, he founded stepitup07.org to demand that Congress enact curbs on carbon emissions. According to his web site, McKibben is active in the Methodist Church, and his writing sometimes has a spiritual bent. He frequently contributes to The New York Times, Harper’s, Mother Jones, Granta and Rolling Stone.
The Basics:
WHO: 350.org, founded by environmental activist Bill McKibben
WHAT: Organizing an international day of climate action.
WHERE: All over the world, with participants engaging in different actions to show world leaders why we need to cut down carbon emissions.
HOW to get involved: Go to 350.org, follow the campaign through social media and social networking channels and find out how you can organize or join an action in your city or state.
What other people are saying:
Hawaii actions (media release)
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