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From Bill McKibben

Page history last edited by Joe Galliani 14 years, 7 months ago

A trip around the world...

A trip around the world...

Dear Friends,

 I'm back home with my family for a few days, after the third long organizing trip of the past few months. In a way, this trip was the most extraordinary, because it took me to places where you wouldn't necessarily expect climate organizing to be going full force. But it is--people everywhere are figuring out that 350 is the most important number on earth, that October 24 is going to be the most widespread day of climate action ever, and that six weeks before the big UN talks in Copenhagen we'll stand together to change the debate on climate change. 

 

The biggest lesson from my trip?  That this movement is building in the most unlikely of places. India, for instance--whose people are not, by and large, big emitters of CO2, and whose leaders have so far been reluctant to even consider taking on international commitments to fight against warming.  But from the Rotary Clubs of Mumbai to the temples of Varanasi to the lawn of Delhi's Nehru Museum and Library (where thousands of schoolkids formed a giant 350 and a gorgeous Bengal tiger),

 

I found people gearing up for October 24, and determined to play their part in helping prevent the melt of Himalayan glaciers or the drying of the Ganges. And in the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf, I had no idea what to expect. But our friends at IndyAct, the Arab world's climate leaders, connected us with amazing organizers in places like Abu Dhabi and Oman. Some were in chadors or flowing dishdasha; all were eager to spread the word. And on and on, in every corner of the globe. It's sort of hard to believe until you see it--which is why I hope you'll stay plugged into the campaign in every way the web now allows.

 

First of all, if you're not yet connected to us on Facebook, now's the time--not only does our Facebook page kelp keep track of this global movement, but also lets you connect directly to other 350 advocates and activists all over the world: http://www.facebook.com/350.org And Twitter--I've only just gotten around to joining up myself. I was deeply skeptical at first, but I'm now starting to understand that Twitter's micro-messages allow a new and interesting kind of conversation. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/billmckibben and the official campaign at www.twitter.com/350 

 

We hope you enjoy watching the movement build online--but moreover we hope that these online channels inspire you to organize an action of your own.  If your community isn't yet on the map, sign up here: www.350.org/oct24 One of the messages I kept hearing as I traveled was: "we're eager to be heard!" In the developing world, especially, people are excited at the thought that the rest of the planet will be paying attention to them on October 24--that by taking action, photographing their local event, and spreading it online, they'll be collaborating with people spreading exactly the same message no matter where they are on this planet. It's a beautiful vision--Kansas and Cancun, New York and New Delhi, Boston and Beirut, connecting and collaborating across borders. It's exactly what we need to do with this most global of all problems--thanks for playing your part! 

 

Onwards, 

Bill McKibben

 


 

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July 15, 2009

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends-

 

We're now a hundred days away from October 24, the day when together we'll manage to change the debate on global warming--away from narrow politics and towards a planet with a future.

 

"Together" is the key word in that sentence--it won't happen without you. We need every hand on deck in these last precious weeks.

 

And to make sure all those hands are working in harmony, it would be an enormous help if you could fill out this quick survey to help answer some key strategic questions for 350.org moving forward.  Your answers will help our team better serve the growing international climate movement, and will help determine how we play our cards in the months ahead. 

 

 The poll is just 8 questions long--visit this link to add your voice:

http://www.350.org/survey

 

So far, things are going better than we could possibly have hoped. I've just come back from Turkey, where we helped organize a three-week training session for young activists from across Central Asia. They're spreading the 350 message across vast swaths of the planet where there's barely been an environmental movement before.

 

Tomorrow I get on the plane for India, the Maldives, and the countries of the Middle East--check out the website for regular updates from me, and from our organizing staff all over the globe. And of course, we have pictures--yes, those are 350 kayaks in the shape of 350, and 350 activists from the Dominican Republic on the Spanish BBC, and much more on our blog.

 

But the most important updates will come from you, as you start checking in to let us know how your events are coming together for October 24. If you haven't registered your action yet, please use this link and get your action on the map today: http://www.350.org/oct24  Knowing you're out there will will make it easier for us to help you plan and organize.

 

And we need your help too in reaching out to others. It is clear that October 24 is going to be one of the biggest days of environmental action ever, and without any doubt the most widespread.

 

We've already got actions planned in almost half the countries in the world--just yesterday we added Rwanda to the list--but we want to be everywhere, and we really need you to spend half an hour with your email address book spreading the word.

 

If you know people who love to climb mountains, here's a letter to spread from some of the world's greatest climbers; here's one from our finest oceanographer; from some of our leading businesspeople; for farmers and food activists; and from leaders of faith communities.  As you can see, this is spreading far beyond normal environmental circles--it's turning into a true movement.

 

Remember--we're not an organization exactly, we're more of an open source campaign--so we rely on the help of friends and allies all over the world. We're working with everyone from established environmental organizations to local schools. And we're part of a big coalition, TckTckTck, that will be sponsoring all kinds of activity beginning in September to build this movement.

 

And a movement is exactly what we need, because too many politicians are talking about taking the easy way out, negotiating an international climate agreement that will do too little. World leaders are gathering this December in Copenhagen to hammer out a global climate agreement, but their latest targets call for holding temperature increases to two degrees Celsius.

 

But we've already raised the temperature one degree, and that's been enough to melt the Arctic, flood cities, and make plentiful farms arid.  It's time, past time, to stand on the brakes and throw this runaway car into reverse. We know the planet's bottom line: above 350 parts per million CO2, we can't have an earth "similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted." So that's what we need to ask for. As I wrote today in a new article for the Guardian: politicians can bend; physics can't. It's that simple.

 

I confess I'm a little weary some of the time--trying to organize the planet is hard work for our whole team, spread out in offices from Johannesburg to Budapest, from Quito to Beirut, from Kuala Lumpur to Berlin.

 

But we have a hundred days to try and prevent a hundred centuries of devastating damage to this beautiful earth. Thanks for pouring your heart and soul into it, and let us know how we can help.

 

With great faith,

Bill McKibben

for the entire 350.org Team

 

P.S. Please help pass this update around--my younger and more technologically adept colleagues assure me that if you have a Facebook or Twitter Account, you can re-post it with just a couple of clicks:

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