Where will you be at the
- 10th minute of the
- 10th hour of the
- 10th day of the
- 10th month of the
- 10th year?
On 10 October 2010 (10/10/10), mobilized due to the energy of the 350.org team, people around the world will gather to show their support for climate action by leaders, nation, and people around the world.
In making a statement about public support and engagement, globally, for serious action, the focus is on gaining people to take action to tangibly demonstrate elements for change. Ideas for work party action include:
#1 Organize a Tree Planting Planting trees is fun, friendly, and a great way to engage the community. And each one you plant will be a little carbon-sequestering machine for years to come. Try to shoot for planting 350 trees or more in one day!
#3 Work on a Community Garden or an Organic Farm To get to 350, we'll need to rethink the way we produce food on the planet--moving away from industrial agriculture powered by fossil fuels, and towards small-scale, local, organic farming. Think about using your work party as a day to model this new system--maybe you can break ground on a new community garden
#6 Get Efficient: Energy Efficiency is often considered "low hanging fruit" when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. It's often easier and cheaper than installing renewable energy, so why not start here? Whether it's installing more efficient LED or CFL lightbulbs in your MPs office, insulating your basement, weatherizing your church or temple, or doing an energy audit on your school, efficiency can help get us on the path to 350 as soon as humanly possible
This last might be my action ... perhaps gathering some friends and acquaintances for a weatherization barnraising, working together to 'audit' some homes (perhaps a shelter) and upgrade their insulation, seal leaks, put in efficient showerheads, and change light bulbs. (For an excellent example of a group doing things like this, see Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET).) And, well, of course, to then blog about it. And, when it comes to efficiency, 350.org links to another great campaign: 10:10, an effort to begin carbon reductions of 10 percent per year, every year, starting in 2010.
350.org provides ten ideas #2 is "Go Solar" ... with solar cookers being part of life for several years, solar thermal on the roof for a year, and now my fourth day of the solar pv on the rooftop contributing to the household power, not sure that there is much to do there.
No, again, helping people do #6 looks like a good action for me ...
Bill McKibben had thoughts for the President.
This fall, on 10/10/10, we’re hosting a giant Global Work Party. Let's hope the president is up on the roof of the White House, hammering in the solar panels that Ronald Reagan took down. [Put Solar on It!] And then let's hope he's out on the hustings, hammering home the message that we by God need to finally own up to our addiction and get to work.
In any event, with several months to go, I already have ideas swirling in the head about what to do at the 10th minute of the 10th hour of the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year. Do you?
IMPORTANT (and too late) NOTE: Of course, 10/10/10/10/10 shouldn't be the one moment of the year that we take action to reduce our carbon footprints. Reducing 10% / year (or 5% or ...) requires actions across the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; Reduce, Renewable, Remediate ... lots of 3Rs). This day offers an opportunity for leveraging our individual actions into something larger in political, and not just direct carbon reduction, terms.