Last year, millions of people from nearly every country on the planet were united by a common purpose: to build a powerful global movement to solve the climate crisis.

The slideshow on the left is just a sampling of the more than 25,000 photos of people uniting in a global call for 350, the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

October 24th, 2009 was called "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history," with more than 5200 events in 181 countries. We increased pressure throughout the Copenhagen climate talks: we lobbied inside, we protested outside, and we organized thousands of candlelight vigils with partners around the world.

But now the Copenhagen climate talks have come and gone, and we don't have the fair, ambitious, and binding treaty this global movement--and the latest science--demands.

But this is not over: 2010 will be a crucial year for the growth of the movement--and for its evolution. Please join us.



350 Updates

Moving Video from UK: "Copenhagen was never going to be the end"

By Jamie
• 14 January, 2010 - 16:57

One of the pleasures of being back from the climate talks in Copenhagen is finally having the time to sit down and watch some of the incredible videos that came out of those two chaotic weeks at the end of December. I wanted to share one of my favorites with you. It's a video from the United Kingdom Youth Climate Coalition, one of our strongest 350.org allies and dear friends. In the video, Tom Smith, a twenty-year old member of the UKYCC delegation that came to the climate meetings, walks us through the final hours of the talks. Take a look: 

Tom share the sense of frustration and disappointment that many of us in Copenhagen and around the world shared. As he says, at the end of the meetings that there was a perception that the talks "hadn't moved anything." The perception of failure was all the more heartbreaking because of what we all know is at stake if climate change is left unchecked. Tom tells the story of Elisha, a 350.org organizer from the Maldives who came to Copenhagen to share her story with delegates and the media. As she told the media in an interview in Copenhagen, she may not have a home by the time she is 40, forcing her and any children she may have to live as environmental refugees (Elisha is now back in the Maldives continuing to build a movement for climate justice in her own country and working with 350.org to keep that movement building around the world; you can see a picture of her and Jamal, another 350.org organizer from the Maldives, below). 

Yet, as we've tried to share over the past few weeks, despite the disappointments there is much to give hope. Tom describes talking with a Bolivian delegate who came up to him at a protest outside the conference center and said while Copenhagen had not been a success on the inside, they had been a massive success on the outside. That's in large part thanks to all of you. You helped build the movement that sent all of us to Copenhagen with unprecedented momentum and solidarity. Over the weekend of December 12, you helped organize over 3,000 candlelight "vigils for survival" in over a hundred countries around the world. That day, in Copenhagen, 100,000 people marched in the streets for climate justice. And as I write this post, citizens in communities around the world are making plans to make 2010 even more powerful.

As Tom says, "I'm not a genius or scientist or politician, but I'm here." He meant here in Copenhagen, but I think he could have also meant here on Earth. In the end, climate change affects us all, no matter where we stand. We may not all be geniuses, or seasoned activists or organizers for that point, but we can be here to help. Copenhagen, as Tom points out, was never going to be the end. In fact, it's just the beginning.

 

 

Going BIG in 2010: Your ideas and the future of the movement.

By The 350.org Team
• 14 January, 2010 - 12:55


You likely just received the note below in your email inbox, if you didn't -- then we highly recommended signing up for the latest movement updates so you get the next one!

Dear Friends,

We're writing because so many of you have risen to the call and shared ideas for the 350 movement in the past few weeks. Our team is deeply grateful for all your thoughts, and wanted to share an update on our trajectory and future plans.

After getting some rest and renewing our spirits with family and friends over the holidays, the core 350.org team is getting ready to have extensive discussions in Vermont, USA early next month. We really want to take some time and reflect on the lessons learned from the last two years of international campaigning, the great victories as well as setbacks we've faced, and sort out what's next.

This is where you come in. While discussing with each other, we'll also be poring over each of your ideas with author and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben in order to figure out how our small team can best support the global movement moving forward.  The call for ideas is still open, so do send them along to ideas@350.org. 

We've already been diving into many of your letters for inspiration, direction, and initial strategy conversation-starters. We received hundreds upon hundreds of fantastic ideas, and we wanted to share four snippets below that seem to capture a few of the themes we're seeing so far:

  • Start a Climate "Meetup": "I think going forward it would be an intelligent move to convene '350 community meetings' once a month to keep people together and keep the energy, effort and movement growing." - Sean & Julie, San Francisco, US
     
  • Organize for Local Action: "What is needed now is action at ground level to get individuals, streets, schools, councils, etc to get moving to achieve carbon reductions that will make a difference." - Francesca, UK
     
  • Educate Your Community: "What needs to be done is a massive educational movement, which will increase awareness, increase membership to 350.org and get political attention." - Eric
     
  • Take Aim at Coal: "The campaign should involve nonviolent resistance to coal mining and new power plants. It should involve hyper-awareness campaigns by and for citizens about existing coal power plants, who receives the energy, and what alternatives exist. Build pressure campaigns on local, state, national and global leadership, and create timelines to shut coal plants down." - Christine

We were also re-energized by a strong sense of perseverance that formed the basis for many (if not all) of your notes. Here's an excerpt that stood out by Diego of Madrid, Spain:

  • Keep Pushing: "I really think that Copenhagen is just the beginning, that this was just the first round and there is a lot to do in the future. Watching hundreds of organizations and NGO´s working together, involving thousands of people from all over the world has been something very powerful. I think that continuing this work together, and making it bigger and more powerful is the key to having a chance for the future...
  • Stand in Solidarity, Stand For Survival: "There will be a lot of disappointments in the future, but we have to remember that giving up is not an option. The people in Africa cannot give up. The people in Tuvalu and the Maldives cannot give up. The people in Bangladesh and Vietnam cannot give up. Because giving up means a certain and miserable death for them. So the only option is to keep working, for the benefit of all living beings in this planet."

Again, thanks for taking the time to formulate and share your thoughts with us -- and many more for showing a relentless desire to take the movement forward into a fresh new year.  There will be no shortage of challenges in 2010, but as we ponder the failures of Copenhagen, the challenges we face in each of our home countries, the well-funded opposition that continues to spread misinformation and lies, let's not forget that sometimes ambition makes things easier, sometimes it's ok to dream.  As Jamie wrote in a recent blog post, 2010 is the year that we must all "go big." (www.350.org/go-big) 

Remember, our small team doesn't have all the answers -- it is up to all of us, as movement-builders, to take the lead in our own communities.

We're looking forward to reflecting on everything you've shared.  We'll be in touch from the forests of Vermont.

Onwards,

May, Jamie, Phil, Kelly, Will, Jeremy, Jon & Bill

PS: Among the hundreds of great ideas we've received so far, by far the most inspiring have been those you've said you're already bringing to life in your communities. 350.org is a unique campaign in that it's "open-source" and we definitely encourage you to take the next step to make your idea a reality. We'd also love to learn more about your efforts and support you as best we can--keep sending your ideas and projects to ideas@350.org

P.P.S. The reports coming out of Haiti are increasingly grim--please do take a moment to read our post about the earthquake, and please do share what you can with one of the many worthy relief efforts on the ground: www.350.org/haiti

Stand with Haiti

By kelly
• 14 January, 2010 - 11:55

*Update: we have heard through Friends of the Earth that one of our main 350 allies in Haiti, Aldrin Calixte of Haiti Survie is safe, though he reports that some of his colleagues are still missing, and that their office has collapsed.  We'll keep updating this post as we hear more news from our friends on the ground.

You've likely heard the news that yesterday, a major earthquake hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti, devastating the capitol of Port-au-Prince.  Officials are reporting widespread chaos, collapsed hospitals and schools, and a death toll rumoring to be in the thousands.  Upon this solemn news, we've reached out to our friends and allies in Haiti, and in the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, to see how the 350 family can help out.  Here are just a few of the beautiful pictures from October 24th of Haitian communities taking action to find solutions to climate change and build resilience to the kind of natural disasters their country is prone to:

At the time of the earthquake striking, Haiti was still recovering from a terrible hurricane season in 2008, when 4 hurricanes made landfall within 30 days, causing widespread damage to the country with already notoriously weak infrastructure and an extremely impacted environment.  The problem is, in a world above 350, these sorts of events are almost certain to happen again, and with more frequency and force - making it all the more important for a global movement to work together to help those most vulnerable amongst us to build resilience, and respond to these disasters.  And of course to work harder than ever this year to put our planet on a course back to safety, back to 350ppm, to safeguard the survival of all nations.  Please, share what you can with these relief efforts:

•Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

•The Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is "overflowing with injured." Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online.

•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

•UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Partners in Health, Paul Farmer's group, is also leading a relief effort.

To get updates about what's happening on the ground, follow @oxfam on Twitter.

South America

Defende Yasuni-ITT - Help us reach 350 ppm...

By Pablo Andres Astudillo
• 14 January, 2010 - 09:35
One of the most ambitious proposals on the table internationally to avoid fossil fuel development, the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, which will prevent oil drilling in a highly sensitive, biodiverse and culturel area, is on the brink of falling apart. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fander Falconi, resigned over a conflict with the president this tuesday, following other members of the Yasuni-ITT team.
 
President Correa threathened to drill oil in the Yasuni area (one of the biggest biodiverse hotspots of the world) by June 2010 if the Yasuni-ITT team would not succeed in getting the initiative in practice.
 
If President Correa starts drilling in the area, severely effect indigenous peoples lives (also those living in voluntary isolation in Yasuni), biodiversity and global climate change will be under threat. The bad stories of "'Crude'' and ''Avatar'' will then start in Yasuni.... and it will lead us far from 350 ppm.
 
This can't happen: Let's act on this and urge President Correa to defend Yasuni.  Myself and members of the 350 team in Ecuador will be at a rally in Quito tomorrow to deliver your messages to the president.
 
Mail/fax Correa today and tomorrow, 15th January, throughout the day asking him to defend Yasuni, indigenous peoples, the future of Ecuador and humankind.
 
You can mail, fax or leave a message in the folder:
 
- Fax: + 593 2 2580 714
 
 

South America

Chevron: time for a new direction in Ecuador and worldwide

By kelly
• 13 January, 2010 - 12:58

Our friends at Amazon Watch have called on our global 350 family to help out in their most recent campaign, a petition drive to the new CEO of Chevron, John Watson, pleading him to turn Chevron onto a new trajectory, and to clean up the environmental disasters they've created in the Amazon and elsewhere.  In a 350 world, there is no room for fossil fuel development, or the toxic messes it so often leaves in its wake.  As Ecuador struggles to bring justice to Chevron's doorstep, they also have an innovative proposal for moving beyond fossil fuels - the Yasuni ITT initiative designed to leave valuable oil reserves in the ground in an important natural area.  Please stand with the people of the Ecuadorean Amazon and our friends at Amazon Watch today - here's their message:

Over the New Year, from their homes in the Amazon, the people of Ecuador recorded a heartfelt video message for the new CEO of Chevron, John Watson.  The communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon have been suffering from Chevron's massive contamination of their rainforest homelands for over four decades.  Their message to the new chief of Chevron is clear and resolute, and full of years of pain and hope:  "We don't want to continue dying from cancer... Please clean up the areas affected by your company."

Please watch this important video message from the people of Ecuador to the head of Chevron, one of the world's largest oil companies. Then, sign the global petition in support of their appeal for a clean-up of the oil contamination, and compensation for the epidemic of cancer, birth defects, and premature deaths that the pollution has caused.

After sixteen years of legal battle, a verdict in the historic lawsuit is finally expected within the next few months. But Chevron is still waging an aggressive lobbying and PR campaign to evade responsibility. A company spokesman has even promised a "lifetime of litigation." But as the new CEO, Mr. Watson has the unique opportunity to change this!

There is no reason not to: his company's brand name and reputation are increasingly under fire for its refusal to rectify the human rights and environmental disaster experts call the "Amazon Chernobyl." Please join the growing chorus of people worldwide who are demanding Mr. Watson and his company finally do the right thing. 

Amazon Watch, alongside environmental and human rights allies worldwide, is launching this petition drive today to gather tens of thousands of signatures.  Together we can bring the global outcry for justice to Chevron's doorstep. 

Our Collective Story is Inspiration to Go Big in 2010

By Jamie
• 13 January, 2010 - 10:25

I wrote this for a post on It's Getting Hot in Here (IGHIH) a youth climate bog that is just celebrating its 5 year anniversary. But the post is really the story of all of us -- your organizing, your hard work, and your inspiration -- so I wanted to get it up here on 350.org. Thanks again for the hard work in 2009 and let's go big in 2010! 

I've really enjoyed reading this "Climate Generation" series going on IGHIH right now and was pleased when Julianna and Morgan (read his great piece just below this post) asked me to write up some quick reflections on the youth climate movement and the year ahead. It's still early in 2010 and after 2 years of head-down, full out sprint campaigning, I'm still getting all my thoughts in order. But here's one lesson I've pulled out of the last 5 years of organizing and activism that's accompanied IGHIH in its growth as a blog and community: go big. In this post, I want to tell a bit of my own story of moving from student activist to national campaigning to international organizing and hopefully provide a bit of inspiration for all of us who are making plans for the year ahead. I got my start in climate organizing as a student up at Middlebury College in Vermont. I'd done some organizing on campus (mostly around fair trade issues) but got pulled into the climate issue while taking a class with Prof. Jon Isham - a long time ally of student organizing. That class transformed into a full on campus movement: by week three of the class, we were having weekly student meetings with nearly 100 participants (the local beer we put in the center of the circle might have helped).<!--{12634866596891}-->

But it wasn't until we went after a big goal that our campus group really took off. After doing some smaller organizing efforts, we decided that, what the heck, let's push for Middlebury to go carbon neutral in 10 years. I remember the giddy feeling of setting that goal, the back and forth about whether we could really pull it off. Yet, by setting an ambitious target, all of a sudden our organizing took on new importance. Suddenly, students were interested in getting more involved, coming to us saying stuff like, "Wow, you all are really going for it, huh?" It turned out that ambition actually made things easier, not more difficult. By the time I graduated in 2007, Middlebury had committed to going carbon neutral in less than 10 years and currently is well on its way down that path (the fight for that success is another story!).

Click here to read more.

VIDEO Recap: An unbelievable year.

By Bill McKibben
• 4 January, 2010 - 12:52


We're in the midst of sending Bill McKibben's note below out to the entire 350 email list -- Want to ensure you get the latest movement updates delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up here. 

Dear Friends,

I'm writing to say thanks for your incredibly hard work in the last year, and for your efforts in the year and the decade ahead. 

Just to remind you how the 350 campaign got going, and what it accomplished, and what we still have left to do, here's a special page of videos we've prepared:

www.350.org/recap

It's a bit strange to send out the 350 year-end wrap up after the new year has already begun, but we didn't want this note to get mixed in with all the end-of-year appeals from worthy causes. 

Money helps, but it's nowhere near as important as time and effort. There are people like you all over the world, or at least in the 181 countries that held 5,200 rallies on Oct. 24. Foreign Policy magazine just called it "the largest ever coordinated global rally of any kind," and it had enormous effect: more than half the countries that came to Copenhagen a month later backed a 350 target. Money can't buy that kind of commitment--only the passion for the earth and its future can.  It's just that kind of passion that you've brought to this movement in the last year.

Take seriously the request at the end of the video recap page--we need your ideas about where we go next. We know what we have to do--keep the planet from overheating--and we know it's going to be hard. 

We also know that because of your work, and everyone else's, it's going to happen.

Onwards,

Bill McKibben for 350.org

P.S. Going through these videos lifts my spirits--I think your friends and family might like them too.  Feel free to forward this e-mail along--or to share the videos with a couple of clicks on Facebook click here, and to do the same on Twitter click here.

P.P.S. We may be a bit quieter than usual over the next few weeks--my team and I are spending some time regrouping and recouping, but expect to hear from us before too long about the road ahead. 

Social Media, Digital Organizing, and Building a Movement

By joe@350.org
• 31 December, 2009 - 17:27

In the middle of the UN negotiations in Copenhagen, we got a call from Marc Gunther, veteran environmental journalist and writer with Fortune Magazine. Marc was on a mission: to figure out how people powered social media played a role in building a global movement. Not that we have all the answers, but Jamie shared a few stories, like this favorite: 

"When we heard that there was going to be a 15,000 person march in Ethiopia on October 24 and no one to film the event, our Africa Media Coordinator based in New York City Skyped a friend in South Africa, who called a friend in Ethiopia, who biked to the event, took photos and video, then biked to the only high speed internet connection at the one 3-star hotel in Addis Ababa, bought a drink at the bar so she could use their internet, uploaded footage to our online media library, and we got it to major news networks 3 hours later."  

You can ready Marc's great post in full over here. And if you're hungry for more - check out Michael Silberman's first-hand narrative and reflections on how digital organizing was pivotal to the huge success of Oct 24th and the lessons learned for powering all kinds of movements. Many thanks to Marc, Michael, and everyone who helps us make sense of and use these new online tools to change how we take on climate change. 

If you're interested in helping to volunteer as an 350 online community builder in the new year, please jot a note with your ideas to jon@350.org.

Video Message to World Leaders from the Global Youth Climate Movement

By joe@350.org
• 25 December, 2009 - 17:57

Check out this awesome video message to world leaders from the global youth climate movement: "You're Not Done Yet & Neither Are We." Special shout-out to the Australian Youth Climate Coalition for coordinating & producing the video!

The youth climate movement rocked the house at Copenhagen -- we're beyond grateful to have partnered with so many different youth activists, coalitions, delegations, and organizations from all over the world. Young people really made the movement shine with your seemingly limitless passion & creativity, admirable ability to work together, and clear sense of urgency. After catching up on some sleep, we're already getting pumped to join forces in the months and years ahead. We're with you: We're not done yet.

We've also thrown together a few links to national groups below, you're welcome to connect and get involved directly. If we missed your group, please leave a comment and we'll add a link to the post straight away! 

Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Blog: http://www.aycc.org.au/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Youth-Climate-Coalition/159082219490
Twitter: @aycc

UK Youth Climate Coalition
Blog: http://gotvision.ukycc.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UKYCC
Twitter: @ukycc
African Youth Initiative on Climate Change
Blog: http://www.blog.ayicc.net/
Twitter: @ayicc

India Youth Climate Network
Blog: http://www.whatswiththeclimate.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indian-Youth-Climate-Network-IYCN/212742906368
Twitter: @iycn

Japanese Youth Delegation
Blog: http://jydofcop.exblog.jp/
Twitter: @JYDofCOP

Canadian Youth Delegation
Blog: http://cydcopenhagen.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CYDCopenhagen.org
Twitter: @CYDCopenhagen

Canadian Youth Climate Coalition
Website: http://www.ourclimate.ca
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2254313196

SustainUS
Blog: http://sustainus.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=124&Itemid=197
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204487808
Twitter: @SustainUSAgents

Federation of Young European Greens
Websites: www.greenon2009.eu and www.fyeg.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182473458698
Twitter: @FYEG

ECO Singapore
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6718125635
Twitter: @eco_singapore

French Youth Coalition for Climate and Social Justice
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48237754081
Twitter: @climatjustice

Malaysian Youth Climate Justice Network
Blog: http://mycjn.org/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=88084683444
Twitter: @MYCJN
Energy Action Coalition - US
Blog: http://www.energyactioncoalition.org/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/powershift09
Twitter: @PowerShift09

New Zealand Youth Delegation
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/NZYD/88972663652

Sierra Student Coalition International Delegates
Website/Blog: http://sscinternational.org/
Twitter: @SSC_Intl

Looking for more youth partners in the 350 movement? Check out: http://www.350.org/youth-partners 

Add a comment

"There are no Superheroes but us"

By joe@350.org
• 22 December, 2009 - 12:40


Rebecca Solnit, wonderful 350 writer, has a brilliant piece up on the HuffingtonPost, Judgment Days in Copenhagen, where she draws comparisons on the movie, Terminator 2, with how the global climate crisis unfolded in Copenhagen.

Solnit points out that in both Terminator 2 and Copenhagen, man-man technologies threaten to destroy our world.  In Terminator 2, it was intelligent cyborgs who sought to wipe out humanity. In our lives, it's the cumulative effects of idiotic machines that pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere way beyond the safety line of 350ppm. In the movie, we waited for a superhero to save the day. In reality, Solnit concludes that "there are no superheroes but us."  

"Really, though, if there’s going to be a superhero in our world, a friendly Terminator to go up against the villains in suits and ties, it will be civil society. Even for the betterment of humankind, civil society won’t get to shoot anyone or drive a truck through a wall.  Instead, it’ll organize, educate, build, and pressure, while working to create models and alternatives."  

We can't do the piece justice with just this one excerpt -- go check it out for yourself!

Most 350 team members are now on their way out of Copenhagen, headed back to homes as far flung from each other as Ecuador, Malaysia and Burundi. Some much needed rest and time to reflect on how to evolve the movement next is definitely in order. As we dive deep into our ideas for evolving the movement, and carefully reflect on each idea among the hundreds of ideas you've sent to the 350 team inbox --  Solnit helps us envision what will surely be key to all of our evolution as movement builders: we are already and must grow as superheroes to save our world.