350.org
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350.org is a well-funded grassroots organization around the world working together to build an international movement to stop global warming. The number 350 refers 350 parts per million (ppm), the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide allowable in the atmosphere. The number comes from the work of Dr. James Hansen, the United State's top climatologist, who wrote, “if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, CO2 must be reduced from its present 385 ppm (parts per million) to, at most, 350 ppm.”[1] The 350.org activists are working to build a movement to create awareness of this tipping point and reduce CO2 levels to avoid catastrophic and irreversible damage to the earth's environment.
The U.S. team along with environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, who is credited with writing the first book for a general audience on climate change, organized the Step in Up campaign in 2007, which included over 2000 rallies in all 50 states.[2] Building on this momentum, the group is working to inspire international cooperation in reducing our CO2 levels. To accomplish their goals, they promotes a wide variety of strategies, including phasing out coal power plants and replacing them with renewable sources, planting instead of clear-cutting forests, increasing efficiency and decreasing waste.
350.org's website is translated into nine languages. Grassroots events have been held in Korea, Nepal, the United States, and India.[3]
On April 6, 2011 350.org and 1Sky merged to be called 350.org. [4]
- May Boeve - Executive Director and Co-founder
Contents
Major Allied Organizations
According to their website: [5]
- Avaaz
- Chesapeake Climate Action Network
- Citizens Climate Lobby
- Climate Reality Project
- CREDO
- Energy Action Coalition
- Friends of the Earth
- Greenpeace
- Interfaith Power and Light
- MoveOn
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Oil Change International
- Rainforest Action Network
- Sierra Club
- World Council of Churches
Team
Accessed December 2013: [6]
Board
- Bill McKibben - President
- Jay Halfon - Treasurer
- KC Golden - Secretary
- Melina Laboucan Massimo
- Naomi Klein
- Jessy Tolkan
International Advisory Council
- Mohammed Adow, Mohammed Nasheed, Vandana Shiva, Payal Parekh, Casper ter Kuile, Marita Manley, Sean Weaver, Ricken Patel, Wael Hmaidan, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, Ronny Jumeau, Sze Ping, Kumi Naidoo, Rod Oram, Rubens Harry Born, Liz Thompson
US Advisory Council
- Van Jones, Gus Speth, Betsy Taylor, Vicky Rateau, Billy Parish, Richard Cizik, Colin Beavan, Liz Butler, Lennox Yearwood, Tom Kruse
Messengers (Dec 2011)
Accessed December 2011: [7]
- Bill McKibben, Rajendra Pachauri, Vandana Shiva, Desmond Tutu, James Hansen, Will Steger, Keibo Oiwa, Liz Thomson, Mohamed Nasheed, David Suzuki, Van Jones, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Thomas Homer Dixon, Paul Loeb, Barbara Kingsolver, Alex Steffen, Lester Brown, George Monbiot, Colin Beaven, Ross Gelbspan
10/10/10
10/10/10 was a global day of action organized by 350.org on October 10, 2010, designed to spur community actions to address climate change and create the basis for increased political action.[8]
Keystone XL Climate Movement
On February 17, 2013 more than 40,000 people from 30 states around the nation rallied against the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington D.C. This was the largest climate protest in U.S history. Organizations such as 350.org helped initiate the massive turnout. People from around the country came to oppose the pipeline along with making a statement to president Obama that reiterated his 2012 re-election campaign slogan, "forward." The legislation was rejected by President Obama in 2012, saying there was not enough time to make a decision. One year later, Keystone XL still has yet to be approved. Environmentalist groups have been continuously opposing the pipeline as it has many potentially "harmful" effects on the environment.[9]
Criticism
- Jeffrey St. Clair, The Post-Modern Protest Blues, Designer Protests and Vanity Arrests in DC, CounterPunch, April 12, 2013.
- John Stauber, The Progressive Movement is a PR Front for Rich Democrats, March 15, 2013, CounterPunch.
- The Insider, "Manufacturing Dissent: Inconvenient Truths About Tar Sands Action", Counterpunch, April 24, 2012.
- Christian Parenti, "Problems With the Math: Is 350's Carbon Divestment Campaign Complete?", Huffington Post, November 29, 2012.
Targeted coal plant proposals
Group details
Location: U.S. headquarters in San Francisco, CA
Group website: 350.org
Contact: jamie [at] 350.org
Resources
References
- ↑ "Clock Running Out on Climate Change", Yale Global, April 16, 2008.
- ↑ Step It Up 2007, group website, accessed July 2008.
- ↑ 350.org, Group website, accessed July 2008.
- ↑ 1Sky A BIG Announcement, organizational web page, accessed April 5, 2012.
- ↑ Website Accessed April 9, 2012.
- ↑ 350.org Board, organizational web page, accessed December 30, 2013.
- ↑ Messengers, 350.org, accessed December 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Ideas For Your 10/10 Work Party" 350.org, accessed Oct., 2010.
- ↑ [http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/17/16996283-thousands-rally-in-dc-against-keystone-pipeline?lite, Andrew Rafferty, Thousands rally in D.C. against Keystone Pipeline, published February 17, 2013.
Related SourceWatch Articles
- 1Sky
- 99% Spring
- CERES
- Capitol Power Plant
- Citizen groups working on coal issues
- Global warming
- Liz Butler
External links
- "The World Above 350ppm CO2", Bill McKibben, Balitmore Chronicle, May 11, 2008.
