In late summer 2006, Bill helped lead a five-day walk across Vermont to
demand action on global warming that some newspaper accounts called the
largest demonstration to date in America about climate change. In 2007,
he founded stepitup07.org to demand that Congress enact curbs on carbon
emissions that would cut global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050.
With six college students, he organized 1,400 global warming
demonstrations across all 50 states of America. Step It Up 2007 has been
described as the largest day of protest about climate change in the
nation's history.
350.ORG
In 2009, Bill led the organization of 350.org, which coordinated a 09/09/09 event prior to the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Foreign Policy magazine called it "the largest ever global coordinated rally of any
kind," with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. The
magazine named him to its inaugural list of the 100 most important
global thinkers, and MSN named him one of the dozen most influential men
of 2009.
Which brings us to 10/10/10, the Global Work Party day, for which
hundreds of thousands of people around the world, more than 5,600 groups
from 183 countries are coming together to demonstrate and tell their
leaders, "We're getting to work -- how about you?" Four Valley
organizations are officially registered to be counted among this vast
global network. Their activities will culminate in a big picture-taking
event at American Flatbread at 5 p.m. to which all interested citizens
are invited to join.
Now, what about the number 350?
That's the number leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for
carbon dioxide - measured in parts per million in our atmosphere. 350
ppm - it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible
to avoid runaway climate change. The science is clear: Global warming is
happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. Global warming
is caused by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the most
common of which is carbon dioxide. Many of the activities we do every
day rely on the combustion of fossil fuels like coal and oil, which emit
carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases when burned. This is a
major problem because global warming destabilizes the delicate balance
that makes life on this planet possible. Just a few degrees in
temperature can completely change the world as we know it and threaten
the lives of millions of people around the world.
NUMBER RISING
For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere
contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. 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. We're taking millions of years worth
of carbon, stored beneath the earth as fossil fuels, and releasing it
into the atmosphere. By now the planet has 392 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-and we're already
beginning to see disastrous impacts on people and places all over the
world. These impacts are combining to exacerbate conflicts and security
issues in already resource-strapped regions.
Propelled by the news of these accelerating impacts, some of the world's
leading climate scientists have now revised the highest safe level of
CO2 to 350 parts per million. It's the safety zone for planet earth. As
James Hansen, of America's National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the first scientist to warn about global warming more
than two decades ago, wrote recently:
"If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which
civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted,
paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will
need to be reduced to at most 350 ppm."
NOT IMPOSSIBLE
That will be a hard task but not impossible. We need to stop taking
carbon out of the ground and putting it into the air. Above all, that
means we need to stop burning so much coal-and start using solar and
wind energy and other such sources of renewable energy. If we do, then
the earth's soils and forests will slowly cycle some of that extra
carbon out of the atmosphere and eventually CO2 concentrations will
return to a safe level. By decreasing use of other fossil fuels and
improving agricultural and forestry practices around the world,
scientists believe we could get back below 350 by mid-century. But the
longer we remain in the danger zone - above 350 - the more likely that
we will see disastrous and irreversible climate impacts.
Our little Valley is uniquely situated to be a leader in the move toward
sustainability, a fact that's amply demonstrated by the many local
organizations already working to create a future that's resilient,
abundant and healthy. Our 10/10/10 events celebrate those efforts. We
invite everyone to participate!
Kyle lives in Warren.
