You might have heard yesterday — we officially broke last year's record! The number of events for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party is now over 5,479, and it just keeps climbing (last year's peak count for the International Day of Climate Action was 5,248 events.) With more than a week to go until 10/10/10, if you're not feeling the heat of a movement at work around the world, you gotta come closer.
Bill sent out two notes yesterday to hundreds of thousands of 350 supporters as we witnessed history in the making (which at speed of the Internet, as it turns out, happens pretty fast!). Here are excerpts from the email before the old record got blown away:
Dear Friends,
I don't quite believe it.
I've been double-checking our numbers, and it's beginning to look like we might shoot past the total of events from last year's International Day of Climate Action. As I type this message, the counter is at 5203 events.You might remember that there were 5248 events in 181 countries last year, and you can watch the compilation video from that day for a reminder of just how beautiful it was.
And how massive it was: CNN said that it was "most widespread day of political action in the planet's history." I was worried we couldn't top that for the Global Work Party on 10/10/10–in part because "experts" kept saying people were too discouraged after the failure of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen. But it's looking like "experts" were wrong, and this movement is more energized than ever.
We'll let you know the minute we set a new record–you could help by emailing friends far and near to encourage them to take part.
And then, a short few hours later:
Wow. That was fast.
Apologies for sending multiple emails in one day, but I didn't want to keep the good news to myself.
About 15 minutes ago, Biljana from Serbia registered an event for her local community in Belgrade. On 10/10/10, at 10:10 AM, they will take 2nd and 4th graders on an "eco field trip" to volunteer at an sustainable farm, participate in green workshops, and do a trash clean-up. Of course, they'll be finishing up their event by forming a big "350" for a group photo that they will send into 350.org after their event.
Biljana's event in Serbia was the 5249th event registered for 10/10/10, and it officially broke last year's record!
The next 10 days will be a whirlwind of activity as friends from all over the world focus on making 10/10/10 as widespread, beautiful, and powerful as possible. If you don't yet know how you're plugging into 10/10/10, there's still lots of time to join or start an event in your community.
Me, I'll be giving everything I've got in this final push. I'm a bit tired, but am feeling completely recharged by today's milestone.
It sure is nice to know that this movement is growing bigger all the time.
So many thanks,
Bill McKibben (@billmckibben on Twitter)
PS: To give you a sense of just how diverse this day promises to be, I've pasted a list of a few event highlights assembled by our grassroots media team just below this email.
10/10/10 Event Highlights
Funniest: Sumo wrestlers cycling to practice in downtown Tokyo.
Most remote: An education center in the Namib Desert in Namibia installing six solar panels.
Smallest country taking part: Divers on the smallest island nation of the world, Nauru (8.1 square miles) will plunge into their coral reefs for an underwater clean-up.
Most presidential: President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is installing solar panels on his roof.
Most poignant: In San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, students will hand out solar-powered lights to families who are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Alex this June, 2010.
Most cross-cultural: Over 100 cyclists from Jordan, Israel and Palestine taking part in a 3-day bicycle relay to carry water from the Yarmouk River and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea to symbolize the need for cooperation to stop climate change and save precious water resources.
Most educational: 850 universities in China, India, and the United States are joining 10/10/10 as part of the Great Power Race campaign, a clean energy competition.
Most carbon cut: On 10/10/10 the Mayor of Mexico City will sign a commitment to reduce the city's emissions 10% in a single year. The city government will be directly responsible for 5% of the reductions and lead a public campaign to get citizens to cut the remaining 5%.
Most futuristic: Young people in Barbados will be demonstrating the viability of fuel cell technology in a hovercraft they have built themselves.