Actions for the climate change should not end with Blog Action Day last October 15. It should be the start of the call for the change.
October is almost over. That also means, December is coming. And so is the convention at Copenhagen. This is when the world’s leaders will meet for a new climate treaty following the Kyoto Protocol that is near expiry.
350.org made October 24 the International Day of Climate Action. People all over the world have already organized actions for this day. This is already becoming a huge global event. This is all for the support of the most important number in the world: 350.
We need to make 350 a number known across the planet. This will exert some pressure on this world leaders to make a decision that will work best for our planet and for us. This pressure is needed as the fossil fuel industry is the big force that might hinder this drive towards 350.
So why 350? What is the significance of 350?
Scientists say that it is the safe limit of part per million of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. And guess what? We are already way past that.
We are almost at 400 ppm and this is not good. This is not able to kill our planet immediately but if we do not get back to the safe zone, and fast!, the planet will be more at risk of dying. We have gone to the danger zone as we have poured too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – from our home systems, cars, industries, and a lot more. Signs of big trouble are already very evident – huge ice caps melting, glaciers cracking, strong typhoons. We don’t want that.
How do we get back to 350?
We need an international agreement to reduce carbon emissions fast. The United Nations is working on a treaty, which is supposed to be completed in December of 2009 at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. But the current plans for the treaty are much too weak to get us back to safety. This treaty needs to put a high enough price on carbon that we stop using so much. It also needs to make sure that poor countries are ensured a fair chance to develop.
We are hoping that this December, world leaders will make the right decision for us to be able to preserve the only home we know.